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Yes, there are few large neighborhoods that are close to Andover and that would suit us well, there have been interesting houses sold in the last year there too and there's one on the market right now that we are thinking about (I mean we like it - the only potential problem is the zip code). In any case, I was trying to figure out how dramatic would it be to buy in the north of North Reading instead of Andover itself (some locations in NR would actually be closer to the school than some locations in Andover). It's true that it's not even mid-fall but I expect the market to cool as we head towards Thanksgiving, people usually don't like having houses listed over the holidays, and I am getting antsy ...
Dramatic? What does that mean? I am also not sure what you mean by zip code. Prestige?
If you buy in NR, obviously you are NOT in Andover, you don’t pay those taxes, you dont have a say in Town governance if that is important to you, you dont avail yourself of the Town amenities, zoning laws,
Train station, the library, the programs, the trails and conservation lands, the feel of of Andover. You also will not pay the premium price for your house nor enjoy the appreciation when you decide to sell.
If price is not a bar, i would buy in Andover for all those reasons if were you. Yes the commute is a factor, but those are the tradeoffs! Not sure how different it will be if you live on Andover southern border.
All said North Reading is also a beautiful town and the schools do not matter for you.
I think what people are trying to tell you is that Andover is a very desirable town and people move in and stay put. Likely what you are going to do. They start out with 1 or 2 kids early in their family life and take root while they raise their family - that's probably 25 or 30 years or more. And someone even stated that once the kids are grown the parents stay in town and their offspring buy houses in the town as well - perhaps starter homes and then trade up and take root in that forever home for the next 30 years.
You are not looking for a starter home. You are looking for a a forever home that people rarely vacate. And you have very specific requirements and a lot of them - most of which you are not willing to budge on. I mentioned needle in a haystack and that is very likely what you are looking for - a combo of finding the damn near PERFECT house in a PERFECT neighborhood that someone is putting up for sale on your timeline.
But if you are willing to buy in North Reading now and then in a year or 2 buy again in Andover and you are able to do that = then as Timberline said - everything is possible with wealth.
And as others have stated North Reading is a fine town. Some parts are very rural and far from highway access. 15 minutes to the highway can become 30 minutes in the morning when you are on the road with other morning commuters, school buses etc. And that's just to get to Rte 93. 93 to 128 will back up at the 93/128 interchange (we call it the cloverleaf). 128 to Burlington Mall will probably crawl all the way.
Friend of mine raised her 3 kids in NR. (They went to private school too at least from Gr 6 on.). They were in an exclusive high end neighborhood east of Haverhill Street. I just googled and to get from that home to the Burlington Mall now (Tuesday at 2pm) it is 25 minutes. Departing at 7am or 7:30am is more like 30 minutes but I think google maps is not accurate. You can hop on 93 and take that to 128 (and get clogged up at the onramp to 128) or get on 128 in North Reading but either way I would expect more like 45 minutes as some of that will be eaten up by just getting through North Reading. I would see if you can find someone who makes a similar commute regularly and get more up to date info.
There are a couple of Real estate agencies in North Reading that do the bulk of the business. If you are interested in the name of one of the agencies - DM me.
I think what people are trying to tell you is that Andover is a very desirable town and people move in and stay put. Likely what you are going to do. They start out with 1 or 2 kids early in their family life and take root while they raise their family - that's probably 25 or 30 years or more. And someone even stated that once the kids are grown the parents stay in town and their offspring buy houses in the town as well - perhaps starter homes and then trade up and take root in that forever home for the next 30 years.
You are not looking for a starter home. You are looking for a a forever home that people rarely vacate. And you have very specific requirements and a lot of them - most of which you are not willing to budge on. I mentioned needle in a haystack and that is very likely what you are looking for - a combo of finding the damn near PERFECT house in a PERFECT neighborhood that someone is putting up for sale on your timeline.
But if you are willing to buy in North Reading now and then in a year or 2 buy again in Andover and you are able to do that = then as Timberline said - everything is possible with wealth.
And as others have stated North Reading is a fine town. Some parts are very rural and far from highway access. 15 minutes to the highway can become 30 minutes in the morning when you are on the road with other morning commuters, school buses etc. And that's just to get to Rte 93. 93 to 128 will back up at the 93/128 interchange (we call it the cloverleaf). 128 to Burlington Mall will probably crawl all the way.
Friend of mine raised her 3 kids in NR. (They went to private school too at least from Gr 6 on.). They were in an exclusive high end neighborhood east of Haverhill Street. I just googled and to get from that home to the Burlington Mall now (Tuesday at 2pm) it is 25 minutes. Departing at 7am or 7:30am is more like 30 minutes but I think google maps is not accurate. You can hop on 93 and take that to 128 (and get clogged up at the onramp to 128) or get on 128 in North Reading but either way I would expect more like 45 minutes as some of that will be eaten up by just getting through North Reading. I would see if you can find someone who makes a similar commute regularly and get more up to date info.
