Wellesley had five condos for sale in September 2026, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. A year earlier it had 22.
Meanwhile, roughly 96 condominium units sit in four proposals and approvals around town, plus more townhomes and multifamily units behind them. For a downsizer or a first-time condo buyer, the first question about any of these buildings is how it got permitted. The route a developer chose shapes how dense the building can be, how many units are set aside as affordable, how long approvals take, and how much of the process happens in public.
A resale market that has almost no inventory left
The MAR Local Market Update for September 2026 describes a condo market with very little in it. Wellesley had 1.2 months of condo supply in September 2026, down from 6.4 months in September 2025. Only 46 new condo listings came to market from January through September 2026, compared with 61 over the same period in 2025.
| Wellesley condos | September 2025 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory for sale | 22 | 5 |
| Months of supply | 6.4 | 1.2 |
| Cumulative days on market | 193 | 37 |
| Percent of original list price received | 81.9% | 98.3% |
| Closed sales, year to date | 29 | 40 |
| Median sale price, year to date | $1,445,000 | $1,142,500 |
The September median on its own was $2,700,000, up 134.8% from a year earlier. That figure comes from four closings, and MAR's own report warns that one month of activity can look extreme because the sample is small. The year-to-date median fell 20.9%, which most likely reflects which units happened to sell rather than a drop in condo values. With roughly 40 condos trading over nine months, a few large units can move the median a long way in either direction.
Set against that resale volume, the new-construction pipeline is large. Four condo proposals add up to 96 units, more than twice the number of Wellesley condos that closed in the first nine months of 2026. The whole town added 75 homes in 2025, a 0.77% increase in its housing stock, according to The Swellesley Report's housing tracker. Over the next few years, much of the town's new condo supply is likely to come from these few projects.
Each project took a different permit route
The Swellesley Report maintains a running list of these projects. Its July 2026 version shows that they did not all go through the same approval process.
| Project | Units | Affordable units | Permit route | Latest reported status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Laurel, 16 Laurel Ave. | 28 condos | 6 | MBTA Communities zoning, ZBA site plan review | ZBA hearing set for April 16, 2026 |
| The Bellwether, 192–194 Worcester St. and 150 Cedar St. | 34 condos | 7 | Residential Incentive Overlay | Site plan approved September 2025 |
| 592 Washington St. | 19 condos | None mentioned in filings | Project of Significant Impact | Plans submitted early 2026 |
| 136–140 Worcester St. | 15 condos | 3 | Town Meeting zoning map change, or possibly PSI | Presented to the Planning Board June 2026 |
| 10 Railroad St. | 8 townhomes | 2 | ZBA site plan review intended | Proposed April 2026 |
| 49 Walnut St. | 28 units | 6 | PSI special permit and ZBA site plan review | Proposed August 2025 |
None of the projects above has had a public status update from August through October 2026, so every status in the table is as of the latest reporting. None of the three larger condo projects has announced asking prices.
The MBTA Communities route: shorter review, less public process
Wellesley adopted zoning under the state's MBTA Communities Act in 2024. The Laurel is the first new development to use it. The Swellesley Report described the building as a former office building in Wellesley Hills across Washington Street from the commuter rail station, near Le Petit Four Bakery. Roger Babson built it in 1919. Babson House LLC plans to convert its 39,000 square feet into four stories and 28 condos, with 56 underground parking spaces and 20 more above ground.
The same report noted that this project's approval process "may naturally be less visible to the public" than other recent proposals, because it goes through a less involved site plan review. The developer hoped to begin digging in summer 2026 and estimated 18 months to finish. Both figures were developer estimates made in March, not reported milestones.
The PSI route: more density in exchange for more review
The 19-unit project at 592 Washington St., next to The Belclare condominiums, could have qualified under MBTA Communities zoning. According to The Swellesley Report, the developer chose the Project of Significant Impact process instead to get more density. When the project was first reported, it was described as high end, and the submitted materials mentioned no affordable units.
That choice shows how a developer weighs the options. A route that permits more units on the same land changes both the economics and the product. Buyers comparing 592 Washington St. with The Laurel are looking at buildings shaped by different rules.
