bostonbubble.com

[balor123]

Housing overall in MetroWest (Waltham, Lexington, Wellesly, Newton) seems to be declining but I've noticed that one segment of the market seems to be bucking the trend: new construction. I'm primarily looking in Waltham because there isn't much new in surrounding areas but here prices seem to have appreciated significantly for these properties in the past 2 years. Houses built in 2006 for 400k are now selling for 500k. I'm looking at one complex now with the following data according to masslandrecords.com:

5/4/2007 $429k
5/31/2007 $470k
6/29/2007 $485k
7/2/2007 $468k
10/5/2007 $499.9k
3/27/2008 $490k

Note that the last price is actually 1k above the asking price! They are all nearly identical units (some have two fireplaces and are slightly larger, listed for 10k higher right now).

I've come up with a few reasons why this might be.
1) New construction is hot right now
2) Price of construction materials has risen

I don't know what to make of a price history like this. These units are very cheap for Waltham ($200/sq ft) but with that kind of appreciation worries me. What are your thoughts?

[Brian C]

Waltham has LOT of older housing stock. Granted over the last few years, there has been alot of developers tearing down houses and replacing them with condo duplexes, but overall lots of stuff from the 30's-40's.

You are seeing exactly what other parts of the country are experiencing. Why spend $400k on a 60 yr old house that needs renovations, when you can spend a little more and get all brand new!

Right now I have the median house value in Waltham around $418k (1895sq ft average) or $220 sq/ft! So for $20 LESS you getting brand new, its a no brainer.

This will only push housing prices down even further!