There are a couple of Real estate agencies in North Reading that do the bulk of the business. If you are interested in the name of one of the agencies - DM me.
I go to Burlington often. 93 and 128 can get clogged at commute time. I often take rt 62 but nothing is good at peak times.
At least Reading would be closer if commute time is important. You can hop on to 128. It also has an orange line station which is nice.
I don't think anyone will have anything negative to say about North Reading. You don't plan to use too many of its services so if the location works for you then have at it.
Andover is a nice community but its luster has significantly declined in the past 20 years.
Proximity to Cambridge and Boston is what is prized now and Andover's location, once highly valued by executives from Digital Equipment Corp. and Wang Labs, is no longer seen as ideal by today's buyers.
I know you are planning on private school, but Andover's school system has suffered in the past decade from a revolving door of high school principals, changes in superintendents and a highly publicized high school basketball hazing scandal.
Those recent sales you listed above all look like great deals to me. If those same houses were for sale in Reading or Lynnfield, for example, they would each easily cost $500,000 more.
Personally, I would not base my decisions on a short drive to the private school. Kids are only in school for a short time, buying a house is a big decision. However, I can't afford a $2 million house and my children went to public schools, so my housing goals were a bit different when we were shopping 16 years ago at the top of the last boom market.
Dramatic? What does that mean? I am also not sure what you mean by zip code. Prestige?
If you buy in NR, obviously you are NOT in Andover, you don’t pay those taxes, you dont have a say in Town governance if that is important to you, you dont avail yourself of the Town amenities, zoning laws,
Train station, the library, the programs, the trails and conservation lands, the feel of of Andover. You also will not pay the premium price for your house nor enjoy the appreciation when you decide to sell.
If price is not a bar, i would buy in Andover for all those reasons if were you. Yes the commute is a factor, but those are the tradeoffs! Not sure how different it will be if you live on Andover southern border.
All said North Reading is also a beautiful town and the schools do not matter for you.
hm... the property taxes in NR are not significantly lower (and paying less taxes wouldn't bother me ). And most of the amenities you mention are not limited to residents (not even the library - the libraries in Merrimack Valley Library Consortium grant full access to each other's services). I would say that from N Reading one can have easier and faster access to some of the amenities than an Andover resident living above 495 and/or west of 93....
I actually do want to pay a premium for the house and I would prefer to buy in Andover - but there's no house on the market to pay a premium for in Andover ... Your point about appreciation of house is valid though (though there have been several sales in NR in the top tier that challenge the assumption property value increases more in a zip code than in another, check out 4 Jacob Raynor Ln or 5 Bridle Way in NR, the selling price in 2021 vs the purchase price in 2017...the house I am thinking of making an offer for is listed at more than 50% over its purchase price less than 5 yrs ago, with no improvements made meanwhile). It seems to me that whoever buys in this market doesn't make a good investment , regardless where they buy - most prices are inflated (from listing directly or through bidding war if listed lower) because of the scarcity of supply...(that gets worse and worse in this area, the nr of listings dropped significantly this year vs last year, both in Andover and NR). In any case, because we usually significantly update and upgrade the houses we buy , we rarely gain anything, even in the best circumstances (we didn't make a penny when we sold our house earlier this year, in the hottest market ever - because we invested a lot in it in 2019; we actually lost a bit but that's the price of living in a nice house & moving often; buying in this market and investing in updates in the house , we're sure to lose money unless we stay here decades - at which point our upgrades will be old so we might lose even then..)
That brings my dilemma today to amenities and quality of the house vs prestige of the zip code... I might be going for the first for now and wait until I can accomplish the second (I lived on 2 continents, 3 countries and 2 states in the last 7 years - so we're pretty mobile and not scared of moving).
I don't think anyone will have anything negative to say about North Reading. You don't plan to use too many of its services so if the location works for you then have at it.
Andover is a nice community but its luster has significantly declined in the past 20 years.
.
Really? We have lived here for 46 years, and if anything I think it is getting better. There are some people of course who always long for the 'good old days' whatever it means to them.
It is kind of boring in the sense it is not as interesting and happening like Cambridge or even Somerville for sure. But neither is North Reading or any of the suburban communities!
