As I write this week’s blog I am in Los Angeles making the best of being stranded on the west coast as a result of the storm back east. I have heard from many of you who were also vacationing in the south or out west and also couldn’t make it home because of canceled flights. Of course, there are worse places to be stranded :)
Even from California I am busy preparing for the spring market, while my assistant Elise works hard helping sellers get their houses ready!
So, let’s start with some good news. Next week we will be showcasing these four fantastic properties. They are each distinctly special - call for information on all of them!
30 Cliff Road, Wellesley
3 Auburn Road, Wellesley
5 Erwin Road Wayland
68 Woodcliff Road
I am thrilled for buyers that come March there will be more houses for them to choose from. Bring it on!!
While it’s a pleasure to see my sellers benefit from this historic market, it’s equally difficult to see buyers, who I care deeply about, fight valiantly to get a house and lose. I represented buyers as we competed against 21 other people for a darling Cape-style house in Wellesley. Clearly the market deemed that this house was underpriced with that many offers. In the end, it was the person who paid cash that won. This is a common story in many of these bidding wars- cash takes it. We experience it time and time again. It can feel so deflating since most people don’t have millions of dollars in cash to buy a house. So what does one do? It’s hard to say. There are no easy answers. Perhaps the wave of inventory that will be launched by brokers in coming days will help people who are financing (which is typical) to have a chance.
There were some excellent national metrics released last week that are worth noting here. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 18.8% over the 12 months (ending in December), unchanged from the prior month. This calendar-year increase was the highest since since they started reporting in 1987.
Interest rates are also higher with a 30-year average at 3.92% according to the WSJ. Experts think this will really slow down the buying pace, but mostly in areas with lower median home prices and primarily first-time buyers - which is not Boston’s Metro West area.
After writing this blog, it was posted that 35 Sawyer Road, Wellesley which was on for $1.85M closed in a week at $2.7M with a cash offer. This is 32% over asking! The sellers purchased the same house in 2018 for $1.54M and have not made huge capital improvements. So far this is an unprecedented sale, and definitely an outlier statistic worth noting.
Can you believe it’s almost been two years of this frenzy? It started last April right after Covid initially hit. This story is far from over and I will keep documenting what I see. What a wild ride it’s been. Thanks for being there with me!
Have a great week!