As I pedaled around town yesterday morning, my half-hour route carrying me through parts of Waban, the Highlands, and Newton Centre, I passed seven porta-potties. Two of them stood in front of houses undergoing modest renovations. The other five fronted teardowns in various states of reconstruction. The footprints of those projects, needless to say, were enormous. Had I taken other routes, I’d have witnessed the same scenarios.
The Pandemic, no doubt, has inspired many homeowners to undertake renovations. Since fewer residents are traveling or otherwise spending disposable income, many have decided instead to invest in their own properties. Long delayed repairs are coming to fruition, and some citizens have even replaced their fossil fuel systems with heat pumps and mini-splits. My wife and I have had our rotting garage doors removed and replaced.
The challenge for those wanting to follow suit: most contractors have more requests for their service than they have space in their calendars. In addition, some projects face delays because of difficulties in the supply chain. We waited four months until the new garage doors were delivered to our contractor.
As for teardowns, we must once again acknowledge the obvious: Newton is increasingly a home for society’s winners, those with large salaries and disposable income. If you didn’t get into the market decades ago, you will pay through the nose to move in now.
At first it puzzled me: Why would a young family with one or two children want to purchase a McMansion with five or six bedrooms? A city councilor explained it to me. Buyers don’t order their custom McMansions. Developers purchase a Cape, Ranch, or Colonial, tear it down, and replace it with a McMansion costing from two to four million dollars. Then, when a purchaser considers moving to Newton, a realtor reports that the properties available are all expensive. In other words, “If you want in, you gotta have the goods.” So it goes.
Another first-world problem: the burgeoning population of wild turkeys, who face no such difficulty moving here! In principle, I am supportive of peaceful coexistence between residents and wild animals. As their habitats shrink elsewhere, Newton is overflowing with deer, rabbits, coyotes, small mammals, chipmunks, raccoons, foxes…and wild turkeys! Happily, the Internet confirms that turkeys gobble up ticks of all sorts, potentially protecting us from lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
At the same time, wild turkeys can be pests, threatening homeowners and pooping all over their property. An extended family of turkeys has taken residence in the green space adjoining my property. They visit my yard daily and saunter down my driveway, leaving mementos in plain sight. I fear that they will cause long-term damage to our shrubs. So, it goes.
Developers fill a need that responds to market forces. We can all debate how greedy they are or aren’t, but many people moving into Newton nowadays want big houses. People are not moving into them because that is the only option they have to live in Newton or they are doing what real estate agents are telling them. They are making a conscious informed and educated decision based on their needs, finances, and values.
Given the cost of housing in the greater Boston area, it is not economically feasible for a developer to build a single ranch house on a lot. Do buyers really want to spend over a million dollars to live in a 1200 s.q. ft ranch built in the 1950s? I I think not. Personally, I value a yard over a large house and wouldn’t move to into a McMansion anywhere if I had the financial resources, but many people define value as the most house for the money.
The 1,200-square foot ranches are probably closer to $800,000, but the point is well taken.
We moved back to Newton a dozen years ago, into one of those early ’50s ranches. It cost less than half of what it would go for now.
We have raised two kids in the house and it can feel claustrophobic at times, especially as our son and daughter became teenagers. Still, we have been blessed.
I don’t think it’s completely accurate to label all the new homes “McMansions,” though there are plenty of those. But I also see many new homes in the 3,000 square-foot range; more than twice as big as the original, but not all that huge. A really comfortable space for 4-5 people.
Wished I could afford one.
My view on the turkeys is that they seem to have a lot of chutzpah!
Bob,
What would you like to see regarding real estate in Newton in your ‘ideal world’?
Sounds like you think Newton should cap all future home sizes to 1800sqft as a form of price control?
The price of land in Newton is relative to brookline and boston.
So 2 graduate engineers = 240k annual. Using the traditional 3x income = 720k house. And thats just a couple of years out of college.
You then have the new grads from the big tech players making 170k starting (our company makes these offers all day, so i can confirm this) and now you know who is buying all these million dollar homes.
Ie. Its affordable… its just not affordable to YOU.
I think you’re making Bob’s point Bukek. To buy into the very bottom of Newton today you need two incomes way above the median. Sure, those people do indeed exist and those houses do indeed sell.