I see more young families moving in to Andover which is getting more diverse. Which is a good thing and the Town is committed to being a diverse community. It has an engaged community though not exactly progressive. Houses dont last a long time on the market. Apparently the luster is not too much gone for the newcomers!
hm... the property taxes in NR are not significantly lower (and paying less taxes wouldn't bother me ). And most of the amenities you mention are not limited to residents (not even the library - the libraries in Merrimack Valley Library Consortium grant full access to each other's services). I would say that from N Reading one can have easier and faster access to some of the amenities than an Andover resident living above 495 and/or west of 93....
I actually do want to pay a premium for the house and I would prefer to buy in Andover - but there's no house on the market to pay a premium for in Andover ... Your point about appreciation of house is valid though (though there have been several sales in NR in the top tier that challenge the assumption property value increases more in a zip code than in another, check out 4 Jacob Raynor Ln or 5 Bridle Way in NR, the selling price in 2021 vs the purchase price in 2017...the house I am thinking of making an offer for is listed at more than 50% over its purchase price less than 5 yrs ago, with no improvements made meanwhile). It seems to me that whoever buys in this market doesn't make a good investment , regardless where they buy - most prices are inflated (from listing directly or through bidding war if listed lower) because of the scarcity of supply...(that gets worse and worse in this area, the nr of listings dropped significantly this year vs last year, both in Andover and NR). In any case, because we usually significantly update and upgrade the houses we buy , we rarely gain anything, even in the best circumstances (we didn't make a penny when we sold our house earlier this year, in the hottest market ever - because we invested a lot in it in 2019; we actually lost a bit but that's the price of living in a nice house & moving often; buying in this market and investing in updates in the house , we're sure to lose money unless we stay here decades - at which point our upgrades will be old so we might lose even then..)
That brings my dilemma today to amenities and quality of the house vs prestige of the zip code... I might be going for the first for now and wait until I can accomplish the second (I lived on 2 continents, 3 countries and 2 states in the last 7 years - so we're pretty mobile and not scared of moving).
I think you are making a careful decision. Have you notice how difficult it is to get contractors to get any work done in your house? I believe it is both shortage of materials and workers. You may want to add that in your consideration.
I don't think anyone will have anything negative to say about North Reading. You don't plan to use too many of its services so if the location works for you then have at it.
Andover is a nice community but its luster has significantly declined in the past 20 years.
Proximity to Cambridge and Boston is what is prized now and Andover's location, once highly valued by executives from Digital Equipment Corp. and Wang Labs, is no longer seen as ideal by today's buyers.
I know you are planning on private school, but Andover's school system has suffered in the past decade from a revolving door of high school principals, changes in superintendents and a highly publicized high school basketball hazing scandal.
Those recent sales you listed above all look like great deals to me. If those same houses were for sale in Reading or Lynnfield, for example, they would each easily cost $500,000 more.
Personally, I would not base my decisions on a short drive to the private school. Kids are only in school for a short time, buying a house is a big decision. However, I can't afford a $2 million house and my children went to public schools, so my housing goals were a bit different when we were shopping 16 years ago at the top of the last boom market.
Philips (the company, not the school) also leaves (if it hasn't already) Andover for Cambridge...
For me the drive to school matters, because I have to do it 4 times a day. Every 5 minutes means 20 minutes more for me in the car, 5 days a week... it adds up. I listen to books in the car so it's not entirely wasted time but still... My kid is in Kindergarten so unless we move I am looking at 10 years of doing this drive 4 times a day (this is actually my top reason to prefer an Andover zip code, so I can benefit of the busing system..).
Thank you for your input, some valuable info for me to consider.
I think you are making a careful decision. Have you notice how difficult it is to get contractors to get any work done in your house? I believe it is both shortage of materials and workers. You may want to add that in your consideration.
I know!!! That's why I would prefer to buy in fall , so I have time. In normal times you can buy a house in spring and have a kitchen or a bathroom updated by august if no structural changes/permits are needed. But these are not normal times we're living. I ordered plantations shutters in November '20 and got them in May '21, I assume cabinetry takes forever these days...
I know!!! That's why I would prefer to buy in fall , so I have time. In normal times you can buy a house in spring and have a kitchen or a bathroom updated by august if no structural changes/permits are needed. But these are not normal times we're living. I ordered plantations shutters in November '20 and got them in May '21, I assume cabinetry takes forever these days...
Permits are needed for everything.
I'm on the supplier side - factory made cabinets are taking 3-4 times as long so plan 12-20 weeks. Local custom companies are in that area as well.
How will the bus system in Andover benefit your child in private school?
Andover to Burlington can be done a number of ways:
28 to 125 to 62 to 3A
93 and 128
whatever way Waze says to go.
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). And most of the amenities you mention are not limited to residents (not even the library - the libraries in Merrimack Valley Library Consortium grant full access to each other's services). I would say that from N Reading one can have easier and faster access to some of the amenities than an Andover resident living above 495 and/or west of 93.... 
