Is Waltham really this hot? (Boston, Springfield: section 8, apartment, how much)

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

if the Fed raised rates, a lot of these people will get crushed. Just that alone is one scenario. Now I doubt they will any time soon but in a 20 year timeframe you are talking about a long time.

Yeah I would be very uncomfortable buying for a 5 year timeframe in this inflated market. 10 years minimum.

[audemars]

Originally Posted by Lampert

it's more like 2 kids. 3 kids is not that common anymore. The average American family has less than 2 kids and it has been like that for a few years already.
And as others have said, financials aren't the only reason.

People buying $1-2mm houses aren't really the average American family. Among the upper income earners who buy those properties, having more than 2 kids is more common. Even at 2 kids for the sake of argument at the lower bound of $20k for 12 years, that's $480k you'll never seen again. Still not a good financial choice.

I agree that people choose private schools for many reasons, most other than financial - but that's irrelevant to your example above where it was cited as a factor for someone choosing the cheaper house over the more expensive one with better schools.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by audemars

People buying $1-2mm houses aren't really the average American family. Among the upper income earners who buy those properties, having more than 2 kids is more common. Even at 2 kids for the sake of argument at the lower bound of $20k for 12 years, that's $480k you'll never seen again. Still not a good financial choice.

You have it backwards. The higher the income the lower the birth rate.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ome-in-the-us/

[robr2]

Let's look at it this way on single family. On realtor in Waltham there are:

10 listings between $800K and $1.2 million

18 listings at under $800K

7 listings over $1.2 million.

Waltham stills skews lower.

[msRB311]

Some people simply have the money to live in a top tier town AND send their kids to private school. I know quite a few people in Hingham and Norwell who send their kids to Derby and people in Needham and Wellesley who send their kids to tenacres. I can understand sending kids to private school in middle school...but I'm not sure the education at Derby is that much greater in elementary school than it would be at a hingham public school. It's over 30k for grades 1-3. Tenacre costs even more.

It's kind of sad that these private school people take up space in a town that someone would love to get into to actually use the public schools for their kids...but this is the world we live in i guess.

[BosYuppie]

We currently own in a neighboring boujey suburb but we have we have been monitoring Waltham over the past year. In terms of our highway travel needs it's a good base, we love the Moody St restaurant scene, are interested in getting more space, and would like to provide a little more diverse (ethnic and socioeconomic) environment for our child to grow up in. We aren't big school rating stans, also Waltham is also building a new senior high school which won't be a panacea but will certainly be an improvement. No place is perfect, there are some curb appeal issues and a townie vibe that will detract many people, city commute can be tough from the North side, etc but it's a good compromise for us.

When we started seeing the rock bottom interest rates, we started looking in the 700's and our searches have gradually crept up to roughly 1 million. We have put a couple offers in in the 900's in central and north Waltham. We lost our bids mostly due to contingencies. People are bringing all cash and bringing inspectors to open houses to waive contingencies.

For us it's hard to find the mix of lot size, house layout and location in Waltham that we're seeking, but it's still a hell of a lot easier than in Newton or Watertown. These would probably be 1.4+ million houses in either of those towns, depending on location. We are not first time homebuyers, we're looking for an upgrade so we haven't been looking at the midcentury, split level and ranch housing stock there, but it does look like a viable spot for a first time homebuyer with some listings in the 600's popping up in some of the denser neighborhoods.

It only gets worse every month, the 25% premium in home prices over the past year is no exaggeration, and we have more or less agreed to cut off our search for a little while and focus on adding value to our current house.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by 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.

MA businesses would lose out on a lot of talent and money. No way I'd stay in the area if hosing prices only go up from where they are now, and that decision would no doubt be easier for someone who didn't grow up here.

[masssachoicetts]

Its a booming town with good arts/restaurant scene and good proximity/access to Boston. Quite urban too. It has the bones, and I expect it to make a huge comeback this decade. Maybe something similar to Montclair?

I would much prefer to live there over a Wellesley or Weston or any of those sleepy towns out there. If you are under 40 and do not have kids, Waltham makes sense.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

MA businesses would lose out on a lot of talent and money. No way I'd stay in the area if hosing prices only go up from where they are now, and that decision would no doubt be easier for someone who didn't grow up here.

That's a good point.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

MA businesses would lose out on a lot of talent and money. No way I'd stay in the area if hosing prices only go up from where they are now, and that decision would no doubt be easier for someone who didn't grow up here.

The kind of talent that business here want is New Grads; who are living in apartments and will continue to do. By the time they age out of that employers won't want them anymore. You can always cut the cost of renting by adding more people to your unit.