Can a Waban Owner Trust a Sold Median Built on Only a Handful of Sales? Reading the Detached Houses, the Older Homes and the Tiny Rental Pool

Which Waban price figure should an owner trust?

None of them alone, because the samples are small. Redfin's median of $2,315,000 for March 2026, up 21.8%, implies about $1,900,657 a year before, and it rests on 11 sales, up from 9. Realtor.com's sold median of $2,257,500, up 18.82% in a year, implies about $1,899,933 a year earlier, and up 18.35% in three years implies about $1,907,478 three years earlier. Both pages show a rise of about a fifth, and both rest on a small number of closed sales.

The two sold medians are close. The Redfin figure is 2.5% above the Realtor.com figure, though the pages cover different months, and Realtor.com does not say how many sales stand behind its median. The Realtor.com listing median of $2,622,500, up 1.26% in a year, implies about $2,589,868 a year earlier, and up 12.17% in three years implies about $2,337,969. The sold median is 13.9% below the listing median, which fits a market where homes sell somewhat under their asking prices, but the page also says homes sold for approximately the asking price.

Per-foot prices tell a different story. Redfin's $621, down 6.7% in a year, implies about $666 a year before. Realtor.com's $661, down 1.33% in a year, implies about $670 a year earlier, and down 3.64% in three years implies about $686. Redfin's figure is 6.1% below the Realtor.com figure. A sold median up a fifth, with per-foot prices down, is a sign that larger or more expensive houses made up more of the recent sales. That is an inference, since the pages do not give the mix.

The Census median owner value of $1,846,600, plus or minus $94,076, averages owners' own estimates over five years. The Redfin sold median is 25.4% above it, the Realtor.com sold median is 22.3% above it, and the Realtor.com listing median is 42.0% above it. Owners' estimates may sit below sale prices, and five-year averages lag. The gap is therefore a reason to ask for recent comparable sales and not a finding about any one home.

The median household income is top-coded and cannot be compared with the price. The best guide to a single home is closed sales of similar houses, on similar lots, in the last few months, set next to the homes now listed. In a postal area where almost every unit is a detached house, the question is mostly one of size, condition, lot and street.

Owners comparing a listing with a direct offer should keep two questions apart. The first is what the typical home in the postal area sells for, which the pages answer with figures from about $1.85 million to $2.6 million depending on the source and the measure. The second is what a particular home would bring, which depends on its size, age, condition, lot and street, and only the closed sales of the most similar houses can answer it. In a small postal area, the number of truly similar sales in a year may be very small.

Sources as cited. Ratios and earlier values in this section are computed from the published figures and percentages.

How fast do Waban homes sell, and what do sellers get against asking?

The pages put it at about three to six weeks. Realtor.com shows a median of 32 days on the market, up 25.49% in a year, which implies about 26 days a year earlier, and down 50.77% on three years, which implies about 65 days three years earlier. Redfin's March 2026 page shows a median of 42 days against 10 a year before, a rise of 32 days, and says the average home goes pending in around 21 days and hot homes in around 11 days. A median of 42 days from 11 sales, against 10 days from 9 sales a year before, is a swing that a few homes can cause.

Sales settle at about the asking price. Realtor.com puts the sale-to-list ratio at 99%, and says homes sold for approximately the asking price in June 2026. Redfin's March 2026 ratio was 100.8%, down 0.57 points, which implies about 101.37% a year before, and it says the average home sells for around list price and hot homes for about 5% above. Homes sold above list were 45.5% of March sales, up 1.0 point, which implies about 44.5% a year before. Redfin's compete score is 81 of 100, which it calls very competitive, over the last six months, with many homes getting multiple offers.

Supply has grown. Realtor.com shows 42 active listings, up 45.83% on the year, which implies about 29 a year earlier, and up 94.44% on three years, which implies about 22. That is nearly double the level of three years before, from a small base. Realtor.com calls the area warm and a seller's market, in which homes sell in a median of 32 days. A rise in listings and a rise in days on market together may point to a market that has loosened a little, but the pages do not say so.

