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Move In Milton, MA 02186 Upgraded Colonial

June 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
400-Blue-Hill-Milton-3-houses4

400-Blue-Hill-Milton-2nd-floor-hall

This home at 400 Blue Hill Avenue is move in ready. Polished hardwood floors throughout, new appliances, upgraded bathrooms there are three full bathrooms, a three season sundeck and a nice back yard.  A 3 bedroom colonial in Milton is the perfect size. 400 Blue Hill Avenue in Milton has a separate side entrance that opens into a fully refinished basement with a full bathroom.  If you are a family that likes sports, this is a home that allows your athletes to come in and shower where the laundry is, very convenient for those hockey families that enjoy the popular town sport.

This home is within walking distance of Tucker Elementary, Pierce Middle School and the Milton High School.  The home is a bike ride from the Blue Hills and skiing, hiking, biking and other outdoor activities. The schools in Milton are part of the reason CNN Money has ranked Milton MA as one of the top towns in all the USA to live in.  While you are not inside the city limits of Boston, you are right next door and the public transportation to downtown, the airport, Harvard Yard, wherever you might want to travel is right close by and minutes away.

400 Blue Hill Avenue Milton Refinished Basement

Growing up in Milton there are opportunities that are shared with a diverse and interesting community of people who may not share anything more than a love of living in Milton.  There are neighborhood block parties, cookie swaps, book clubs and town sports and music programs. There are parades on Memorial Day and music played all summer at the gazebo.  Both public and private schools in Milton are well regarded by all except their chief rival. All in all, Milton is a good town and 400 Blue Hill Avenue is a good home to consider.

Listing Price: 399000.00
Address: 400 Blue Hill Avenue
City: Milton
State: MA
ZIP: 02186
MLS # (if any): 71395489
Square Feet: 2222
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3 F
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished, Walk out

Filed Under: 3 bedroom, Archive, Boston, Featured, Milton Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

European Sensibility, Contemporary Living. Weston Home for sale

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
63_Westcliff_Weston_Master3

63 West Cliff, Weston, MA Patio

Weston MA does not have a whole lot of European Sensibility, Contemporary Living in the many beautiful center entrance colonials that dot the landscape in the town.  Contemporary homes have a different feel to them.  63 Westcliff Road in Weston is a showcase of this living.  Designed by noted architect Maurice K Smith and built in 1968 this home stands the test of time in providing unique living space and a connection to the landscape from every room.  Built in the “Block” style of architecture each individual room has it’s own unique connection to the landscape in which it is place.  Each bedroom has it’s own balcony.  The dining room is awash with light throughout the day because it has windows on both sides.

A screened in porch is attached to the casual family room off the kitchen for quiet cocktails nestled into the trees, or listening to the Red Sox battle for supremacy throughout the season.  A sound system upgrade throughout the house and outside was added by the current owners.  So too, the lighting system and electrical system was completely upgraded by the owners during their stewardship of this wonderful home.More upgrades, like the kitchen appliances, a wine cellar and a fully finished exercise room and play room in the basement make this home feel much larger than it’s square footage.

63 West Cliff, Weston, MA

Sunday March 11 from 1-3PM we will have an Open House.  This home was featured by both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald as the Home of the Week for good reason.  Living in a home with such design and style is not for everyone.  The sensibility is more European than New England.  This is a home that is not like your neighbors, but one that can reflect your own sensibility and design.  Block architecture is described as the design of each room separately so that it has the best light from outside, the best placement on the landscape and fully function in and of it’s own.  When all the rooms are finished with their specific design then the architect goes about putting it all together in a cohesive manner.  What happens then is that the homes outside is not block like as with Center Entrance Colonials.  The form fits the landscape in a way that you can view out and view back in to your home in differing ways through the house.  63 Westcliff Road is worth the visit, come to the Open House this Sunday March 11 from 1-3 and see for yourself.

