For the past 10 weeks, there have been less and less new listings each week in Newton, Needham, and Wellesley.  In spite of that, the buyers have continued to buy.  This week, Wellesley had another strong showing with 9 homes / condos going under agreement.  The result is an unbroken trend of 11 weeks in a row where the number of homes / condos on the market has declined in all three towns.  Here are the details:

NEWTON:  New - 3, Under Agreement - 15, On Market - 222.  The number of homes / condos going under agreement has been swinging quite a bit week-to-week in Newton.  This week 15, last week 25, the weeks before that 15, 21, 33, 17.  One thing to keep in mind is that the population of Newton is three times that of Needham and Wellesley so there are many more homes / condos.  When you see a number like 15 in Newton, that is a much smaller percentage of the total inventory than Wellesley's 9 homes / condos under agreement this week.

New listing of the week => Listing of the week update:  Last week I talked about 94 Vine St and said I thought it would go quickly.  I was right as after only 6 days it is already under agreement.  This week, 297 River St at $759k looks interesting.  It sits on almost an acre of land and has been totally renovated.  It has 4 bedrooms and two baths but lacks the master bath and has no garage. 

NEEDHAM:  New - 1, Under Agreement - 3, On Market - 109.  All I can say about the Needham real estate market this week is, "how about those Patriots?"  Wasn't that fun watching them carve up Da Bears in the Chicago snow globe?  Lets home they can do the same against Green Bay.  I just heard Aaron Rogers has been ruled out for tomorrow's game.

New listing of the week => 96 Glendale Rd, $1.74m.  This new construction, built by Ted Thomas, one of Needham's premier builders, has 5800 square feet of living space on four floors.  It sits on a 1/3 acre lot in a wonderful neighborhood off Clarke Circle.  13 rooms, 5 bedrooms, and 5.5 baths, make this one of Needham's signature homes and the detail work give this new construction the character of homes built 100 years ago.  The phrase, "they don't make them like they used to" doesn't apply to Ted Thomas and the homes he builds. 

WELLESLEY:  New - 1, Under Agreement - 9, On Market - 139.  Wellesley had another impressive week putting 9 homes / condos under agreement.  Of those homes / condos, 5 of them were over $1m and three of them were over $1.5m.  The average value of the homes sold in Wellesley continues to be far above Newton and Needham and all signs point to a very strong spring market for the high end homes.

New listing of the week => 44 Fox Hill Rd, $3.195m.  Not to be outdone by Needham's Glendale Rd, Wellesley's new listing of the week is an impressive home itself with 14 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 5 full and 2 half baths, and 7200 square feet of living space on three floors (first, second, and basement).  In the Audubon / Upham area of Wellesley, this home sits on 1/2 acre of land in one of Wellesley's nicest neighborhoods.

(download)

Click here to download:

this-week-home-condo-sales-strong-in-wellesley-market-quiet-in-newton-and-needham-inventories-continue-decline-EmhlklCqhbslaBFDfscq.zip (102 KB)

This week, as I predicted last Friday, all three towns saw a jump in the number of homes / condos that went under agreement.  Meanwhile, the sellers continue to hide under their rocks with very limited numbers of new listings this week.  Here's the scoop town by town:

NEWTON:  New listings = 2, Under Agreement listings = 25, On the Market listings = 242.  Newton hit a low mark for new listings this week.  Since last March when I started keeping these stats, this is Newton's lowest number.  On the flip side, it was the 3rd best number of under agreement listings since July.  As you would expect, this trend is continuing to push down the number of homes on the market.  This tells me that the buyers are out there but not the sellers so if you are looking to sell, now could be a very good time to list your home.

New listing of the week =>  55 Windsor Road, $3,500,000 - This beautiful Waban victorian is already under agreement so it has to be the home of the week.  If you have been following my updates, you know I'm a fan of victorians and this one is truly an amazing home.

NEEDHAM:  New listings = 4, Under Agreement listings = 5, On the Market listings = 113

New listing of the week => 218 May Street, $800,000 - This 2527 square foot cape has 4 bedrooms and many fun and interesting spaces.  The kitchen is beautiful and has lots of light.  The dining room has a very cool built in cabinet, the fireplaced family room is great for entertaining, and the basement playroom has a very cute wall mural of a treed landscape.  Walk to everything.