Rentals are very few. Realtor.com shows 19 rental properties, up 17.65% on the year, which implies about 16 a year earlier, and up 53.85% on three years, which implies about 12. The median rent of $5,000 is down 10.71% on the year, which implies about $5,600, and up 11.11% on three years, which implies about $4,500. A rent from fewer than twenty listings is flagged as volatile. The Census median gross rent of $2,673 has a margin of error of $766, because only 70 renter households were counted, and the Realtor.com figure is 87.1% above it.

A market where homes sell in about a month at about the asking price rewards a price set close to recent sales of comparable homes. In a postal area this small, a seller can name a price that few sales support, and the sources cannot say how many comparable sales the postal area has had in a year.

A wait of about a month is an average, and the spread around it matters to a seller with a fixed date. Some homes sell in days, and others sit for months and then cut their price. The pages report medians and not the spread, and in a postal area with about a dozen sales in a month the median itself can move a great deal. An owner who needs to close by a given date can ask for the days on market of homes sold in the last year, which gives a better guide to the risk of a long wait.

Sources as cited. Earlier values and differences are computed from the published percentages.

Who lives in Waban, and how heavy is the cost of housing?

Owners are almost everyone. Of 1,948 occupied homes, 1,878 are owner-occupied, 96.4%, and 70 are renter-occupied, 3.6%. Of 1,966 units, 18 are vacant, 0.9%, and all 18 are for sale only. There are no vacant units for rent and none for seasonal use.

Owners have mostly been in place a while. Of 1,878 owner households, 90 moved in during 2023 or later, 4.8%, 144 between 2020 and 2022, 7.7%, 602 in the 2010s, 32.1%, 288 in the 2000s, 15.3%, 354 in the 1990s, 18.8%, and 400 before 1990, 21.3%. Owners who moved in before 2010 are 55.5%. The 70 renter households are too few to read closely: 16 moved in during 2020 to 2022, 22 in the 2010s, 21 in the 2000s and 11 in the 1990s.

The population has many children and middle-aged adults. Of 5,773 people counted, 1,644 are under 18, 28.5%, 248 are 18 to 24, 4.3%, 204 are 25 to 34, 3.5%, 592 are 35 to 44, 10.3%, 1,895 are 45 to 64, 32.8%, and 1,190 are 65 or older, 20.6%. The Census margin of error on the total is 686. Owner homes are large: of 1,878, 841 have four bedrooms, 44.8%, 605 have five or more, 32.2%, 379 have three, 20.2%, 45 have two and 8 have one. Homes with four or more bedrooms are 77.0% of owner homes.

Owners with a mortgage carry a real burden. Of 1,878 owners, 1,100 have a mortgage, 58.6%, and 778 do not, 41.4%. Among the 1,100 mortgage holders with a computed figure, 240 spent 30% or more of income on housing costs, 21.8%, and 97 spent 50% or more, 8.8%. Among the 778 owners without a mortgage and with a computed figure, 184 spent 30% or more, 23.7%, and 40 spent 50% or more, 5.1%. The share of owners without a mortgage above the 30% mark is a little higher than for owners with one. The table does not say why, and costs such as property taxes and insurance are part of the Census measure.

The renter figures cannot be read with confidence. Of 70 renter households, 49 have a computed figure, 6 spent 30% or more of income on rent, and 21 have none. With so few households the margin of error is large, and no share is drawn from them. The practical point is that Waban has almost no rental market, so an owner who rents out a house is selling into a place where rental comparisons are scarce.

Household makeup gives context. With 1,644 of 5,773 residents under 18, a sale often involves a family weighing a school year, a move and a new purchase together. The sources do not give school or moving data, so this is a general point. It does explain why a closing date the owner can set, the second benefit of a private sale, may matter in a place like this.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B01001, B25003, B25004, B25038, B25042, B25070 and B25091, via Census Reporter. Shares are computed here.

How old is the Waban stock, and what does that mean for inspections?

Half of it was built before 1940. Of 1,966 units, 981, or 49.9%, were built before 1940, 198, or 10.1%, in the 1940s, 397, or 20.2%, in the 1950s, 39, or 2.0%, in the 1960s, 52, or 2.6%, in the 1970s, and 9, or 0.5%, in the 1980s. After that, 71, or 3.6%, were built in the 1990s, 43, or 2.2%, in the 2000s, 166, or 8.4%, in the 2010s and 10, or 0.5%, in 2020 or later. Homes built before 1980 total 1,667, or 84.8%, and homes built before 1960 are 80.2%.

