If you're looking for real estate but can't quite afford a row house on Beacon Hill, a Boston condo might be your answer. Furthermore, if you own a condominium and it snows--and it snows plenty in Boston (40 inches in five months on average)--someone else will clear the snow. That is why you pay condo fees. Enjoy it.

Boston real estate is the third most costly in the United States after Honolulu and San Francisco, up from 26th only 24 years ago. Home ownership in the state is 45th in the nation, in part because real estate isn't affordable for the most part. But where a single-family home might not be, a Boston condo might.

Finding a Boston Condo the Easy Way

The first answers to almost anything Boston are the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald. They're a useful place to begin, where you can get your bearings on prices and a sense of what kind of choice you'll have. You'll have luck online as well, especially in being able to assess neighborhoods and follow up on leads without feeling any pressure to make a decision. The most important thing as you begin is to pull yourself out of ignorance.

Know the price range for neighborhoods, for a start. Despite a highly touted state median house value of $192,000, don't expect to find it in central Boston. Think more than that. If you're very patient and related to Methuselah, perhaps you can wait out the current market. Otherwise, you're best advised to think a Boston condo and find a Boston realtor.