As Moderna‘s profits soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, their executives and even their employees have been reaping the benefits in the form of pricey real estate close to the company’s headquarters in the Boston-area.
According to a new feature in the Wall Street Journal, one unnamed Moderna executive put in an offer to buy a unit on the 17th floor of the St. Regis building overlooking Boston’s harbor for $4.9 million on the same day a Pfizerexec bought a condo in the same building on the 16th floor for $4.8 million.
The sales director for the building, Cathy Angelini, told the Journal the Moderna executive told her that he wanted his home to be one floor higher than the Pfizer exec. She said: ‘He just looked at me, completely serious and said, “I want the same home, but I need to be one floor higher than Pfizer.”‘
She added: ‘I don’t think he was concerned about the price.’ The executive told her: ‘Just get me higher.’
Other executives have snapped up multi-million dollar homes in Boston’s most desirable neighborhoods, as well as in tony suburbs, and the stunning Cape Cod holiday resort Provincetown.
Further heating up the Massachusetts city’s property market was Moderna executives’ demands for property purchases at short notice, which local real estate agents have dubbed the ‘Moderna halo effect.’
Manny Sarkis of real estate firm Douglas Elliman said the boom began in mid-2021, with Moderna staffers happy to pay over-the-odds for a fast purchase.
He told the Journal: ‘These aren’t buyers who are going to be browsing for two to three months .These are buyers who are flying in to buy a home.’
