2020 MA TOWN MEDIAN HOME VALUES MAP
We have created a map with the median home prices of every town in Massachusetts. Click on a town or city to view the total number of home sales and the median price of single-family homes.
The color code helps to illustrate how median home prices can vary significantly from town to town and region to region. Generally speaking, the closer you are to Boston or the coast, the less affordable home prices become. Below we examine the current real estate trends and regional differences in the Massachusetts housing market.
Color Key
Dark Green: <$300K
Light Green: $300K – $500K
Yellow: $500K – $700K
Light Orange: $700K – $1M
Dark Orange: $1M – $2M
Purple: $2M+
Real Estate in Massachusetts
Median home prices in Massachusetts are, admittedly, higher than most areas of the country. The Bay State benefits from low unemployment, top-ranked schools, world-class hospitals, and excellent recreational activities for every season of the year. It’s no surprise that housing demand is high, supply is tight, and prices have been going up in Massachusetts. Yet median home prices do vary significantly from town to town and region to region.
2021 Massachusetts Real Estate Trends
Despite the challenges and heartache brought on by the pandemic, 2020 turned out to be a good year for Massachusetts real estate. We ended 2020 with a record low inventory and median home prices near all-time highs.
With interest rates so low, more and more people are using their purchasing power to invest in real estate.
According to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, 2021 is off to an even better start. For January 2021, single-family closed sales increased by 7.8% over January 2020 and condo sales increased by 9.8% over a year ago.
These increases come at a time when the inventory has dried up. The supply of single-family homes in Massachusetts is down 64% over January 2020 levels while the inventory of condos is down 26.1%.
January 2021 median sales prices were off to a good start. The median single-family home sold for $467,000 in Massachusetts, a 15.3% increase from $405,000 in January 2020. The median sales price of Massachusetts condos rose 3.6% to $419,400.
Data from the Warren Group indicates that Massachusetts home sales increased 8.7% from January 2020 to January 2021, while the median sales price increased from $394,700 to $445,000 (a 12.7% jump). This varies slightly from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors data (but it’s close).
The Warren Group details the Jan. 2020 to Jan 2021 year-over-year comparisons for each county in Massachusetts, as illustrated below.
Massachusetts Median Home Prices, by County
There are 14 counties throughout Massachusetts. Here are the year-over-year median home price comparisons for each Massachusetts county (as measured from January 2020 to January 2021).
- BARNSTABLE – $505,000 (+26.6%)
- BERKSHIRE – $234,950 (+4.4%)
- BRISTOL – $363,000 (+15.7%)
- DUKES – $950,000 (+13.1%)
- ESSEX – $517,850 (+13.3%)
- FRANKLIN – $250,750 (+27.0%)
- HAMPDEN – $230,500 (+15.3%)
- HAMPSHIRE – $310,000 (+15.9%)
- MIDDLESEX – $595,000 (+10.2%)
- NANTUCKET – $1,941,500 (-23.1%)
- NORFOLK – $605,000 (+16.9%)
- PLYMOUTH – $440,000 (+12.9%)
- SUFFOLK – $630,000 (+8.6%)
- WORCESTER – $338,950 (+18.9%)
Source: The Warren Group
Based on these statistics, Nantucket and Dukes (Martha’s Vineyard) are the most expensive counties for single-family homes while Hampden and Berkshire (Western Massachusetts) are the least expensive.
The median home price in Massachusetts varies from town to town, and region to region. Some areas of the state are clearly more expensive than others. Let’s take a closer look at the real estate market in the different regions of Massachusetts.
Boston Real Estate
Boston proper has some of Massachusetts’ most expensive real estate. Yet, since the market is dominated by condo sales, the median sales price of single-family homes in Boston is based on a limited number of sales. The single-family homes in Boston tend to be large, historic, and few and far between. This helps to explain why the median home values are so high.
The neighborhoods of Boston include the Back Bay, Bay Village/South End, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Downtown Crossing, East Boston, Fenway/Kenmore) Financial District, Government Center, Leather District, North End, South End, West End, and the Waterfront. On the lower end, East Boston has a median home price of $561,666. On the high end, Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood has a median home price of $8,342,222.22 (but this figure is based on only 9 single-family home sales in 2020).
Boston Suburbs/Metrowest
Towns in Central Middlesex County include Acton, Bedford, Boxborough, Concord, Hudson, Lexington, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston. Home prices in these suburban communities are higher than the state average. Bedford’s 2020 media home price increased to $809,666 while Concord’s increased to $1,144,745 and Lexington’s to $1,339,603.
Eastern Middlesex County includes the towns of Burlington, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Wilmington, Winchester, and Woburn. Home prices are higher than average, but there is some variation. Wilmington’s median sales price is $584,000, Burlington’s is $619,407, and Winchester’s is $1,215,631.
Metro Boston towns include Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Dedham, Everett, Milton, Newton, Revere, Somerville, Waltham, Watertown, and Winthrop. The median sales price for single-family homes varies significantly from town to town. Chelsea’s median home price is $486,000, Waltham’s $669,885, while Cambridge is $1,800,000.
