Wayland Real Estate Market Unusual, Not Immune

The November foreclosure number of 67,428 homes nationally was the lowest monthly total since May 2009 and represented a 28 percent drop from the October number.

But what does that mean for the local real estate market? After all, according to RealtyTrac, Wayland saw only two foreclosures in November, which makes foreclosures in this city far from epidemic.

Local real estate agents Elaine Sweeney and Rita Schulz are optimistic, but not naïve.

"Wayland hasn't seen the foreclosures that other places have seen," Sweeney said, speculating that many of the homeowners in Wayland are longtime owners who have paid off their mortgages and aren't in danger of falling behind on payments to the bank. Additionally, "Most affluent communities haven't suffered as much as others have," she said.

While foreclosures haven't hit Wayland with ferocity, Sweeney said the local housing market has been impacted by the recession, but in a way unlike most communities throughout the country.

"[Wayland] hasn't seen the product on the market either."

That lack of product is unusual when compared to the rest of the country where the norm seems to be an abundance of homes that simply aren't selling.

In mid-December, there were about 60 homes on the market in Wayland. That, according to Sweeney, is about 40 less for this time of year than was typical prior to the 2008 housing slide. Of those 60-plus homes, 14 are priced in the $1 million-plus range.

"The people in this town are smart enough to say, 'I don't have to move [right now]'," Sweeney said. "They will wait it out."

Where Wayland does mimic other communities around the country is in decreasing overall home values and extended time on the market.

Real estate website Zillow.com, estimates that as of the end of third quarter 2010, home values in Wayland have fallen .4 percent since last year. Since home values peaked in 2005 at a median price of $634,000, values have fallen nearly 19 percent to a median of $514,500 as of October 2010.

"We aren't feeling it because we don't have homes on the market," Sweeney said, noting, though, that Wayland homes that are on the market are remaining there for an average of seven to eight months. She estimated that a solid real estate market in Wayland sees homes listed for about 45-50 days.

Several of the homes on the market, especially in the $1 million-plus range, were new construction that were started before the crash. Some were abandoned mid-build when builders couldn't find buyers.

Schulz said building in Wayland has all but stopped. "Builders are now being leery," she said, explaining that builders don't have buyers to choose the final appointments for homes even if they can secure money from a lender to finish the project.

"In my 30 years in the business, I've seen nothing like 2009," Sweeney said. "This was a better year, and I think 2011 is going to be a transition year."

Wayland may never see the "good old days" of 2004 and 2005, Sweeney added, but she does expect the market to recover.

"I see the investment in Wayland," Sweeney explained, citing the building of a new high school as evidence. "Communities that have invested in education and infrastructure, it's a lifetime investment by the residents here."

Sweeney forecasts more homes will be on the Wayland market in 2011. While she estimates it will be 2012 before the Wayland real estate market returns to "normal," Sweeney does think 2011 will take positive turn.

"It's taken a full two years for people to understand this market," Schulz said. But, she added, young families who bought in Wayland at the market's peak are beginning to talk about up-sizing.

"I'm ever optimistic," she said.