would you say now is a bad time to buy? (Boston: sales, loans)

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Conversely, there are plenty of people living comfortable upper-middle class lives along 495/3/290 or in Southern NH.

Originally Posted by timberline742

Yeah and traveling 90 min each way (or so) to work. That comfortable lifestyle is actually, when you examine it, a horrible lifestyle.

I have lived either on the 495 belt or in southern New Hampshire for 10 years now. The only time I had a one way commute approach 90 minutes was the first two years when I lived in Lowell and worked in downtown Boston. The only reason it was 90 minutes was because of the inefficient operation of the Lowell commuter rail line (the stops in Medford & Winchester are too close together and the train cannot get up to proper speed between these three stops). Since I stopped working in Boston, ALL my commutes have been 50 minutes or less one way.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Maybe it's time to make all schools top school and not just focus on ones where rich people live.

If people who value education move to a town and stay and raise families there, the quality of the schools will improve in that town.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by Shizim

Street with a double line down the center. Abutting commercial property, next to train tracks (that are still in use), etc.

And yet, there are still people paying top dollar in Waltham and Belmont and other places living with a train right in their backyard. Or people in Newton living close to the Mass Pike. Or people on BeaconHill with Storrow Drive behind them. Doesn't stop any of these places from being quite desirable locations.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by Parsec

I've posted this a few times before, but here's a dirty little secret: all the median household income statistics you find on the internet are wrong. For wealthy towns they are WAY off. They are compiled from census data which is self-reported. Take a look at the IRS statistics which is available on their website.

I picked zip code 02481 which is in Wellesley. The average AGI for the 6,700 tax returns filed from that zip code is $516,291. I guess you can make an argument that median is more accurate than average, but the data is still compelling. $214k of that is W-2 income and $302k is other income such as partnership income (from schedule K-1) and capital gains. When people report their income to the census bureau they usually only include their W-2 income, not their income from trust funds, etc.

I would think too that Brookline is skewed by the student population.

[Whatsnext75]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

And yet, there are still people paying top dollar in Waltham and Belmont and other places living with a train right in their backyard. Or people in Newton living close to the Mass Pike. Or people on BeaconHill with Storrow Drive behind them. Doesn't stop any of these places from being quite desirable locations.

Yeah i'm not so sure I agree with the train part. Maybe if it literally runs through your backyard it would be an issue...but there are some people who need the train and might appreciate it being so close. You'd never have to worry about missing it or driving through traffic to get to it. Many areas paint the T as being a reason to move there.

[Steephill2]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

And yet, there are still people paying top dollar in Waltham and Belmont and other places living with a train right in their backyard. Or people in Newton living close to the Mass Pike. Or people on BeaconHill with Storrow Drive behind them. Doesn't stop any of these places from being quite desirable locations.

Right now, anythings goes. A house could be floating on wetlands in Bedford and it could still go for over 50k asking. Doesn't sound very normal to me but in a down or even normal market, fundamentals do matter. There are sone things you can change if you buy a crappy house, like tear it down and rebuild, but to me the following cannot be changed. living next to a highway, train tracks, power wires, flood risk area, main road, cemetery, industrial area, any business or location that can emit an odor, and a mall. Some people find these a plus but I personally dont like to be near any of these for varying reasons.

[Shizim]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

And yet, there are still people paying top dollar in Waltham and Belmont and other places living with a train right in their backyard. Or people in Newton living close to the Mass Pike. Or people on BeaconHill with Storrow Drive behind them. Doesn't stop any of these places from being quite desirable locations.

I disagree. The town remains desirable which helps offset the location but the fact remains that it's still significantly less desirable than a similar house on a cul de sac in the same town.

I wouldn't confuse acceptance of poor location (because of an over arching desire to be in said town) with the location being good

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I couldn't imagine trying to buy into today's metro-Boston housing market on $165K even with a big down payment.

My HH Income is just shy of $200K/year and i'll have a large DP.....and I don't think I can really afford a house inside 128/95 that isn't in a shabby neighborhood unless I want to take on a high mortgage payment...which I don't.

Yeah and traveling 90 min each way (or so) to work. That comfortable
lifestyle is actually, when you examine it, a horrible lifestyle.

No, it gets old fast. I've been doing it for 8 years and I need that 3 hours back of commuting time where I could accomplish much more. I've been driving from Boston-area to the suburbs, so this one should be easy to fix.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

And yet, there are still people paying top dollar in Waltham and Belmont and other places living with a train right in their backyard. Or people in Newton living close to the Mass Pike. Or people on BeaconHill with Storrow Drive behind them. Doesn't stop any of these places from being quite desirable locations.

100% true.

When I was house hunting last year there was a place for sale right across the street from my old apartment. The commuter rail passed within 40 feet of the house but it still went for $50k over asking.

[Shizim]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

My HH Income is just shy of $200K/year and i'll have a large DP.....and I don't think I can really afford a house inside 128/95 that isn't in a shabby neighborhood.


Kinda sad really. Good think our jobs are outside 128 in N. Mass.

if your jobs are outside 128 you shouldn't even think to look inside.

however with a large downpayment and 200k of income you could easily afford to live inside 128. People are being over the top. just because you cant afford to live in Winchester doesn't mean you cant live inside 128. you could get into Stoneham no problem. or even Melrose/Medford/Wakefield.

i get the feeling that its either "inside 128 in a tier one school" or some combination of "i have to leave Boston all together" / "Its not fair" / "The market is crazy i can't wait for a crash so i can move to Belmont and get a 2500 sqft house on a dead end street for $375k ".