The median selling price for a single-family home increased in the Metrowest area during the past year. Towns in the Metrowest part of Massachusetts include Ashland, Dover, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medfield, Medway, Natick, Needham, Sherborn, and Wellesley. The median home value is $503,318 in Framingham, $689,721 in Hopkinton, $1,261,942.57 in Needham, and $1,591,946.41 in Wellesley.
The median selling price for a single-family home rose in Southern Norfolk County, including the towns of Avon, Bellingham, Canton, Foxborough, Mansfield, Norfolk, Norwood, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, and Wrentham. Bellingham’s median home value is $380,950 while Westwood’s is $891,055.
North Shore
The North Shore region of Massachusetts is the coastal (and some inland) area stretching between Boston and New Hampshire.
The area is known for its rocky coastline, beaches, harbors, tourist attractions, and historically significant landmarks.
The North Shore includes coastal towns like Beverly, Gloucester, Lynn, Marblehead, Newburyport, Revere, Rockport, Salem, Swampscott, and inland towns like Amesbury, Danvers, Georgetown, Lynnfield, Topsfield, and Wakefield.
The most affordable towns are Lynn ($424,166.67). Salisbury ($460,879), Revere ($492,030), and Salem ($491,711). The North Shore towns with the highest median home prices include Boxford ($808,816), Wenham ($844,474), and Manchester-by-the-Sea ($1,046,372).
South Shore
The South Shore region stretches south and east of Boston towards Cape Cod. It includes municipalities in Norfolk and Plymouth counties.
The South Shore has a mix of mid-sized cities, suburban towns, and rural towns, and is known for its beaches and is often referred to as the” Irish Riviera” because of its high concentration of Irish-American residents.
South Shore towns include Braintree, Cohasset, Duxbury, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Plymouth, Quincy, Rockland, Scituate and Weymouth.
There is a wide range of median home prices on the South Shore. For example, the median in Marshfield is $535,806 while Cohasset is $1,162,706.
Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard
Cape Cod is the narrow landmass in the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts. The towns in this region experience significant tourism during the summer months. There are numerous beaches, restaurants, shops, and historical features, as well as bike trails, working harbors, and sight-seeing cruises.
Cape Cod towns include Barnstable, Brewster, Chatham, Eastham, Dennis, Falmouth, Harwich, Hyannis, Mashpee, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, and Yarmouth. The median home prices vary significantly from town to town: Yarmouth is $379,015, Brewster is $552,205, Chatham is $552,205 and Provincetown is 1,355,679.
Martha’s Vineyard, or “The Vineyard,” is an island located just south of Cape Cod and is a popular tourist destination. There are six towns on the island. At $1,884,071, Edgartown has the highest median sales price. Aquinnah (Gay Head) has the lowest median home sales price ($805,000).
Nantucket is a small, isolated island off Cape Cod. It’s known for its beaches, cobblestone streets, whaling heritage, and as a summer home to the wealthy. The town of Nantucket has a median home price of $2,574,570, the highest outside of Boston.
Central Massachusetts
Central Massachusetts includes Worcester County and the northwest part of Middlesex County. The largest city in this region is Worcester. Smaller cities in Central MA include Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster, and there are dozens of small towns throughout the area.
Central Massachusetts is generally one of the most affordable areas of the state.
The median home price in Athol is $214,532, Gardner is $243,542, Worcester is $296,108, Leominster is $328,151, Westborough is $586,077, and Bolton is $688,186.
Western Massachusetts
The region of Western Massachusetts is known for its 22 colleges and universities (roughly 100,000 students), the Berkshire Mountain range, and such institutions as Tanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow. Springfield is the largest city in the region.
Median home prices vary significantly in Western MA but, in general, home prices are among the most affordable in Massachusetts.
The median sales price of single-family homes in North Adams is $139,663, Springfield is $198,438, Deerfield is $303,061, West Stockbridge is $590,824, and Edremont is $837,900.
Living in Massachusetts
As is the case everywhere, the real estate market is dictated by supply and demand. Massachusetts is an attractive place to live for many reasons.
US News ranks Massachusetts public schools #1 in the country. When it comes to healthcare, US News ranks Massachusetts as second best in the country.
The state is also home to storied sports teams, world-class hospitals, museums, universities, and more cultural events, and recreational options for any season of the year. Massachusetts is truly a special place and it’s no wonder so many people wish to call it home!
Moving to Massachusetts?
Finding the right town for you and your family is just as important as finding the perfect house. Whether you search the real estate listings for Boston, Metro West, North Shore, South Shore, Western MA, or Cape Cod and the Islands, you’ll find that each region – and each town – offers its own distinctive character and living experience.
Generally speaking, the further you move away from Boston the more affordable the home prices will be. Homes prices can vary significantly depending on the size, condition, age, and location.
If you are moving to Massachusetts, or moving within Massachusetts, the Vantage Point Team can help you with every step of the home-buying or home-selling process. Our real estate professionals are here to assist you! Contact the Vantage Point Team today!
Source: Massachusetts Association of Realtors https://www.marealtor.com/market-data/
