In West Hartford, many homeowners look for housing in just one elementary school district, especially if they already have children in that school. For a school district, having diverse housing stock is a real asset; parents appreciate being able to move to larger, smaller or different style homes without having to uproot their children from the school they call home. Wolcott Elementary School is a winner for this (and for many other) reasons. This is not your ordinary school website--click on the tree to learn about the outdoor classroom adjacent to the school. Click on the fish in the aquarium to meet the students who are in charge of keeping this site vibrant!

This elementary school district covers homes near Elmwood Center with many restaurants and shops (including the Mediterranean cuisine of Tapas, one of my favorite spots for lunch). It also includes homes near Wolcott School and Wolcott Park (lighted tennis courts, soccer field, volleyball, baseball/softball diamond, playground). The district stretches to the homes near WestFarms Mall and north beyond Woodridge Lake to the Selden Hill area (indoor pool & ice skating rink), then across Farmington Avenue to the Sunset Farms enclave with many homes bordering the MDC reservoir land (hiking and cross country skiing trails).

In terms of closed sales (MLS statistics), this West Hartford neighborhood has shown remarkable stability. In 2009, there were 93 closed single-family sales. Buyers paid prices ranging from $170,750 to $2,600,000 to own homes in this district. The median price paid was $249,000 for a home located at 82 Grove Street. This home is a 1,792 sf Colonial with a 1-car attached garage and fenced back yard. It has 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 1 half bath and 1 fireplace. The median days-on-market for the homes which sold was 43, so more than half the property sellers priced their homes appropriately. 42 of these homeowners sold their homes in less than 30 days!

2008 saw few changes in the real estate market in this neighborhood. There were 93 closed sales of single-family homes (from 95 in 2007). The median days-on-market was only 29! Buyers paid prices ranging from $170,000 for a 4-bedroom home at 17 Grove Street to $1,290,000 for a 4-bedroom lakefront home at 201 Tunxis Avenue. The median sales price for 2008 was $242,000 at 22 Davenport Road. This 1,392 sf Ranch has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a carport and an unfinished basement. The kitchen and bathrooms were updated.

Currently, there are just 25 homes for sale in the Wolcott neighborhood, offered at prices ranging from $195,000 to $1,975,000, with the median price at $294,000 for 26 Valley Crest.