The RIO route: voted closed, pending review, still open for The Bellwether
The Bellwether, an Encore Properties project, was approved under the Residential Incentive Overlay, a bylaw on the books since 1998 that allows denser building than the underlying zoning. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted site plan approval in September 2025. At that time, project leaders expected demolition by the end of 2025 and construction to begin in early 2026, weather permitting. We have found no public confirmation of construction since then.
New projects may not get that option. At Annual Town Meeting on April 7, 2026, members voted 148 to 52 for an amended Article 32. As The Swellesley Report described it, the amendment removed RIO eligibility from every district while preserving the four previously approved RIO projects, including Terrazza on Linden Street. During the debate, a supporter of the amendment called the bylaw a blunt tool, saying "it's 24 units per acre, or nothing."
Zoning changes in Massachusetts go to the Attorney General for review. A Town of Wellesley notice said the review of Article 32 had been extended, with a decision due September 12, 2026. We have not found a published decision, so the change was still pending Attorney General review as of the last public notice.
The Town Meeting route: the most public and least predictable
The 15 condos proposed at 136–140 Worcester St. on Route 9 would need Town Meeting to rezone the site from general residence to multi-unit residence. A May 2026 report said the developer had also raised the possibility of a PSI application. The plan is a smaller version of a 40-unit apartment complex once proposed for the site. 49 Walnut St. in Lower Falls shows how uncertain the Town Meeting route can be. An earlier RIO proposal for that site was rejected at Special Town Meeting in 2024, and the developer returned in 2025 with a plan that would use the PSI process.
Why a 40B project is unlikely to fill the gap
In some suburbs, a state Chapter 40B application can bypass local zoning altogether. Communities below the state's 10% affordable housing threshold are open to unsolicited 40B projects. As of 2023, the latest state figure, 10.68% of Wellesley's housing stock counted as affordable. Because Wellesley is above that line, the town's own zoning routes, and the boards and Town Meeting votes that go with them, decide where most new condos are built.
There is also capacity that no one is currently using. The Wellesley Park 40R district on William Street is zoned for 850 units. Only 350 have been built, as The Nines apartment complex, and no further plans had been announced as of late summer 2026. MassBay Community College has been seeking a developer for land across from its Oakland Street campus, which the tracker lists at a potential 180 units.
What the last finished project suggests about pricing
The Albion at 16 Stearns Rd. is the most recent completed project and the only recent one with public pricing. Its 24 condos sit at the end of a dead-end street between Route 9 and the Sprague fields. In July 2025, The Swellesley Report reported that five affordable two-bedroom units were priced at $306,800 each and one affordable three-bedroom at $341,000. Market-rate two-bedrooms started at $1 million.
That spread shows how one building can hold two very different price tiers. In the pipeline, the number of affordable units varies with the project and its permit route. It ranges from six of 28 at The Laurel to none mentioned at 592 Washington St. Whether a pre-construction unit is accessible depends as much on the zoning behind the building as on the market.
Questions buyers ask about pre-construction condos in Wellesley
Pre-construction purchases bring a different kind of risk than resale. The questions below follow the permit routes described above.
- Which route did the project use, and is that approval final? A completed site plan approval, a pending PSI review, and an upcoming Town Meeting vote are three very different levels of certainty.
- Has construction actually started? Several of the start dates above were developer estimates, and some were reported as targets that had already passed.
- How many units are affordable, and has a lottery been announced? At The Albion, the affordable-unit lottery was held in September 2025.
- What does the purchase contract say about delays? With completion dates as uncertain as these, the delivery date and remedy terms in the contract are worth reviewing carefully.
Will the RIO change affect The Bellwether? The amended Article 32, as reported, preserves the four previously approved RIO projects. The Attorney General's decision was still pending as of the last public notice we found.
Why might a resale condo still make sense with this many units coming? Timing is the main reason. A resale closes on a known schedule. Every project above still had at least one open step as of its most recent public report.
Where can I track these projects? The Swellesley Report's development roundup and the Town's Zoning Board of Appeals agendas are the most direct public sources.
Laura Wurster brings both brokerage and real estate legal experience to Wellesley condo purchases, from reviewing permit status to pre-construction delivery terms. Schedule a consultation to review your transaction with a legal-savvy, local broker.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
