Thoughts on Reading, MA? (Boston, Lynn: for sale, 2013, apartments)

[Ttricity]

Wife and I are looking to buy a home somewhere north of Boston. We both work full time downtown. We have two kids under the age of four. Reading seems to have a decent school system and a good mix of 3 and 4 bedroom homes under 800k. We also like that it has a commuter rail.

What are people's thoughts on Reading? Any insight/perspective is appreciated.

[matrix5k]

Most homes have oil and septic if that matters to you. It was a deal breaker for us.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Ttricity

Wife and I are looking to buy a home somewhere north of Boston. We both work full time downtown. We have two kids under the age of four. Reading seems to have a decent school system and a good mix of 3 and 4 bedroom homes under 800k. We also like that it has a commuter rail.

What are people's thoughts on Reading? Any insight/perspective is appreciated.

Good ol' Reading.

I think it's severely underrated on this forum, but in real life, it's a very desirable community. It's housing market/growth over the last decade is right up there with any town, anywhere. Solidly middle-upper class town with a good mix of older housing stock/neighborhoods and a new "luxury" market with new homes going for $1.6M. As you have probably seen during visit(s), there are a lot of very charming neighborhoods far into their maturation cycle. It reminds me of Natick, with a more extensive and dense matrix of old neighborhoods immediately surround the core.

As far as residents go, you will find legacy residents, who have been there "forever". You get a little more townie mentality than, say, Bedford, but less than Wakefield. Overall, as it's becoming wealthier, it's becoming more transient. More like Andover, but closer to the city.

Anything west of 129/downtown/train and south of Austin Prep is upper crust. It's the town's Historic District. Since the upturn in 2013, if a house goes up for sale in the neighborhood with a price tag of <$700k, it goes with multiple bids and fast. When we were looking, we found a really nice house for $600k and someone scooped it with a cash offer. The market has slowed down in the last year, but I don't expect that has changed much in the western parts of Reading. Despite this, to me, that's where I would target in your search. Anything in the farther northern reaches is a bit more traditional suburban, with sub developments off of main roads. At that point, you lose easy access to downtown and the train, so you might as well save a buck in North Reading or look east in Lynnfield. Eastern reaches of Reading lose some of the aesthetic, but generally offer you the best bargains.

Some examples of areas I'd recommend:

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5235...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5164...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5096...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5124...7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5325...7i13312!8i6656

The main street in Reading has seen facelifts over the years, and planned development continues including the new luxury apartments immediately west of the train. There's only a handful of bars and restaurants, but it checks all of the boxes.. Coffeeshop, restaraunts to go out with friends, walkable core, deli, outdoor beer garden, etc. Marketstreet Lynnfield is a nice area for conveniences to the east, and it's common that folks will leverage Burlington as a second source of restaurants and entertainment. Location is part of the beauty of living in Reading, no doubt. Close to all of the jobs between Waltham and Woburn, and a train ride right into North Station.

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

Most homes have oil and septic if that matters to you. It was a deal breaker for us.

Not in Reading. You may be thinking of North Reading.