Along Route 128, home prices defy gravity
The real estate market is taking a beating, but not along the core of the Route 128 corridor.
From Burlington down to Milton, home prices have seen only modest declines, if that, since the market's peak in 2005, according to Warren Group numbers I examined.
By contrast, home prices along 1-495, another vaunted tech corridor, have clearly taken a hit.
I compared home prices along the 128 and 495 corridors in my regular Forever 128 column, which ran in yesterday's Globe West section. I matched up full-year numbers, comparing 2005 to 2010.
Of a dozen communities stretching from Littleton to Plainville, all but one saw declines of more than 10 percent. Five saw decreases of well above 20 percent.
Median housing prices along I-495 last year ranged from $248,000 in Bellingham to $519,500 in Hopkinton.
By contrast, only four of 11 towns Route 128's central corridor saw double digit declines, with just one, Canton, approaching the 20 percent mark. Lexington saw a decline of 1.5 percent, while home values in Milton were off a negligible 1.2 percent.
Median prices in 2010 ranged from a high of nearly $1.1 million in Weston to $346,850 Dedham. Other towns along the Route 128 corridor included Burlington ($382,000), Lexington ($694,250), Newton ($735,000), Waltham ($385,000), Needham ($630,000), and Wellesley ($900,000), according to the Warren Group.
What's the deal here? Proximity to Boston and to the high-tech and bio-tech jobs along Route 128 has clearly helped keep home prices relatively stable in communities along the corridor.
The 495 market, by contrast, is yet another example of the steep decline in home values that have plagued outer suburbs in metro regions across the country.
That said, if anything, 495 has held up better than many of its counterparts across the country.
Just check out this recent post on Homestead, 30 miles outside of Miami, where 44 percent of homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments.
Things may be tougher now in Franklin or Boxborough, but they haven't gotten that bad.
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