Real Estate Search Blog

The hardest part of Newton real estate shopping is over — picking out the home that is right for you and your family. But wait! Before you spend hours flipping through home design magazines, here are 5 tips to help you get started on home decorating without the headache.

1. Take cues from the masters. Do you have a favorite painting? Bring a print to a paint store and have them match shades of paint to the painting’s colors. Just think about how great it will feel to introduce guests to “The Waterlily Room”!

A Pedro Cano painting in the Vatican Museums

2. Wallpaper one wall. It’s a modern alternative to papering the entire room – and it also saves you time and money.

3. Mix and match textures. Black leather couch? Add gray satin pillows. Tiled white bathroom floor? Toss down a soft, nubby white bathroom rug.

4. Cluster objects by color. Merchandisers group by color in window displays and with clothing inside the store  – it works great at home, too. The best part is, you won’t have to store away all of your knick-knacks.

5. Skip the home design magazines and look at hotel rooms instead. Hotel rooms are the simplified version of home decor. Surface Magazine and National Geographic Traveller are two magazines that show contemporary indoor and outdoor spaces from top hotels.

A room at the Ace Hotel in New York City

On Saturday, August 7th, the town of Wellesley held its annual farmer’s market and artisan product fair.  Over 60 vendors showcased good such as homemade tomato sauce, natural skin care products, Italian ice, and of course, fruits and vegetables grown by local farms!

The festival was held in the middle of 36 lush acres of the Elm Bank Reservation in Wellesley. The reservation is also home to the Festival’s host, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.

The Massachusetts Marketplace Festival is a great example of sustainability in MetroWest Boston. In addition, Wellesley is also home to one of the best botanical gardens in Massachusetts — the Wellesley College Botanical Gardens. Go green in Wellesley!

Christine Norcross & Partners are the area experts on Wellesley real estate including homes for sale in Wellesley, Newton, Weston, Natick, Brookline, Needham and more. The home buying process shouldn’t be a headache. Put your trust in the hands of  Christine Norcross & Partners — visit their Wellesley real estate website today.

The Real Estate Search Blog is excited to announce that CNN’s Money Magazine placed Newton, MA in the #3 slot of its 2010 list of 100 Best Places to Live in America! Visit the Newton MA real estate website to browse hundreds of listings in Newton, Massachusetts and its surrounding towns.

In the article, Newton was praised for its stable job market which can be accredited to many colleges, hospitals, and government offices that are located in and around the City of Newton. Families are attracted to Newton real estate by its nationally recognized public school system and its brand new, multi-million dollar, sustainable high school. Newton has fostered a reputation as a green city, with an impressive 93% air quality index, several sustainably operated restaurants, and a biodiesel fuel lab at Newton North High School.

Also listed on Money Magazine’s 100 Best Places to Live is the neighboring town of Brookline. For information on real estate in Brookline MA and to browse hundreds of real estate listings, visit the Brookline MA real estate website.

So you’re thinking about buying a home in Fall River real estate. You surf the net for information on public schools and other city data, plan a Saturday to do some drive-through home shopping, and wonder what else you can do before choosing a Fall River real estate agent. And if you already have one, you’re twiddling your thumbs and wondering what else you can do to accelerate the home-buying process. Here are a few ways you can get to know Fall River or any other city or town.

1. Get the scoop! Topix.com and WickedLocal.com are two websites which collect headlines about specific towns and cities from multiple publications. Local news websites are also great for community information such as local sports, coverage of special town events, and town politics. For Fall River local news, try SouthCoastToday.com and HeraldNews.com.

2. Follow your town on Twitter. Most towns lack the time and resources to maintain a Twitter account (with the exception being the town of Madison, Connecticut at Twitter.com/InsideMadison). However, Twitter is a wealth of insider information that is just too valuable to ignore. So how can you “Follow” a town if it doesn’t have a Twitter account? TweetMeme.com is a great way to follow users who mention a town like Fall River in their Tweets. Simply search the name of the town you’re interested in, and read the latest headlines, thoughts, and musings about that town.

A photo of Fall River from Flickr.com

3. Beauty through the eyes of the beholder. Flickr.com is a great way to get to know the landmarks and secret places of towns and cities. By searching for your town, you can browse thousands of photographs taken by Flickr users. Maybe you’ll stumble across a park you never knew about or a cool piece of public art!

4. Watch a movie. Forget YouTube — Vimeo.com is the best new place on the web for high-quality videos. A search for “Newton MA” will show you videos that zero in on scenes at local Newton parks, Newton politics, and even clips of the Boston Marathon!

Want more insider information on buying a home? Visit the Fall River real estate website for tips on buying and selling real estate, and browse hundreds of homes for sale in Fall River, MA. It’s never too early to start looking.

Waban, One of Newton's 13 Villages

Families looking at Newton real estate are often surprised to find that Newton is not a typical suburb of Boston. True, in the 1800s the area was a commuter suburb for wealthy Boston businessmen. Today, however, most of Newton’s residents work within Newton or its surrounding towns rather than commute to Boston. This contributes to a flourishing local economy, where restaurants, banks, boutiques, and other businesses prosper — along with buyers and sellers of Newton real estate. This vibrant local economy is a pleasant environment for everyone who works and plays in Newton, Massachusetts.

A unique aspect of the Newton economy is that there are 13 villages that make up the town of Newton. Each village center is a hub for shopping, dining, public art installations, and more. NewtonVillages.org is a city-wide coalition dedicated to making Newton’s village centers “better places to walk, bike, eat, shop, work, play, gather and live.” The organization manages such projects as planning festivals and events, adding bike racks, and placing local artists’ work in vacant spaces. The Newton Chamber of Commerce includes over 700 businesses and offers discounted health insurance, direct customer referrals, educational seminars, advertising opportunities and the advantage of networking with other local, established businesses in the area.

