South Weston/Wellesley

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Camillamts

What about Wayland? There seem to be some nice houses there on bigger lots, and apparently the schools are very good? Can it be compared to Weston when it comes to the "rural feel"?

Wayland, Sudbury, and Weston all have a similar character in my opinion. Homes on large lots and a general rural feel. The negatives of these towns are fairly typical of rural feeling towns. They're hard to get in and out of (not close to local routes and no train service) and shopping/restaurant selection in town is very limited. Weston is the closest of the three to Rt 128/I95 which is the major highway in the area along with I90 (a/k/a the Mass Turnpike).

The schools in all these towns are very good and generally there is plenty to choose from when it comes to houses. The real estate market is much slower in these towns compared to the less rural feeling 'burbs like Newton, Wellesley, & Needham.

[Camillamts]

None of us need to worry about commuting, so easy access to Boston will not be a big deal for us. However, when buying a house I want to make sure it is in a desirable area, re-sell wise. Do houses generally sit on the market longer in the more rural towns? My ideal would be to buy " the cheapest house on a desirable street" and tear down or fix it up ( like many others...)

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Camillamts

None of us need to worry about commuting, so easy access to Boston will not be a big deal for us. However, when buying a house I want to make sure it is in a desirable area, re-sell wise. Do houses generally sit on the market longer in the more rural towns? My ideal would be to buy " the cheapest house on a desirable street" and tear down or fix it up ( like many others...)

I mention commuting because it has more to do with appreciation/depreciation and time on market. For example, in recent times, Weston on average has longer market times than Newton, Wellesley, or Needham. Also, homes in towns like Wayland and Sudbury lost more value in recent years than comparable homes in Newton, Needham, and Wellesley.

The big difference in the two groups of towns that I keep comparing is rural vs. suburban. The more rural towns lack a developed town center and commuting options/easy access to highways. The majority of people want these things although not everybody. Some of them don't even commute into Boston they just want to be able to easily go there for a night out. All of these towns though do have very good school systems.

Fixing up a house or doing a teardown isn't a horrible idea. It's a pretty typical practice around these parts. The problem with doing it as a consumer is that you face a lot of competition in this area from builders. Many teardown properties don't even make it to MLS or even get advertised at all. A good amount are sold directly to builders becaues the homeowner called them or the agent that represents them directly.