According to a list released on Jan. 15 by online real estate brokerage Redfin, Waltham is in the top three hottest emerging neighborhoods in the Greater Boston area.
The list, which was determined by sales volume value, median sales prices and sale-to-list price ratios among other factors, reveals statistics and rankings for growing communities in the Greater Boston area for 2013.
The Warren Group reported that the median home price in Waltham is $378,700, and according to a Jan. 15 article from Boston Real Estate Now, sales have risen 18.8 percent while inventory has declined over 21 percent.
Waltham made the list just behind Somerville as number one and Medford as number two. These Cambridge satellite communities have been experiencing growth while university graduates and attendees seek reasonably priced homes and proximity to Boston. “An affordable neighborhood for first-time homebuyers, Waltham is a nice alternative to Lexington or Arlington, which are close by but out of reach price-wise,” said Redfin agent Sandy Rosen in Waltham’s write-up.
Some University students were surprised that Waltham was named the third up-and-coming city in the Greater Boston area, but said that they could understand the reasoning behind the ranking and popularity.
“It’s exciting that Waltham can be both a college town and have a nice community … It’s a good environment for a variety of people,” said Ryan Jordan ’15 in an interview with the Justice.
“I wouldn’t have thought of it, but now that I think about it, there’s a lot of different stuff happening in Waltham,” he continued.
Other students attribute the popularity to other factors outside of the University’s presence in Waltham.
“The majority of towns in Boston don’t have the number of businesses and variety of people. … It’s close to Boston and has small businesses,” said Adrianne Wurzl ’14, who resides locally, in an interview with the Justice.
University students whose families reside in Waltham commented on the disparity between the areas within the city of Waltham.
“Cedarwood … consists mostly of older residents … Warrendale was similar, but around the time I moved there, there seemed to be a general influx of younger families most of which are older now and have kids around my age,” said John Shen ’13 who has lived in Waltham since the age of three in an email to the Justice.
“Nowadays, the younger families would seem to be buying houses more in the north by Lake Street and by the Newton border in addition to Warrendale.”
According to Shen, his family chose to live in Waltham to be near his father’s job at Bentley University, which was also the school at which his mother was pursuing her master’s degree.
“My personal plans involve getting far away from Waltham as soon as I graduate,” said Shen. “I have nothing but fond memories of Brandeis and am extremely thankful to have lived and grown up in Waltham, but it is time for me to get out into the world.”
Some students such as Brittany Lerman ’14 see Waltham as a location to solely venture into for food or errands.
“I never viewed it as a hot spot,” said Lerman in an interview with the Justice. “But there’s more to Waltham than the area that we’re in, and it is affordable and close to Boston.”