2023 Real Estate Observations (Boston, Weymouth, Duxbury: hires, developers, roof)

[Iced_Coffee]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Doesn't strike me as an impressive house for $3M+. There are a lot of other homes and locations I'd rather spend that $ on.

It's a really nice house, but I agree. That's a LOT of money. Someone must absolutely need to be in Brookline.

[msRB311]

I still disagree that asking price doesn't mean much. I certainly think it does.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Iced_Coffee

It's a really nice house, but I agree. That's a LOT of money. Someone must absolutely need to be in Brookline.

Physician maybe. Just kind of an underwhelming house for 3M...but Brookline is highly desirable to many.

[Iced_Coffee]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

That little square window on the second level is really off putting for me... looking at the exterior makes something look really out of whack!
$86K over ask then I hope they also have another $150K or so for the renovations/updates it needs! lol

I think $835k for that house is pretty competitive for Duxbury. I've been keeping an eye on that town and seeing any hopes I had of buying there evaporate pretty quickly, unfortunately. The house needs updating, otherwise it would have sold at a significantly higher price. The major selling point was likely the land with mature trees and lots of privacy, which is what I immediately noticed and liked when I looked at this listing. I'd love that backyard.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by Iced_Coffee

I think $835k for that house is pretty competitive for Duxbury. I've been keeping an eye on that town and seeing any hopes I had of buying there evaporate pretty quickly, unfortunately. The house needs updating, otherwise it would have sold at a significantly higher price. The major selling point was likely the land with mature trees and lots of privacy, which is what I immediately noticed and liked when I looked at this listing. I'd love that backyard.

Yes, with all the development going on it's hard to find homes with secluded backyards where you're not looking into your neighbors windows. Ones that do have these secluded yards usually come at a hefty price in this state.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Iced_Coffee

I think $835k for that house is pretty competitive for Duxbury. I've been keeping an eye on that town and seeing any hopes I had of buying there evaporate pretty quickly, unfortunately. The house needs updating, otherwise it would have sold at a significantly higher price. The major selling point was likely the land with mature trees and lots of privacy, which is what I immediately noticed and liked when I looked at this listing. I'd love that backyard.

This house sold for 750k and I have to say I like this house better than the one that sold for 835k. The backyard doesn't look great but it still has the privacy provided by the woods. I overall just like this house better.

This one also nice which sold for less than the 835k one:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...57177344_zpid/

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Yes, with all the development going on it's hard to find homes with secluded backyards where you're not looking into your neighbors windows. Ones that do have these secluded yards usually come at a hefty price in this state.

I was at a gorgeous house in Duxbury recently where the backyard was mostly woods. The owner said to me, I hope they never decide to build back here. Who knows. I feel like buying a house near the dump or cemetery these days is not a bad move because chanced are you'll never have to worry about building.

I think Dux is one of those towns where if you don't have to be in Boston 5 days a week it's a great place to live. Clearly people lived there before the pandemic as well having to commute in.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Seeing people pay 100k over asking does not indicate a normal real estate market.

It may indicate the home was undervalued.


If i list a item for $1, and i get multiple people offering $100, does that suggest the item's true value was always $100?




But what that said, I don't see the value of that home at 3mil. Someone did

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Doesn't strike me as an impressive house for $3M+. There are a lot of other homes and locations I'd rather spend that $ on.

I don't want to live in Brookline that badly either. So, if I had $3M in my pocket I'd likely be spending it elsewhere. That's a super personal decision and clearly there are enough people who would spend that kind of money to live in Brookline otherwise the prices wouldn't be where they are.

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

That little square window on the second level is really off putting for me... looking at the exterior makes something look really out of whack!
$86K over ask then I hope they also have another $150K or so for the renovations/updates it needs! lol

That little window would drive me NUTS!

Originally Posted by msRB311

I still disagree that asking price doesn't mean much. I certainly think it does.

As a seasoned real estate professional, I would agree with you that asking DOES matter. It's without a doubt the single most powerful marketing tool the listing agent and seller have at their disposal.

This being said, when discussing the value of the house and how "successful" the sale was, it is without a doubt 100% meaningless. It's just a number someone made up to bring buyers in the door. The seller/listing agent have complete freedom to set it at any level they see fit. Some choose to put it LOW to create multiple offers. Some agents LOVE to say "I sold this house for $X over asking price!!!" because they know members of the public who are not super knowledgeable will be impressed by that. Others choose to put it HIGH . . . well because they don't understand the market we're currently in.

I can't come up with a reason why asking price is relevant to a discussion of the success/failure of the sale with the exception of saying whether that particular price helped/hurt. Your last post seems to say your reasoning is "because I said so" and I'm just wondering if there's some logic behind that decision.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Those are clapboards.

Clapboards on the front and shingles on the other 3 sides are a pretty common South Shore design. My brother-in-law has that style on his house in Kingston. Not sure why, you don't really see it on the North Shore, for example.

That goes back to the frugal Yankee that MA is known for - clapboards cost more than shingles so money is spent to put them on the money side - aka the front of the house.

Today you'll see houses with vinyl shingles on the front and vinyl claps on the sides - again, money is spent where people see it.