Is Waltham really this hot? (Boston, Wellesley: real estate, houses, buying)

[audemars]

I keep receiving Redfin listing emails with homes in Waltham ranging from $800k-$1.2mm. Maybe my impression's outdated, but that's what you'd pay in Wayland, Sudbury or Lincoln for much better school systems and homes as nice or nicer.

Is there a shift I've missed and people are willing to trade schools for a somewhat closer location to Boston? Genuinely curious.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by audemars

I keep receiving Redfin listing emails with homes in Waltham ranging from $800k-$1.2mm. Maybe my impression's outdated, but that's what you'd pay in Wayland, Sudbury or Lincoln for much better school systems and homes as nice or nicer.

Is there a shift I've missed and people are willing to trade schools for a somewhat closer location to Boston? Genuinely curious.

Have you been living under a rock?

[msRB311]

I didnt realize Waltham had become that pricey either. It has a quincy vibe to me.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by audemars

I keep receiving Redfin listing emails with homes in Waltham ranging from $800k-$1.2mm. Maybe my impression's outdated, but that's what you'd pay in Wayland, Sudbury or Lincoln for much better school systems and homes as nice or nicer.

Is there a shift I've missed and people are willing to trade schools for a somewhat closer location to Boston? Genuinely curious.

The median house price in 2020 is more than double in Lincoln compared to Waltham but prices have gone up more in Waltham than Lincoln over the past 5 years

https://www.bostonmagazine.com/prope...ce-chart-2020/

I just noticed in 2020 Wellesley has passed Weston as 3rd most-expensive-houses town in metro Boston by median house price. Houses in Weston have only increased about 8% over the last 5 years, making it the smallest increment in the entire metro area.

[BostonMike7]

There's a lot of towns these days with 1Mil+ homes that you would never have expected to see.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

There's a lot of towns these days with 1Mil+ homes that you would never have expected to see.

Right. Almost feels like 1 million is becoming an average priced home these days. Strange.

[audemars]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I didnt realize Waltham had become that pricey either. It has a quincy vibe to me.

Agreed. Nothing wrong w/either town, but given how close the pricing is to that of towns with much better school systems (which help hold values during declines), it seems a bit off.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by audemars

Agreed. Nothing wrong w/either town, but given how close the pricing is to that of towns with much better school systems (which help hold values during declines), it seems a bit off.

Past 30 days, Wellesley's SFH average is 1.6 million. Weston is 1.95 million. Waltham is "only" 724k. It's still a lot cheaper than the other towns.

[yellowstatus]

Yep, Waltham is hot just like the entire Boston metro region. If you plan to live here for 5 years and can afford it, buying real estate here is a great investment. Hard to imagine any 20 year scenario where the prices go down.

[audemars]

Originally Posted by Lampert

The median house price in 2020 is more than double in Lincoln compared to Waltham but prices have gone up more in Waltham than Lincoln over the past 5 years

I just noticed in 2020 Wellesley has passed Weston as 3rd most-expensive-houses town in metro Boston by median house price. Houses in Weston have only increased about 8% over the last 5 years, making it the smallest increment in the entire metro area.

I'd agree with that - the Weston market is weird right now. Everything under $2mm goes contingent immediately and there's a huge glut of supply closer to $4mm. It feels like most of the under $2mm houses are knocked down to build $4mm houses, which don't sell well. My theory for that is in that ballpark, people want custom and most foreign buyers insist on new.

Source: Looking out my window watching two teardowns being replaced as I type this