Photo: A $2 million house? 

A weekly recap of residential properties sold in the past seven-plus days in the “Town of Homes”:

• 169 Orchard St., Brick Colonial (1930). Sold: $930,000. Listed at $1,999,000. Living area: 2,664 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 340 days.

• 38 Taylor Rd., Brick split ranch (1955). Sold: $886,000. Listed at $869,000. Living area: 1,759 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths. On the market: 47 days.

• 13 Francis St., Condo in a two family (1927). Sold: $610,000. Listed at $579,000. Living area: 1,729 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 60 days.

• 45 Middlecot St., Colonial (1953). Sold: $905,000. Listed at $869,000. Living area: 1,610 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 46 days.

• 11 Rutledge Rd., Colonial (1940). Sold: $1,125,000. Listed at $1,199,000. Living area: 2,535 sq.-ft. 10 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 74 days.

• 25 Thayer Rd., Condominium (1958). Sold: $275,000. Listed at $274,900. Living area: 615 sq.-ft. 4 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 80 days.

• 318 Trapelo Rd., New attached condominium townhouse (2015). Sold: $1,035,000. Listed at $1,100,000. Living area: 2,900 sq.-ft. 9 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3 full, 2 half bedrooms baths. On the market: 208 days.

• 104 Lewis Rd # 2., Condominium in two family (1923). Sold: $525,000. Listed at $499,000. Living area: 1,349 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 60 days.

• 100 Lexington St. Apt C3, Classic Colonial (1977). Sold: $238,000. Listed at $239,000. Living area: 774 sq.-ft. 3 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 95 days.

• 55 South Cottage Rd., Townhouse (2012). Sold: $1,240,000. Listed at $1,249,000. Living area: 2,800 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. On the market: 124 days.

• 53-55 Trowbridge St., Brick multi-family (1973). Sold: $900,000. Listed at $869,988. Living area: 3,200 sq.-ft. 13 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 3 full, 2 half bedrooms baths. On the market: 84 days.

• 21 Bartlett Ave., Second floor condominium (1964). Sold: $507,000. Listed at $484,000. Living area: 1,173 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 82 days.

If you attend St. Joe’s or walk your kids to Wellington Elementary, you are certain to have seen the brick Colonial at the north corner of the intersection of Common and Orchard streets. It’s at the crosswalk that’s busy twice each day school is in session and on Saturday before and after afternoon mass. It’s been owned by the same family for more than 50 years according to town assessor records. 

It’s one of several brick homes built by the same developer in and around 1930, solidly built (although the roof looks a bit threadbare) with lots of period interior features: wood floors, built-in cabinets in the dining room, original molding and baseboards and a custom center spiral staircase. There’s the standard upgraded kitchen with the standard cabinets and horrid granite countertop. It’s not a small house by any standard, at 2,700 sq.-ft. with five bedrooms, but several of the rooms do appear a bit … tight, such as the rectangular living room at 14×25 (the big bedroom is 20×16), dining room, 13×14, and a family room of 11×18. Throw furniture into the rooms and your walking sideways to get here to there. 

 All in all, a solid 85-year-old house … that’s worth $2 million? Gagh! Talk about reaching for the stars. While over the past decade, homes on Common Street have reached the $1 million threshold, rarely do you see a single family home breech $2 million outside of Belmont Hill. But there it was: a listing price of $1,999,000 in June, 2015, a mere thousand dollars from a double mill. Yes, Colonials are selling for a premium, but by more than a million dollars over its fiscal 2016 assessed value of $927,00?

[Editor: There is some readers who contend that the $1,999,000 is a misprint. Maybe so but it’s in the MLS under that amount.]

The initial price tag could have simply been a homeowner cashing in during a two-year stretch when property values soared by more than $200,000:  

• 2016: $927,000
• 2015: $845,000
• 2014: $711,000

But even your wildest dreams need some basis in reality, and quickly the sales price tumbled by $800,000 to $1,199,000. And while the new listed price was that’s nearly $300,000 greater than the assessed value, it appeared the salesperson and owner were going to make that price work come hell or high water, stubbornly sitting on the price for seven months. Yet the broker had to put the waders on as buyers were unwilling to part with their hard-earned cash. 

Despite two price reductions – $1,099,000 in February and $1,050,000 in March – the brick Colonial sat there as the Spring season was about to pass them by. Likely, a buyer put a “low-ball” bid on the property which was happily accepted at $930,000, nearly bang-on the assessed value of $927,000. And for once, the market value prevailed.

The twin is sold

Back in March, one half of newly-built attached townhouses was sold on busy Trapelo Road for $1,040,000. The story of the condos – located the the midst of the hurly-burly of the Fire Department, banks, parks and a busy roadway – showed that sometimes a good design and new construction can be a success, even if you have to share a common wall and no backyard. 

Last week, the other half of the townhouse was purchased for $1,035,000. A bargain.