Listing Price: 1,595,000
Address: 63 Westcliff Road
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71298492
Square Feet: 3340
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3F 2H
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full finished

Filed Under: Archive, Boston, contemporary, Featured, Featured Post, good schools, MA, Open House Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Weston MA 02493 Housing Report Single Family

March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
63Westcliff_topTen_f

63 Westcliff Road, Weston, MA 02493

With the weather turning springlike again it is time for Open Houses and the ritual of looking for your next home.  Activity has not been crazy in Weston this last month.  Things are still moving slightly slow, although there was one agent who was interviewed for a local media outlet and this agent reported that $2 million dollar homes in Weston were going quickly.  Sadly this agent is full of it and her “puffery” incriminates all agents.  Here are the real facts from MLS.

Single Family Active Listings: 78    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 5,255.91     Avg. List$: $2,496,253    Avg. List$/SqFt: $429     Avg. DOM: 195.36   

Single Family Under Agreement Listings: 11    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 12,679.55     Avg. List$: $1,291,636    Avg. List$/SqFt: $309     Avg. DOM: 129.27

 

63 Westcliff Road, Weston, MA 02493

Single Family Sold Listings: 5    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 4,326.20     Avg. List$: $1,483,980    Avg. List$/SqFt: $337     Avg. DOM: 205.20    Avg. Sale$: $1,332,405   Avg. Sale$/SqFt: $313

As I can see from the statistics there was only ONE house sold in the $2 million dollar price range.  That is no stampede.  Days on market is really atrocious at this point.  What I do like to see is that the Under Agreement days coming down into more normal ranges. This bodes well for 2012.  There is a lot of pent up desire for new homes and people getting their homes sold. The excitement on the street is strong, but you will never find a good agent making up numbers just because some media outlet put a microphone in front of them.

Single Family Expired Listings: 5    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 5,851.80     Avg. List$: $2,422,800    Avg. List$/SqFt: $394     Avg. DOM: 179.80   

Single Family Canceled Listings: 2    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 3,350.50     Avg. List$: $1,025,000    Avg. List$/SqFt: $303     Avg. DOM: 215.00  

OPEN HOUSE MARCH 11, 1-3 PM

Listing Price: 1,595,000
Address: 63 Westcliff Road
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71298492
Square Feet: 3340
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3F 2H
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished

Filed Under: Boston, contemporary, Featured, Featured Post, MA, Market Report, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Weston, MA A town for nature lover’s near the city

March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
63 West Cliff, Weston, MAWest

Westcliff Road, Weston, MA

Weston, Massachusetts is the perfect community for people who love the urban culture and nightlife of a city like Boston, but want to live with a connection to nature and the outdoors. This homey, bedroom community, just 12 miles west of the city, is close to Boston, yet worlds away.

Despite its close proximity to Boston, the town has demonstrated a longtime commitment to land stewardship. The Weston Land Trust and Land’s Sake are non-profits dedicated to the preservation of open space and responsible land management. The Weston Forest and Trail Association is also engaged in conservation activities as well as promoting Weston’s conservation areas as recreational venues. The town maintains more than 60 miles of hiking and horseback riding trails, playgrounds, ball fields, golf courses and cross-country skiing areas.

OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY MARCH 11 FROM 1-3

63 West Cliff, Weston, MA 02493

For nature enthusiasts who wish they could be outdoors year round or at least feel like they were, the home located at 63 Westcliff Road in Weston allows its occupants to do just that.  This beautiful modern home was built by Maurice K Smith, a famous MIT trained architect and long time professor of architecture there. The house is perfectly integrated into its wooded setting. Its  large windows, many balconies and porches, and organic forms blur the lines between inside and out, allowing its occupants to fully experience the changing seasons throughout the year. In the spring, the house is lost in an explosion of greenery; in the fall, there’s a dazzling display of color; in winter, the abstract forms of the trees are highlighted by a sparkling layer of snow. More dramatic weather produces an even more dramatic effect giving the house an almost mystical quality. Imagine being completely surrounded by a dazzling lighting storm while sipping wine on the couch or sitting beside a cozy fire watching snow softly cover the entire landscape.

