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Boston Globe

Greater Boston home buyer hot spots

Ally Rzesa/GLOBE STAFF Advertisement The median sales price for a Lexington home was $2.9 million in February, Malkhasian also said in this post-COVID era, Hyde Park ($600,000) and West Roxbury ($825,000) are popular places for buyers who want something closer to the city, but wish to have a backyard. Dave Twombly is the principal broker/owner of Cambridge — where 14 homes sold in February at a median price of close to $2.5 million — is always a draw for those who can afford to live there. Single-family homes are hard to come by in Cambridge. Erin Clark/Globe Staff 'In the dead of last winter, I had clients in my neighborhood make an offer on a single-family home for close to $300,000 over asking, and they got beat out by another buyer because it was a single-family house in Cambridge,' he said. Many Cambridge buyers are committed to living in that city and will do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to buy a home there. Other communities just aren't like that, he said. Advertisement And the surge of the spring house hunt hasn't even begun yet. North of Boston Malkhasian said Melrose ($771,000) is a very hot community. It's got proximity to Boston, commuter rail, good schools, and a low crime rate. But on the day she spoke to the Globe, there were only four single-family homes for sale. 'The communities where inventory [are] very low is where you're going to see the crazy bidding wars and the waiving of all contingencies,' she said. 'We're even getting properties where buyers are obtaining a mortgage but are waiving their mortgage contingency [a clause giving the buyer the right to back out of the contract and have their deposit returned if they can't secure a mortgage] in an effort to compete with cash offers.' Homes in Melrose are quickly snapped up, but there are not many on the market. Surette Media Group Rich Rosa, cofounder and co-owner of Kevin Sexton of Reading ($951,600) has overtaken Melrose in desirability because it provides more land at a better value. 'People come to Reading from places like Cambridge, Winchester, and Arlington,' Sexton said. 'If they feel priced out of Reading, they used to go to Andover ($795,000), but since COVID, prices there have gone through the roof. If they can't afford Reading, they move out to Wilmington ($675,000) and even Tewksbury ($725,000). Houses in Reading and Wilmington still regularly sell for over the asking price.' Advertisement South of Boston Hillary Birch is with Quincy is a popular South Shore destination because of access to restaurants and the Red Line T station. Handout 'The first group is looking at Quincy ($650,000), Milton ($845,000), and Braintree ($654,000), but predominantly Quincy, she said. 'They still want access to restaurants and the Red Line T station. The second group is OK with being a little farther from the city and is usually looking in Norwell ($992,500), Hanover ($645,000), and if they can afford it, Hingham ($1.4 million).' But that hasn't always been the case. 'Quincy has gotten more expensive in recent years,' she said. 'If your budget is, say, $800,000, you can get a little bit more house in a nice town like Hanover than you can Quincy. The development that's happened in Quincy has elevated pricing. And people who fled the city during COVID and moved to somewhere like Plymouth, they're coming back.' West of Boston David Bates of Arlington ($1.2 million) and Needham ($1.6 million) are two popular buyer destinations west of Boston. And the numbers tell the story. Once listed for sale, single-family homes in Arlington are sold quickly. Matthew McNamara/Media by Domino 'In Arlington, the median sale price to list price ratio in 2024 was 104.25 percent,' he said. 'In 2023 it was 103.45 percent, which is very good. The median number of days to offer on sold properties was just six. It's practically impossible to get lower — kind of like it's impossible to have 100 percent employment. Advertisement Bates said there is reason to think there is even more room for growth. 'Arlington home prices could get a bump from new Cambridge zoning, which eliminates single-family zones,' he said. 'Arlington also borders other very good markets, like Cambridge, Winchester, and Medford. It is ahead of the game in 'In 2024, the median sale price of a single-family home in Needham was up $205,000 from 2023 according to MLS data, and was 101.3 percent of the asking price,' he said. 'There's great schools, new construction for sale, commuter rail access, and it borders some prestigious markets, like Wellesley, Newton, and Dover.' Jim Morrison can be reached at . Follow him on X .