Word of mouth on the Arlington single family home market is that there are currently more buyers than homes. Judging from the crowds at the open houses we went to today I’d say that the buyer’s market probably is breaking up. Perhaps things will change as more homes come on the market with the approach of spring/summer.
We went to two places today. I liked the first way better than the second - I hope we will be able to find more places like it when purchase time draws near. A word on that - it looks like we will have about 3-4 months of low key looking and then two months of prime time purchase searching (June/July). If we were to find a place like (1) still available in May, I think I’d jump on it with an offer.
We also took a drive to an area that I’ll call abandoned hospital hill’. I’d mentioned this area a few posts ago. It isn’t nearly so bad when you see it in person - the abandoned hospital is largely screened from most views in the area. The neighbor hood is really nice and reminds of some of the money looking places we checked out in areas like Newton & Lexington. There are some awesome views of Boston from this area and a lot of single family homes. We might be able to score a house in the area if we are lucky, but it would be at the upper end of our purchase range.
Anyway - on to the houses we saw today.
1) 36 Park Ave Ext.
We both loved this place. If we were in a position to buy I would be putting offers in on this! Wonderful layout, great woodwork, and a nice lot (that included a pretty damn cool playhouse w/ slide!). The basement was a little ratty, but definitely not the worst I’ve ever seen. The neighborhood and school district were both acceptable. Park Ave can be busy but the extension region isn’t that bad.
2) 82 Sunset
This is a house that I’d say is ‘ok’. I could settle for it in a pinch, but it would not be my first choice. The home is essentially a single floor setup with a converted attic that would work for a combination child’s room/play area. My guess is that it gets pretty damn hot up there in the summer. I didn’t like the color too much, whereas Barb said she did. Siding color is a minor thing, but on a marginal choice like this it certainly helps tip it towards the negative side for me.
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