Weston allows its residents to live the paradox of being  urbane nature lovers. The house at 63 Westcliff takes this to the next level.  Weston MA is a town for nature lover’s who want to be near the city.

Listing Price: 1,595,000
Address: 63 Westcliff
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71298492
Square Feet: 3340
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3F 2H
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished

Filed Under: Boston, contemporary, Featured, Featured Post, good schools, MA, Open House, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Milton, MA 02186 Single Family Housing Report November 2011

December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Screen shot 2011-12-07 at 10.39.40 AM

Milton, MA 02186 Contemporary Home for Sale

Milton, MA 02186 Single Family Housing Report November 2011. With 138 homes on the market in November spread out through Active, Under Agreement, SOLD, Canceled and Expired it has been a busy month.  The statistics show and the media has reported that things are settling down in the market. Although there are still foreclosures to come on the market, there is a stability in pricing. What this translates to is that don’t expect to get a home for way under value, the houses are priced right for their value and the List Price to Sale Price has been and is somewhat stable for a buyers market.  To the numbers we go.

Single Family Active Listings: 82    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 2,978.71     Avg. List$: $769,083    Avg. List$/SqFt: $256     Avg. DOM: 153.88   

Single Family Under Agreement Listings: 19    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 2,177.67     Avg. List$: $513,095    Avg. List$/SqFt: $239     Avg. DOM: 86.63   

Single Family Sold Listings: 21    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 2,030.14     Avg. List$: $496,153    Avg. List$/SqFt: $251     Avg. DOM: 116.62    Avg. Sale$: $479,133   Avg. Sale$/SqFt: $243

Milton, MA 02186 Contemporary Home for Sale

On further look at the Active versus Under Agreement numbers you see that the Sale price and average Days on Marked for the Actives are twice what the price and DOM are for the Under Agreements.  People are searching for affordable and starter homes.  There is a market in this price range that is very normal.  The Sold’s fall in between the DOM with the price point being closer to the UAG listings.  If you have a home in this price range you are in the sweet spot. The Average List Price to Sale price is a healthy 96%.

Listing Price: $825,000
Address: 11 Saddle Ridge Road
City: Milton
State: MA
ZIP: 02186
MLS # (if any): 71316013
Square Feet: 2607
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 2F
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished):

Single Family Expired Listings: 12    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 2,825.92     Avg. List$: $573,567    Avg. List$/SqFt: $218     Avg. DOM: 221.75   

Single Family Canceled Listings: 4    Avg. Liv.Area SqFt: 5,033.75     Avg. List$: $1,246,250    Avg. List$/SqFt: $239     Avg. DOM: 252.75   

Higher numbers than the sweet spot in this area.  It takes a better agent to sell a home in the higher range. They have to agressively market the home on the internet and using traditional methods. If your agent has no strategy in this regard, you simply have the wrong agent.  It is not the economy, stupid, it is the way you market the property to the right people

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Home for the Holidays, New home for the holidays.

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
4 Helock Road, Wayland, MA 01778 Dudley Pond Cape with Fireplace

4 Helock Road, Wayland, MA 01778 Dudley Pond Cape with Fireplace

Here comes December, the last month of the year.  So much to do, so many things to complete, do you feel overwhelmed?  Now is the time for action, enough with the research, the websites, all the data, and what is it with the data, it is all so confusing and contradictory? Real estate is made complicated by your viewpoint.  Are you the buyer, or the seller?  Are you the agent, or the other agent?  Are you the lawyer, or the other lawyer?  And all of those questions don’t even arrive until you are at the table, there is just so much work to get to table. What house, what neighborhood, what loan, what bank, what paperwork what weekends looking, and looking what, what!

Several months ago, or longer it can be safe to say, you decided to buy, or to sell.  You started down the road hitting the Internet for information. There is a lot of it there.  You checked that information out randomly with your friends, family, colleagues or just randomly talking to people.  This bolsters your information already gathered from the Internet.

