Which do you prefer: Belmont or Lexington?

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by mwj119

This is a fundamental reason why towns like Andover, Attleboro, and Shrewsbury are the hottest zip codes in the State. And why Southern New Hampshire has become such a hotbed. Before the transition, Andover was one of the cooler zip codes amongst desirable Eastern Massachusetts towns, significantly trailing towns like Reading, Melrose, Arlington, etc. There was a time in the not-so-distant past that homes in Duxbury were nearly depreciating. Now the median listing price in both Andover and Duxbury well exceeds $1M.

Southern NH is not a new thing really. Hot, I dunno about that, but there were plenty of people moving there in search of cheaper SFH long before the pandemic. You can conceivably commute to 128 from there but I reckon it was not the greatest commute.

South Shore and out in the boonies of 495, yeah, that has skyrocketed because of WFH. I expect that to fully reverse when the crash comes. I could easily see people being multiple hundreds of K underwater easy.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Southern NH is not a new thing really. Hot, I dunno about that, but there were plenty of people moving there in search of cheaper SFH long before the pandemic.

Are you in tune and in touch with prices in places like Rye?

Some of these areas have seen monumental growth relative to much of MA since 2020.

I mean, Rye is as expensive as places like Hingham and Duxbury. That was never the case. Median price was $600k in 2018. It’s doubled, and is now up to $1.2M.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

South Shore and out in the boonies of 495, yeah, that has skyrocketed because of WFH. I expect that to fully reverse when the crash comes. I could easily see people being multiple hundreds of K underwater easy.

Yeah, I mean, I couldn’t disagree more.

With the exception of 2011 - 2020, never had places like Melrose and Reading been more desirable than places like Acton and Andover in my lifetime. That changed dramatically post recession. Yet now, you’re seeing a correction. Acton has a higher median price than Melrose and Reading, and Andover has a far higher median listing price than both (as examples). I mean, Carlisle’s median listing is literally $850k more than Milton’s. To bet against this correction, with WFH and a general disinterest in commuting, is unwise in my opinion.

That, and the school districts in the “boonies” continue to outperform (in some cases, drastically) peers closer to the city. Right or wrong, whether you believe that or not, that sells.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Parsec

You're still here? Amazing..

EDIT: why did C-D send an email today notifying me that there are new posts to this thread when the last post was on April 23?

Ha! I sure am!

2024: Belmont or Lexington? Go…

[Iced_Coffee]

Personally? Belmont. I like the mixture of urban, suburban, and bucolic. It's more accessible to the city, as well. I guess it depends on what you want, and Lexington is still extremely nice. But if I had my druthers, I'd be looking for a house in that zone between Cushing Square and Belmont Center (somewhere along the Common St corridor). It checks all my boxes. Historic nice houses, tree-lined streets, easily walkable to some town center type areas, close to commuter rail.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Iced_Coffee

Personally? Belmont. I like the mixture of urban, suburban, and bucolic. It's more accessible to the city, as well. I guess it depends on what you want, and Lexington is still extremely nice. But if I had my druthers, I'd be looking for a house in that zone between Cushing Square and Belmont Center (somewhere along the Common St corridor). It checks all my boxes. Historic nice houses, tree-lined streets, easily walkable to some town center type areas, close to commuter rail.

That is a great part of Belmont in so many ways. You outlined the attributes very well.

[johngolf]

To me Belmont seemed to be more Boston centric. Lexington more suburban.