Elaine Bannigan

Interesting question. I've lived in Wellesley for about 30 years. I live in Wellesley Hills, but my office is in Wellesley Square. Wellesley Farms could be divided into two separate areas - upper and lower.
The key to the answers in each area is simply density of neighborhood. The upper farms properties are, generally, on the biggest lots of the areas you've mentioned. 'Wellesley Hills', per se, is further divided into several areas. In fact, the term "Wellesley Hills" tends to be used by us Wellesley folks just to define the 02481 post office - not to define any specific neighborhood. I think you'll find just about anywhere, that the greater the neighborhood density, the more you'll see kids playing on the street and the more you'll interact with your neighbors. People who live near the square, love to be able to walk into town - more and more empty nesters in town search for properties within walking distance to the village.

When my children were young, I lived on a street in 'Old Cliff Estates' where the properties were pretty close together. My kids played on the street, my dog snoozed on the sidewalk, and we did various things together as a neighborhood. After we became empty nesters, we literally moved two streets over, but on an acre lot - we now have privacy and don't see our immediate neighbors that often. I hope this is helpful. The Realtors who work for me live all over town. One of them is President of the Wellesley Mothers' Forum, others are members of Wellesley Junior Service League, Wellesley Garden Club, etc. They live or have lived in areas from Wellesley Square to Poets to Country Club to Cliff Estates and Farms to College Heights to Sprague Estates, etc., We're always happy to answer questions and welcome new families to town. Best, Elaine - Fri Aug 29 2008, 08:51

It's a good question, with a complicated answer. Let's talk housing market performance first. Every town has its own micromarket: What's up or down in Weston isn't necessarily what's happening in Wellesley which isn't necessarily what's happening in Needham, etc., etc. We can be talking wide number spreads from town to town. Town X may be down by 10% this year while Town Y showed appreciation of 8%. Now to further confuse you, price 'softness' varies from price band to price band within each town. E.g., Wellesley numbers were flat for houses priced below $1M, while appreciation occurred in price ranges from $1M-3M However, at the very upper end of the market, they dipped measurably. All that said, if you accurately perceive that the house is overpriced by 20%, it's unlikely that a seller will let a house go that low until they have tested the market in a downwardly 'sticky' method - e.g., price reducing until they're priced right, at which time they'll probably see 90% or maybe less of the 'right' price. If they were priced 'right' (as defined by the buying public) to begin with, they would have probably seen 95% or more very quickly. While you have nothing to lose by putting in a low bid, (listing brokers actually like low offers, because they understand they condition the seller to respond more favorably on any other offer that comes in even slightly higher), it's unlikely that the seller will respond favorably with a well-considered counter. A very low bid often prompts a seller to respond back with a very very small counter offer or even nothing at all, resolute in the conviction that your offer is a 'non-starter'. All this doesn't mean that your price is incorrect - it merely means that the seller is not YET ready to go there. Telling the listing broker that you'd be seriously interested when the seller is ready to consider such an offer is also an option. A last note, a Buyer's Agent cannot help you get a 'steal' - they can only help you make a more informed decision. I probably confused you more than helped - I apologize if so! best & good luck, Elaine - Mon Aug 25 2008, 09:05

Hi Chris, the neighborhood nearest Fiske School is called 'Sheridan Estates'. Other close-by neighborhoods that are in the district include Standish Estates and Country Club. Both Sheridan and Standish have lots of charming and distinctive homes and a real old-fashioned neighborhood feel. Country Club is the most pricey. Best of luck - Elaine - Sat May 3 2008, 05:56

Jack, Manor Road has been steadily improving for the past twenty+ years. Over this time, there have been lots of newer, replacement homes built. Note that Manor Road is a little busier street because it's long and has many cross streets and it leads, with one turn onto Overbrook Rd, to Route 9 Westbound. Not excessively busy, just not a "side" street. As for the other streets you mentioned off Manor, many are end-ways and not through streets - kind of nice if you have young kids or pets. These streets have also had many new houses built and there are a lot of young families in the area. Oakdale has probably already had the most improvement of those you mention. - Mon Apr 28 2008, 09:12

First, there are almost no locations in town that wouldn't support an $800-900,000 house. As for Fells, it's fairly broad. Russell or Fells Road is one thing, Beechwood another and Garrison and Shirley another still. Values are really different on a street by street basis. As for elementary schools (7 in total), Fells is divided between Bates & Hardy (mostly Hardy). Right now, Bates is quite popular because it's newest. They all have the same curriculum, however, and we only have one middle and one high school. You cannot go wrong with any Wellesley public school. One last thought - there are no guarantees that a home will always yield a ROI when you sell. You should buy because it's a home you like and need. The fact that it's an "investment" that you get to live in and to also write off the mortgage interest is a bonus. I know no one wants to lose money on a house, and Wellesley's as 'blue-chip' a real estate purchase as you might wish for. - Sat Apr 26 2008, 13:44

Dana Hall is a girls' school. Our public schools are outstanding. The DOE website cited earlier is good. For more local info, visit: http://www.wellesley.mec.edu - Sat Apr 26 2008, 13:52