The 13 Villages of Newton, MA

Auburndale
Chestnut Hill
Lower Falls
Newton Centre
Newton Corner
Newton Highlands
Newtonville
Nonantum
Oak Hill
Thompsonville
Upper Falls
Waban
West Newton

For more information on Newton real estate and to begin a comprehensive search through hundreds of Newton MLS listings, visit the Newton real estate website today.

If you’re planning on looking at Newton real estate this summer, make sure to check out one of Newton’s farmer’s markets! Fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, flowers, cheese and other dairy products are just a few items you might see on your visit to one of Newton’s farmer’s markets. Farmer’s market season in Newton begins after July 4th and the market remains open through October. The market takes place every Tuesday and Friday at two different locations in Newton:

Tuesday Location

• Cold Spring Park
  1200 Beacon Street
  Newton, MA 02464
  Open 1:30 PM until 6 PM
  Begins Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Friday Location

• Post 440 Parking Lot
  295 California Street
  Newton, MA 02458
  Open 1:30 PM until 6 PM
  Begins Friday July 9, 2010

Christine Norcross & Partners are the area experts on Newton real estate as well as real estate in Greater Boston, including homes for sale in Wellesley, Weston, Newton, Natick, Brookline, Needham and more. The home buying process shouldn’t be a headache. Put your trust in the hands of Newton real estate agents Christine Norcross & Partners — visit their Newton real estate website today.

Summer is almost here, and it’s an exciting time for buyers and sellers of Newton real estate. The newest Newton real estate listings are below! Please visit HomesbyNorcross.com for more information and photos of these listings.

139 Highland Ave, Newton MA

Built in 2005, 139 Highland Ave, Newton MA on West Newton Hill. 5 Beds/5 Baths. Key features include a modern kitchen, a fireplace in the family room, and a library/study.  Close to the Mass Pike. For more photos and details, visit HomesbyNorcross.com.

15 Wamesit Road, Newton MA

Grand 3-floor colonial home located at 15 Wamesit Road in Newton, MA with 6 beds, 3 full baths and 2 half baths. Unique features include a sunroom/study and an exercise room. For more photos and details, visit HomesbyNorcross.com.

450 Beacon Street, Newton MA

Contemporary Chestnut Hill home located at 450 Beacon Street in Newton, MA. Adjacent to a deer park and conservation land. Notable features include high ceilings and skylights, and an open floor plan. Close to Newton Centre. For more photos and details, visit HomesbyNorcross.com.

New England Mobile Book Fair

If, like most Bostonians, you love to read, you should consider looking at Newton real estate. Newton, MA boasts two of Massachusetts’ most legendary independent bookstores.

First, the New England Mobile Book Fair, located at 82 Needham Street in the Newton Highlands. I’ll excuse the fact that it doesn’t have cotton candy and fried dough as a normal fair would, because this place is a discount book shopper’s fantasy. Every book, hardcover and paperback, is at least 20% off. The Book Fair is a huge warehouse with endless rows and shelves loaded with every genre and publisher you can think of. The travel section is the most expansive collection I’ve ever seen in a bookstore, outnumbering the selections of both Barnes and Noble and Borders. There’s even a large bargain book section of overstock books — I recently bought a hardcover novel for $4.95.

Second is Newtonville Books, located at 296 Walnut Street in Newtonville. By signing up for the email newsletter you can find out about all the neat events, such as a visit by the author of Shutter Island, and frequent writing workshops that cost a modest $20. The selection is stocked and Yelpers say that “the price is right.”

If you’re planning on buying a home in Newton, or you’re currently shopping for real estate in Newton, consider taking a weekend to explore the area with your family. Newton is an excellent community for raising families, as it has some of the best public schools in Massachusetts, plenty of recreation areas, and a pulsing community scene. To many, Newton is the best little town outside of Boston.

Christine Norcross and Partners is a leading team within William Raveis Real Estate and Home Services. For real estate or related questions about housing, relocation services, communities, local schools, and more in Newton, MA or the surrounding towns in Metro-West Boston, contact Christine Norcross and Partners at (781) 694-3595.

One of the many reasons people fall in love with Newton real estate are the endless opportunities to experience arts and culture right in Newton or in its neighboring suburbs. If you’re looking for Newton real estate, consider working with Christine Norcross & Partners, who provide assistance for those relocating to Newton, Wellesley, Brookline, Natick, Needham, and Weston, Massachusetts.

One of the most relaxing things to do on a frigid winter day in Massachusetts is to take the family on a trip to the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. Admission is free, the rooms are warm and balmy, flowery perfume lingers in the air, and kids can marvel at plants that are native to places all over the country. Afterwards, take the family on a walk through town to do some shopping, book-browsing, or a leisurely lunch at a local cafe.

Click this picture to be taken to the Youtube video from last year

And pictures from the plants of 2010:

A lemon

At Bigelow Middle School in Newton, several classes are experimenting with the use of netbooks, wireless, and SMART boards during class. The equipment was paid for by federal stimulus money, and came to a total of $60,000.

The netbooks were given to 45 sixth-graders as part of a pilot program in the Newton public school system. Teachers facilitate computer-assisted learning by asking questions which the students can respond to, and immediately see their classmates’ responses. The teachers use Google Docs to design assignments, and SMART boards to teach. The data is being reviewed by researchers at Boston College, with results expected at the end of the school year.

The Newton public school system is recognized in Massachusetts to be one of the state’s most forward-thinking schools systems. Many families search for Newton real estate because of the city’s great schools, strong foundation in arts and culture, safe streets, and pleasant neighborhoods. There are many homes for sale in Newton that are offer superb value for their listing price. Take a look at the Newton MLS listings today.