Moving from Bayarea: Looking for new single-family communities (Boston, Worcester: new home, neighborhoods)

[Bayarea mover]

Hi,

Need some help.... unlike Bay area which has tons of new single family home communities, it has been really hard to find something similar around Boston.

cd someone suggest me single-family home communities (like Toll Brothers etc.) which are 40-60min driving distance to Cambridge which are:
- relatively new (2000+ construction)
- in decent School districts
- Close to decent Malls and Movie theaters
- Have smaller land parcels (does get lonely with huge land parcels around Boston)

Upto 1.5m

[scarletfire]

I'd try Wellesley first. Also, Toll Bros builds huge impressive looking homes but they are not known for high quality.

Sherborn & Dover are terrific but I think you'd find the lots too large.

Also, try Southboro & Hopkinton, as they do have some beautiful newer homes and both have good school districts, nice neighborhoods, and easy highway access. There's also a commuter rail station on the Southboro/Hopkinton line. In your price range you might consider the Sears Rd area of Southboro or newer subdivisions in Hopkinton near Hopkinton Country Club off Saddle Hill Road. However, the closest good mall & movies would be in Natick (about 15 min drive).

[scarletfire]

You can also find some amazing new homes in nice subdevelopments in Sudbury, which has a highly regarded school system & easy access to several cinemas and the Natick Collection Mall. No commuter rail access right in town though.

[goyguy]

Acton is mostly "built out," but a few new developments are still going up. It's a quiet community immediately west of Concord, with easy and quick access to Cambridge by either Route 2 or commuter rail, and boasts highly-regarded schools.

Sprawl in Greater Boston is pretty much a done deal now - no more land! But I'll chime in with the other posters about the MetroWest region (Southborough, et al.) All along the Route 9/Turnpike corridor between Boston and Worcester, there are still new subdivisions being constructed to take advantage of improved train service. The other "frontier" is in southeastern Massachusetts, notably within Carver, Plymouth, Pembroke, Norwell, and Easton. But getting to Cambridge inside of an hour would be in your dreams.

[smarty]

small lots.. nice house.. good school...

Brookline, Newton, Lexington, Needham, Winchester, Wellesley.

[elisemarie]

...and Belmont. Right next door to Cambridge, top 5 - 10% in the state school system, smaller lots, and while new homes don't exist, many have been renovated to "good as new" condition. We have been looking too and have been surprised to see that for some reason the homes in Winchester (mostly older homes) have had little to no rennovation. Not sure why - may be just what's been listed recently.

[jaydoubleyou]

My folks moved from the SF (east bay) to Boston 4 years ago. They bought a very nice brand new home just south of downtown Natick for under $1.2mm. There are lots of new homes being built in little pockets of older neihborhoods there, that is walking distance to the downtown area. The Natick Mall has just undergone a major renovation and is really nice. The school district is an "up and coming" one... not quite to the level of Wellesley, but then again you don't have all the snooty parents (although coming from the bay area, you're probably used to it... I know I am).

It's hard to find new construction because the big guys (Toll bros., Pulte, etc..) don't have a very large presence there. You really have to talk to a seasoned realtor to find out the small builders who typically build 5-15 homes per year. The small builders are the way to go, quality construction and more customization.

You can get to Cambridge in under 1 hour, if you drive. The commuter rail goes right through downtown Natick and goes to South Station in Boston.

[findingmesomeday]

I love the fact that Pulte, Toll, etc., do not build as much here because the land is just not here. The development that I think scarletfire is referring to in Wellesley (does it face Hunnewell St. on one side?) has got to be the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life!

[joan2008]

Do you have children? IF so, you probably will want Wellesley. Toll brothers just built up about 12 homes in a development here but not sure if there are any left- also it is near a cemetery (like right in the backyard). All of the schools are fantastic. I live in wellesley, please let me know if you need more info. Wellesley is near everything, about 15 minutes- 25 minutes to Cambridge (depends on traffic). Close to Natick malls - new natick collection just opened a few months ago, and Wellesley has a new store development on linden street with lots of shops, etc.
let me know if you need more info to make a decision!

[hrb]

As a general rule, I'd recommend staying away from a Toll house. They may look impressive from the outside, but on the inside they are quite ordinary, with some shockingly low-end details (plastic toilet paper holders, extremely cheap light fixtures--the lowest cost fixtures at a hardware store that you would never ever consider! ) and uneven (and sometimes downright poor) craftmanship. If you have low expectations for what you'll get, go with Toll. If you want to pay a huge amount of money for a home worth considerably less, then by all means, go with Toll. If you want a nice house for a reasonable sum, look around at new and older houses, and do not get sold on the Toll brochures and picture-perfect models. We know.. we bought, and we regret.