The Metrowest Daily News recently reported that single-family home sale prices in Southborough fell by 34% the first five months of the year as compared to 2008. With that not-so-encouraging news (unless you’re looking to buy in town), let’s take a look at the market this week.
Thanks to Doug McClain (email) of Century 21 Commonwealth Realty for supplying the listing information.
New on the market
- 211 Cordaville Rd (map) – 6 room, 3 bed, 1.5 bath Split-Entry – $299,000
- 22 Rockpoint Rd (map) – 9 room, 3 bed, 2 bath Split-Entry – $319,000
- 29 Woodland Road (map) – 10 room, 4 bed, 2.5 bath Colonial – $649,900
Sale pending
No houses went under agreement this week
Sold
- 4 Oregon Road (map) – 5 room, 3 bed, 1 bath Ranch – Listed at $248,900 – Sold for $238,000 – 52 days on market
I moved to Southborough in 2004. I always loved the town. I am wondering why property values are declining so fast. I think part of the problem is traffic, tolls and a tough commute. I think another part of the problem is Southborough has no commercial center. The basic amenities such as a cup of Starbucks, good pizza, a movie and a whole lot more means we have to get in the car and leave town. Living here is more commitment than convenient.
I grew up here and I love our town center. I love, that with the exception of Mr. Margaritis’ drug store and the old garage/vacant lot, it has remained the same group of small independent businesses’ that were there when I was a kid. I think it’s great that we don’t have a CVS or a Dunkin’ Donuts and the drive to White’s Corner for coffee doesn’t bother me a bit. A trip to Northborough’s town center is a great lesson in the fact that more commerce does not necessarily make for a more vibrant or attractive town center. Our center of town could certainly use sprucing up but hopefully the town plan will address some of that. In fact, I think the quaintness of our town is part of the reason that when the housing market started to decline our real estate values held up better than many neighboring towns. It was bound to catch up to us, and it is now, but when the market comes back I think that the character of our town which is exemplified by our small and quirky town center will make us just as attractive to people as we have always been…plus Southborough House of Pizza is really good!
I too have recently moved to Southborough and what we love most is its small town feel, such a rarity in the metro Boston area.
Southborough’s rural roots are still very evident and that’s part of the charm that attracted us. I also like that ANYTHING I may need is just 10-15 minutes away, which helps to keep much of the commercial traffic out of town.
I too wonder why Southborough property values are dropping so fast. Does anyone have any insights?
I too am a new resident in Southborough, having purchased a home here two years ago. Math is typically not my strong suit, so maybe someone else can explain more accurately, but I think this is a case of misleading numbers.
If you look at the Warren Group data, only 23 home sold from Jan-May in 2009, compared to 31 during the same period in 2008. So, Southborough data can be challenging due to the small sample size. Furthermore, for the year to date data in 2009, all sales were under $900,000.
Perhaps it’s just a case of the homes that were put on the market, and that sold, were homes on the less expensive end of the scale. That doesn’t seem to have much to do with the overall value of all of the other homes in town. Plus, the winter months are not the prime time to sell real estate.
I do think we have seen a decline in home values, but my hunch is that it’s no more than 10%, and likely in the single digits.
The article from the Worcester Business Journal is misleading, I have been watching a number of houses listed over the past year, and most of them are selling pretty close to their assessed value. If you look at what they are listed for, and what they actually sold for, most of them are withing 10-15% of the listed price. Yes, some of the listed prices were dropped, but most were dropped to close to their assessed value…