WELLESLEY:  New listings = 1, Under Agreement listings = 12, On the Market listings = 151

New listing of the week => 5 Harris Ave, $1,250,000 - This 2006 colonial is located off route 9 over by Harvard Pilgrim.  It has 4 floors of living with a finished basement and third floor.  Multiple high end features, like its wine cellar, make this home one to consider.

Again this week, the buyer activity far outpaced the new listing activity which continued to drive down the home / condo inventory in Newton, Needham, and Wellesley.  Even with the Thanksgiving holiday, homes (many that had been on the market for a long while) continued to go under agreement.

Here's the town-by-town scoop:

NEWTON:  New = 7, under agreement = 15, on the market = 259.  At 15, the number of homes that went under agreement was on par with the dog days of summer but four of them were over a million dollars and one was $6.5m.  Meanwhile, the number on the market continued the downward trend that started at the end of September and is now at its lowest point since I started tracking the stats back in March.  Before this slide, the lowest point was 300 back in early September.

New listing of the week - 224 Melrose St - $749k.  Great character-filled victorian home on over 1/3 acre lot in a great neighborhood close to a park and 128.  Also worth mentioning is 86 Waban Ave at $1.2m.  Being walking distance to one of my favorite restaurants (Kouzina) is almost enough to convince me to take on this project home.  Certainly, the investment required to bring this home up to date will be well worth it in this super prime Waban location surrounded by many high end homes.

NEEDHAM:  New = 0, under agreement = 4, on the market = 119.  Well, the new listings hit the floor at zero this week.  On the other hand, three of the four homes / condos that went under agreement were over a million dollars with two of them around $1.5m.  Those high end homes were on the market between 95 and 127 days.  Even with no new listings, the buyers continue to pick through the homes on the market.  Don't be surprised if the number of homes / condos in Needham dips below 100 before the new year.

New listing of the week - Sorry Needham fans.  New new listings this week means no listing of the week.  Instead, how about my favorite home on the market?  That would have to be 53 Glendoon Road.  The former location of the Needham Historical Society, this 3624 square feet home built in 1710 is on the National Register of Historic Places.  There are many other homes to choose from at all price points but this is the only opportunity to truly own a piece of Needham's history.

WELLESLEY:  New = 2, under agreement = 6, on the market = 162.  Often, Wellesley runs counter to Needham and Wellesley and this week was no different.  While the high end homes / condos sold well in Newton and Needham this week, of the 6 homes / condos that went under agreement this week in Wellesley, only one of them was over a million dollars.

New listing of the week - 9 Hundreds Circle, $2.36m.  What a wonderful home!  Amazing character, tons of space, 1.3 acre lot in the Farms neighborhood, this one has it all.  It is selling at a premium but it offers a lot to those looking in that price range.  Do you buy the huge new construction in Needham or this classic home in Wellesley.  Nice to have that option.  The huge new constructions will come and go but homes like this are rare.

There wasn't much new in November from a year-to-date perspective in Newton, Needham, and Wellesley real estate. 

WELLESLEY: The graphs below continue to show that the average home / condo sale price in Wellesley is somewhat lower this year ($1.058m) vs last year at this point ($1.081m), but more Wellesley homes / condos have sold this year (301) vs last year at this point (266). 

NEWTON: In Newton, more homes have sold for more money this year vs last year. Newton has seen 705 sell YTD vs 680 last year at this point.  The average sale price of a Newton home / condo YTD is $739k vs $717k last year at this point.

NEEDHAM: Needham has also seen more homes / condos sell for more money YTD vs last year.  Newton has seen 321 sell YTD vs 289 last year at this point.  The average sale price of a Newton home / condo YTD is $756k vs $728k last year at this point.

DAYS TO SELL:  While the inventory of homes currently on the market is dropping in all three towns, the number of days that a home was on the market when it sold remains pretty consistent in all three towns with Wellesley having the higest number of days at 126, then Needham at 95, then Newton at 89.