The building types are almost all detached. Of 1,966 units, 1,892 are detached, 96.2%, 27 are attached, 14 are in two-unit buildings, 15 are in buildings of three or four units and 18 are in buildings of 5 to 9. There are no larger buildings and no mobile homes counted. A postal area of this kind has few condominium or apartment sales to blur the medians, so the medians describe houses, but each sale still moves them.

A house built before 1940 is now more than eighty years old. Roofs, windows, heating systems, wiring, plumbing, foundations and chimneys may all have been replaced, or may not have been, and a buyer's inspector will note each item. The sources do not say which items apply to any home. These are general points and not figures from the sources.

In a market of older houses at high prices, an inspection can produce a long list, and the cost of a repair is a fixed sum while the price is a large one. A buyer who finds a problem can ask for a credit or walk away. A seller can fix items before listing, which costs money and time, or sell to a buyer who takes the house as it stands.

A seller who would rather not have an inspector's list negotiated can choose a private sale, in which a buyer buys the home as it stands. That is the fifth benefit of Maison Off-Market, avoiding inspections and repairs, and it is not a claim that a private sale always yields a higher price. Readers comparing markets can also read the Newton brief and the Needham brief.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B25024, B25034 and B25042, via Census Reporter. Shares are computed here.

What should a Waban owner ask before choosing a listing or a private sale?

Five questions are worth asking. Is my price based on closed sales of homes like mine, of the same type, size and age, and not on one median? How many weeks might a listing take, and how close to the first ask are sales settling? What will inspections and repairs cost me on a home of this age? Who will see the home during showings, and who will hear about the sale? And what date do I need to close, given where I plan to live next?

Fees are simple arithmetic, and no rate is assumed here. Each 1% of a $1,200,000 sale is $12,000, of a $2,000,000 sale is $20,000, and of a $3,000,000 sale is $30,000. At 3%, those sales cost $36,000, $60,000 and $90,000, and at 5% they cost $60,000, $100,000 and $150,000. At the Realtor.com sold median of $2,257,500, 1% is $22,575 and 5% is $112,875. Maison Off-Market does not charge commissions or closing costs.

A private sale has no showings and no neighbors talking about it, which is the first benefit. In a small place where most households have been neighbors for years, that matters. The second benefit is a closing date the owner can set, which gives time to find a new home. The third is no commission costs, the fourth is no closing costs and the fifth is avoiding inspections and repairs.

A fair comparison puts the commission, the closing costs, the repairs a buyer may ask for, the weeks of carrying costs and the preparation for showings next to the privacy given up. It also puts a realistic listing result, and not the best case, next to a direct offer. With so few comparable sales, a realistic listing result is hard to predict, and a direct offer gives a number to compare.

Maison Off-Market buys luxury homes and estates directly from their owners and speaks only to sellers. It does not say that every private sale beats a listing. An owner who wants to see what a direct purchase would look like, with no public listing and no showings, can use the contact form below and ask for an offer before deciding.

Sources as cited. Fee illustrations are arithmetic only and assume no commission rate.

Methodology and limitations

Each page's date, title and place were read before use. The Redfin page reports March 2026, a single month with 11 sales, and is the older of the two, and the Realtor.com page has key indicators as of June 2026 and is the newest. The Redfin median rests on a very small number of sales, and its days on market, up from 10 to 42, is flagged as a swing that a few homes can cause. The Redfin compete score is calculated over six months, where the other Redfin figures cover one month. The Realtor.com text calls the area warm and a seller's market, while its figures show a rising supply and rising days on market. The Census median household income is top-coded and is not used, and the rent figure rests on 70 renter households. No Zillow postal-area page was found, so no Zillow figure is used. The Realtor.com neighborhood tables list other places and were not relied on. The Census figures are five-year survey estimates with margins of error. Earlier values are computed from published percentages and are approximate. No figure here is a forecast.

Conclusion

The record for Waban, as far as the pages allow, is a small postal area of older detached houses where prices are high, sales settle at about the asking price in about a month, supply has grown from a small base, per-foot prices are down on the year, and the sold medians rest on a handful of sales. For an owner, the practical step is to ask for the closed sales of comparable houses, compare the cost and risk of a listing with a direct offer, and decide how much of the showing, inspection and timing risk to carry.