Listing Price: $349000
Address: 4 Hemlock Road
City: Wayland
State: MA
ZIP: 01778
MLS # (if any): 71221683
Square Feet: 1476
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1/1
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): unfinished

14 Overlood Road, Wayland, MA 01778

You remember what it was like to move to a new house, your moves through all your other living situations whether they were good or bad and rolled it all up into a ball. That was how you were going to get your new home–or sell your home.  You wanted the most if you are selling and the least if you are buying. Every single day people are coming to an agreement about price and buying/selling.  Real Estate is simple.

You make your money when you buy your home.  So from all statistical sense there really hasn’t been a better time to buy with the prices in a buyers favor for many years gone by.  Interest rates, for those who qualify, have not been this low since our parents were young.

With prices low and money cheap there is not a better time to buy. That is why you see so many cash buys.  People with money realize we are at the bottom and it is where money should be to make money.

63 Westcliff Road, Weston, MA 02493

On the sell side, if you haven’t been in your home longer than 5 years you are loosing value.  If you have been in your home 20 years you have seen incredible appreciation of your asset.  Now, you may have used that appreciation for uses along the way and it is not available to you now, but that is just what it is and we need to understand. There is a ceiling and a floor to prices of homes.  They are still of value and the market is stabilizing.  Money is starting to flow back into real estate from the investor side and the consumer side is chugging along at reasonable rates.  Not the rates of the heyday, but, again, they are gone, now is now.

December is a month to close and get into your new home.  Start building your equity now, there really isn’t a better time.

Filed Under: Archive, Back Bay, Boston, contemporary, Featured, MA, Milton, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Boston Herald HomeSm@rt “Harmony, Luxury in Weston.”

November 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Herald_Weston_Westcliff_Nov_11

Last Saturday the Boston Herald in their HomeSm@rt section wrote about my listing at 63 Westcliff Rd, Weston MA 02493.  Because of that publicity we have had a great deal of interest in this home which is NOT a COLONIAL This is a wonderful contemporary home designed by architect Maurice K Smith.  Like Frank Lloyd Wright, Smith designs from the inside out. What that means is that each of the rooms is designed for space, function, light and sound individually and then once that is done to perfection then the architect figures out a way to connect it all on the outside.

In this case it is a wonderful design so woven into the fabric of the land on which it sits that the home literally nestles into the land.  From the inside you get a sense of the nature outside because of all the glass and windows.  Most people who have already seen this home can’t believe that it is less than 4,000 square feet of living space because it lives so much larger.  Special built in cabinets, tables, chairs and shelving give the home a functional and beautiful sense throughout.

Paul Restuccia and Nancy Lane of the Boston Herald did a great job of capturing this home in word and image.  Read their piece here, or look it over below.

Boston Herald_Weston_Westcliff_Nov_11

Boston Herald HomeSm@rt 63 Wescliff Weston

Listing Price: 1,630,000
Address: 63 Westcliff Road
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71298492
Square Feet: 3340
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3 F, 2 H
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished

Filed Under: Archive, Boston, MA, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A Room of One’s Own, Au Pair Suite, Weston MA 02493

November 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
63 West Cliff, Weston, MA Front

A Room of One’s Own, Au Pair Suite, Weston MA 02493

63_Westcliff_Weston_Exterior

A Separate Space; A Separate Peace

When renowned architect Morris K. Smith designed 63 Westcliff Road in Weston, he created spaces that were both grand and intimate. He also created spaces that would evolve over time to adapt to the needs of the people who would live there. The second floor space above this home’s living area is a perfect example of this.

It once served as a home office and while it’s great for weekend guests, it’s perfect for a  live-in au pair. Set apart from the rest of the house, the room has an en suite bath and its own balcony. While the space is perfectly integrated into the house, it also provides an au pair with the privacy needed to truly feel at home. Because the other bedrooms are located on the other side of the house, this arrangement allows the family to maintain its privacy as well.

