Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 10/11/2007 - 02:02.
Why is Arlington Mass. a bright spot in the housing market?
Arlington, located in Eastern Massachusetts, is a hot real estate market. Prices are stable, activity is brisk, and frenzied behavior not seen since the boom years - deliberate underpricing to fuel bidding wars, multiple offers over asking price, tight deadlines for submitting offers - is the norm.
Why is Arlington a bright spot in a bleak housing slump nationwide? For many buyers and sellers, Arlington has that magic blend: proximity to Boston, respectable schools, desirable housing stock, prices notably lower than in surrounding communities, and city amenities in a town setting, such as great restaurants.
"The market in Arlington remains quite strong, and it's really remarkable in a way, because you can go to a number of towns not very far from Arlington and find business off fairly severely," said Robert E. Bowes, owner of Bowes GMAC Real Estate, which does two-thirds of its business in the town and is on track to have its busiest year since the firm was founded in 1945.
As of early October, the average number of days houses sat on the market in Arlington before selling was 83, substantially less than the 146-day average for all of Eastern Massachusetts, according to the Multiple Listing Service Property Information Network. Arlington's average is also significantly shorter than in nearby Belmont, Bedford, Cambridge, and Lexington, and it's one of the few Boston-area communities where homes typically sell in less than 100 days. 450 residential properties have already sold this year, putting Arlington on pace to match 2005 and 2006, when real estate markets generally were much stronger.
The median price of a single-family home in Arlington is $510,000, according to Warren Group, a Boston publisher of real estate data. In contrast, Bedford's single-family median is $526,000, Belmont's is $647,000, Cambridge's is $641,000, and Lexington's is $739,000.
Arlington is conveniently situated between two major employment belts, Boston/Cambridge and Route 128, making it an ideal location for those who commute in either direction. For decades, it was a blue-collar community heavily populated by firefighters, police officers, and public works employees where the schools were good enough and the houses grew modestly in value. Now, the dominant buyers are two-income couples with good-paying jobs, many of whom live in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville but, as they start families, are searching for more space and better schools without sacrificing urban amenities.
"Clearly, we have that professional crowd from Cambridge and Boston coming in," said Savarese of Century 21 Adams. "A lot of people are deciding to relocate to Arlington because of its services and schools and because it has slightly larger lots than Cambridge and Boston."
Source: boston.com
Why is Arlington a bright spot in a bleak housing slump nationwide? For many buyers and sellers, Arlington has that magic blend: proximity to Boston, respectable schools, desirable housing stock, prices notably lower than in surrounding communities, and city amenities in a town setting, such as great restaurants.
"The market in Arlington remains quite strong, and it's really remarkable in a way, because you can go to a number of towns not very far from Arlington and find business off fairly severely," said Robert E. Bowes, owner of Bowes GMAC Real Estate, which does two-thirds of its business in the town and is on track to have its busiest year since the firm was founded in 1945.
As of early October, the average number of days houses sat on the market in Arlington before selling was 83, substantially less than the 146-day average for all of Eastern Massachusetts, according to the Multiple Listing Service Property Information Network. Arlington's average is also significantly shorter than in nearby Belmont, Bedford, Cambridge, and Lexington, and it's one of the few Boston-area communities where homes typically sell in less than 100 days. 450 residential properties have already sold this year, putting Arlington on pace to match 2005 and 2006, when real estate markets generally were much stronger.
The median price of a single-family home in Arlington is $510,000, according to Warren Group, a Boston publisher of real estate data. In contrast, Bedford's single-family median is $526,000, Belmont's is $647,000, Cambridge's is $641,000, and Lexington's is $739,000.
Arlington is conveniently situated between two major employment belts, Boston/Cambridge and Route 128, making it an ideal location for those who commute in either direction. For decades, it was a blue-collar community heavily populated by firefighters, police officers, and public works employees where the schools were good enough and the houses grew modestly in value. Now, the dominant buyers are two-income couples with good-paying jobs, many of whom live in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville but, as they start families, are searching for more space and better schools without sacrificing urban amenities.
"Clearly, we have that professional crowd from Cambridge and Boston coming in," said Savarese of Century 21 Adams. "A lot of people are deciding to relocate to Arlington because of its services and schools and because it has slightly larger lots than Cambridge and Boston."
Source: boston.com
1
Commercial Property Purchase for your business operation - buy with just 10% down payment