Newton has always been home to those people. What has changed in recent years is that Newton is now only home to those people, other than the ones who bought their houses in an earlier era.
actually, I think what has changed is that there are MORE high earners than before. The majority of job growth in Boston area has been from tech (biotech, web, tech).
Before only Dr’s and lawyers could afford to live in waban and prime newton center, now there is enough of them that they bid up all parts of Newton.
reminiscing about the old times (even just 20 years ago) is not realistic, how many new grads could be making more than a Dr back then? not that many. Now, its common place. Because we want to cram all the jobs in a single location, there simply is not enough homes with short commute, low crime and good schools..
There are plenty of affordable homes.. just not with the 3 factors listed… and that’s just reality. Remove the good schools or low crime from Newton and I guarantee you it will become “more” affordable compared to watertown/waltham.
Honestly, if we keep our current zoning and are a town defined by single family homes on -comparatively- large lots with large yards, this is who we’re gonna get.
Being honest, this is who we were getting 10 years when my husband and I moved in (2 engineers), or 6-ish when our next door neighbor moved in (1 engineer, 10 years later in her career, and a marketing professional) and the house across the street went to a couple of lawyers, one who took time to be a stay at home parent to their babies/toddlers and the other who took the train downtown to work at BigLaw.
As far as I can tell, if you’re not earning this kind of cash, you moved in at least 20 years ago. Would love to hear otherwise, but this seems to be the path Newton has – actively or passively – picked.
Anne:
Yep. I think we won’t feel the full effect of this for a few more years, as many of the folks who are moving in now lived elsewhere with similar increases. JP townhomes are now going for north of 1 million, nowhere near the pond. If you make a bundle on your first home, you can afford Newton. But for first time homebuyers, there just is very little in Newton unless they come with a large deposit or come with large incomes.
I’ll also note that the folks who have moved in near me either have no kids, or are sending their kids to private schools for middle school and high school. As the homes go north of 1.5 million, more likely you can afford private school tuition.
No, I have no simplistic solutions at this point. At an earlier stage city government could have directed trends in housing through regulation, but it pretty much got out of the way and allowed “market forces” to rule the day. I know, of course, that many of you oppose “the heavy hand of government” in any event.
As it stands, developers are in control of the game. Newton is getting richer and richer, and some of us are nostalgic for the days when a young couple could purchase a starter home in the Garden City, and one income usually could cover expenses. So it was when we bought in back in the early 80s. To move here now requires a partnership of high incomes in most instances. It’s a tough market.
those days are long gone. As soon as double income became the norm, ppl just bid up nice homes. Also back in the 80’s, rich = Dr or lawyer from ivy league. Now, tech has removed the barrier for high paying jobs from select schools.
The starting pay for my profession used to be 60k in late 90s.. its now 120k. That alone tells u its unrealistic to compare to prices of yesterday. Now with inflation, all bets are off.
either wish for a recession or for mortgage rates to go back to historical norms (7%)
I agree with you. Easy money through QE has devalued buying power of consumers. Although prices look more relative to yester years, they are as per the relevant hidden inflation.
As inflation will catch up to QE, R E market will adjust to the reality. With 5-6% interest rate there will be few buyers (even with dual income of $120K/annum) who will be able to afford $2M houses.
This is a transition of society. Thus far Ivy League Docs and Lawyers are elites. Technology is a disruptor and will add technologist into this group and eventually replace them to a greater extend.
my humble perspective.
I think the days when one modest income could cover expenses to purchase a house, afford health care, and pay for college is long long gone in any middle to upper middle class community anywhere in this country, not just Newton.
I think the days when one modest income could cover expenses to purchase a house, afford health care, and pay for college is long long gone in any middle to upper middle class community anywhere in this country, not just Newton.
Here we go again….!
Self proclaimed “housing advocates” lament the loss of entry level homes, and a “housing crisis” that loomed a dozen years ago which sits squarely on our laps today. #firstworldproblems
Their solve…to “loosen up” zoning so developers can build countless $4k/mo, 2bdrm “market rate” apartments…making it hard for young aspiring home owners to save any money for a down payment… while developers get richer flooding neighborhoods with 5-over-1, cookie cutter buildings with focus group inspired names, creating a foundation for life long revenue streams (renters) and effectively leaving future home ownership only for the well heeled (or those lucky enough to inherit existing property).