Wellesley houses in the $600k – $1.2 million range just keep getting bought up and torn down in Wellesley. There’s very little buildable land in town, so the choices are plain: either buy a house and spend a mint tearing out the previous owners’ atrocious taste in bathroom fixtures and kitchen tile, or just level the entire affair and call in the architects, builders, and design teams to finally get things right.
Lately we’ve been having a recurring nightmare that our cottage is the last one standing in Wellesley. In our dream, it gets torn down as we sleep. A mob of developers, realtors, and neighbors who have stepped out of their tastefully appointed brand-new homes for a moment stand outside our place with pitchforks and torches, cheering as it falls. It’s just a dream…it’s just a dream…so far.
Here’s a before and after look at a few homes that have fallen and risen in the past year or so:


Listing removed October 2015, $1,785,000


June 2015, listing removed, $1,650,000

Sold 2/2014, $767,500

June 2015, listing removed, $1,650,000

Sold 12/2014 for $1,212,500

On market for $3,295,000

Sold 2/2015 for $800,000

On market for $1,899,000

Sold 7/2015 for $1,100,000

On market for $2,695,000
Also of interest…
Wellesley tear downs, before and after, Spring 2015
Take heart, a little Cape on Oak st. recently had its owner moved to assisted living. I was worried that it would become a teardown but apparently the granddaughter will be moving in. Her father is helping to fix the place up and now there will be two new children on the street! The place looks great and it gives me hope.