63 West Cliff, Weston, MA 02493

The current residents affectionately refer to this section of the home as “the tree house” because of its elevated location and also because of the wonderful large windows that connect the space with the outdoors. It’s the perfect place for an au pair to retreat to after a day of watching the children and to wake up refreshed and ready for what the next day may bring.

This home is also equipped with a fully finished basement that kids love. With air hockey, wide screen tv and exercise equipment it is a perfect spot away from the rest of the house to play. There are 1.8 acres of land that come with this home and most of it is wooded. There is a large open flat yard suitable for soccer and throwing and catching balls.  Right now it is the domain of Sadie the Golden Retriever who would love to share it with you.  Come to our Open House this Sunday.

Listing Price: 1,630,000
Address: 63 Westcliff Road
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71298492
Square Feet: 3799
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3 F, 1 H
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished

Filed Under: Archive, Boston, contemporary, Featured, MA, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Internet rules the search in Real Estate

October 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
QR Code

QR Code 1 Weston

The Boston Area Quick Move In Homes search always begins on the internet.  You are first looking at the broad brushstroke issues, prices in neighborhoods, schools, resale value, proximity to what you need to be close to are the original and the final determiners of your search. The words you use for these searches are the same from neighborhood to neighborhood unless you put a name, or a development name to the search.

If you have a smart phone you can drive to the neighborhood and search in the area for everything you want.  This is the way real estate search is going.  The process of finding what you want is so much easier these days than it was years ago when all the information was stored in the Real Estate Agents book.  The internet does not always have the correct information, but you can certainly search to your heart’s desire for what you want.

QR (Quick Response) codes, do you like them?  Have you used them?  They do deliver a wealth of information and services to those who train their smart phone at the code. For those who might not understand, QR codes are those black squares like you see here.  When you hold your code reader to them, they will take your smart phone to a web site describing its product or service.  The wealth of information is the key hear.  You can have at your finger tips all the vitals about the home you just saw the video about.  You can send that video you your parents, your carpenter, or whomever.  The technology is here and I am beginning to test the waters, what do you think?

Listing Price: 900,000
Address: 437 South Avenue
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71221683
Square Feet: 3191
Bedrooms: 6
Bathrooms: 4/1
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Archive, Boston, contemporary, Featured, MA, Open House, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

63 Westcliff Road, Weston, MA 02493 Open House Sunday Oct 16

October 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
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63 West Cliff, Weston, MA 02493 Living Room

63 Westcliff Road, Weston, MA 02493 Open House Sunday Oct 16.  This is a behind the velvet rope look at one of the most interesting architectural homes in the New England area.  With a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright, esteemed architect Maurice Smith designed this almost 400o square feet of living space to allow the natural setting to be brought inside each and every room.  Sitting anywhere in the home you feel the land around you.  Each bedroom has it’s own private balcony overlooking the yard and woods that surround the home.

Weston is one of the best school districts in Massachusetts each and every year.  Read yesterdays blog about the Top Three Reasons to Live in Weston for more information.  In an area that is filled with lovely Colonial homes this contemporary home stands apart and unique and refreshing.  Nestled on it’s large site of land it provides you privacy and the comfort of a manicured yard and great deck.

63 West Cliff, Weston, MA 02493 Statue

This home has had extensive additions in terms of lighting and sound system throughout the home.  While it was built in 1965 it is updated for 2011 and beyond.

Each room allows you the comfort of a very special ambiance separate from the other homes. This is the style of the architecture and one of the joys of living in a contemporary space like this.  4 bedrooms, 3 and one half baths, an exercise room, a media room and a wine cellar add to the luxury of this home.  If you are a fan of colonials, this is not the home for you, but if you desire to have a unique and special home that has appeared throughout the years in architectural magazines, books and articles then you owe it to yourself to get to this open house tomorrow.

Listing Price: 1630000
Address: 63 Westcliff Road
City: Weston
State: MA
ZIP: 02493
MLS # (if any): 71298492
Square Feet: 3799
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3/1
Basement (full, 1/2, finished, unfinished): Full Finished

Filed Under: Archive, Boston, contemporary, Featured, MA, Open House, Weston Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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