The Charles Realty
Local business · 257 Newbury St #2, Boston, MA 02116, USA
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Highlights
- Mentioned on Reddit — 1 mention in r/tradedboston, mixed
- Four decades downtown — the firm says it has operated since 1984
- Active broker license — Massachusetts registry shows the brokerage license current
- Deep review history — 39 reviews since 2021 across four sources
- Strong Google average — 4.7 stars from 60 ratings
- Process handling praised — clients cite clear communication through pricing and negotiation
- Downtown neighborhood depth — Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, Seaport coverage
- Rental-side complaints — the harshest review faults repair responsiveness toward tenants
- Fake-review allegation — a reviewer accused the firm of inflating its rating
- Tenure stated two ways — site claims 1984 founding and over 30 years
Forty-two years on Newbury Street is the first thing to know about The Charles Realty. The company says it was established in 1984 and has worked out of the same Back Bay office ever since, with a team of agents rather than one name on the door — they represent buyers, sellers, renters and landlords. The firm lists a service area running across Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, Fenway-Kenmore, Midtown, the North End, the Seaport, South Boston and Charlestown, plus Cambridge, Brookline and Somerville. Downtown condo territory, in other words, with the suburbs at the edges. The history behind it is reasonably deep: 39 reviews gathered between 2021 and 2025 across four different sites, and a 4.7 average from 60 Google ratings. What clients keep coming back to is the handling of the process itself — communication that stays clear through prep, pricing and negotiation, and agents who remain reachable from the first showing to the closing table. Its Massachusetts real estate broker license is active. Outside its own review pages, the brokerage also turns up in Boston deal-tracking threads on Reddit, where commenters name its agents on the buyer's side of local transactions. The part worth raising sits on the rental and building-management side rather than sales. The harshest review in its history faults the company's responsiveness on repairs and its treatment of tenants, and that same reviewer accused the firm of trying to lift its rating with fake reviews. That is one voice against a long run of positive ones, and it is not recent — but if you are coming to The Charles Realty as a tenant or a landlord rather than as a buyer or seller, it is the thing to put to them directly. One more small wrinkle: the company's own site describes both a 1984 founding and "over 30 years of experience," so treat the exact tenure as its own claim rather than a settled fact. For a downtown Boston purchase, sale or rental, this is a long-tenured neighborhood brokerage with four decades in one district behind it. Ask which agent you will actually be working with — the praise here attaches to individuals on a team — and get the commission terms and the license number in writing before you sign.
Heard around town
On Reddit
- MixedMultifamily Property In Jamaica Plain, MA Sells For $1.36M With Elizabeth Gibby-Homnick As Buyer's RepFeb 1, 2024
“Elizabeth Gibby-Homnick from [The Charles Realty](https://traded.co/agency/the-charles-realty) represented the buyer, while The Residential Group from William Raveis Real Estate handled the seller's representation”
— u/TradedMedia in r/tradedbostonRead the thread ↗
Read the comments
Most recent comments
- 5.0Dec 9, 2025
Annette Given and the team at The Charles Realty made a very difficult and emotional long distance selling process simple and clear. I will be forever grateful to the team for everything they did to help sell my uncle’s home in record time. Annette was amazing, clear in her communication, and has a wealth of experience to help you make the right decisions around prep, pricing, and negotiating the sale and closing. Thank you, Annette and team. This was a challenging time and you were such a big help to get through it to the other side. I know the new owners will love the location and have much happiness there.
— Ami LanningView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Feb 18, 2025
I couldn't recommend Jessica Laufer enough! When I first found out I'd be moving to Boston, everyone told me what a pain it was navigating the rental market. Jessica made this process easy and stress-free. She was incredibly responsive with all of my questions and helped me every step of the way. Truly the best!!
— Zoe MooreView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Apr 12, 2024
Andy was fantastic from the start, when we sat down for lunch to talk through what I and my fiancé were looking for. We had a general idea, but quickly changed our focus after the first few showings. Andy attended every open house with us, so I felt a touch guilty when we pivoted our search. Andy reassured me he was happy to accommodate and we worked together to narrow the search from there on. It was a telling sign of his patience. When it came to submitting offers, Andy was communicative and educated on the options we had to be competitive in a hot real estate market. Andy never came across as “pushy” or “salesy” and we consistently felt he was aligned with our goal. When it came to inspections, Andy had recommendations for each area we needed help (engineer, pest, home) and each were quality extensions of his team. They work with the best. Upon purchase, we wanted to rent the apartment we were previously living in. Andy helped us secure a great tenant. We worked with Andy for over a year and it was truly a full service experience! We look forward to working with Andy and team again in the future.
— Andrew BachmanView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Dec 7, 2023
Annette and her team provide superior customer service and have the most extensive knowledge of Boston and surrounding areas. They are the best!
— Sarah JohnsonView on Google Reviews ↗ - 5.0Nov 22, 2023
Annette Given runs The Charles Realty and is very good to the people who work for her. In addition she is a spectacular agent and diligent with her buyers and her sellers. I would recommend Annette Given at The Charles Realty any time!
— James RizzitanoView on Google Reviews ↗
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Update history
Added 39 new comments, added 34 new photos, verified active license, established rating 4.0
- confirmed against the state license registry
- behind the score: Rental-side complaints — the harshest review faults repair responsiveness toward tenants