Cambridge appreciation rates and housing market information

Cambridge housing market information

With a population of 101,355, 44,725 total housing units (homes and apartments), and a median house value of $595,502, Cambridge house prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, Cambridge real estate also is some of the most expensive in all of America.

large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Cambridge, accounting for 50.12% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Cambridge include duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (35.17%), single-family detached homes (8.80%), and a few row houses and other attached homes (5.82%). Cities that are predominantly high-density buildings are relatively uncommon in the US. Because of the density, these types of cities are often walkable and compact, and often have a lively downtown.

Cambridge is dominated by renter-occupied one, two, or no bedroom apartments. 64.57% of Cambridge's dwellings are rentals.

The housing in Cambridge was primarily built before 1939 (56.15%), making the housing stock in Cambridge some of the older overall in America, although there is a range of ages of homes in Cambridge. The next most important Cambridge housing age is 1940-1969 (22.61%), followed by 1970-1994 (18.34%). There's also some housing in Cambridge built between 1995 and later (2.90%).

Cambridge home appreciation rates

Appreciation rates for homes in Cambridge have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 96.58%, which ranks in the top 20% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Cambridge house appreciation rate of 9.65%.

Over the last year, Cambridge appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Cambridge's appreciation rate has been -1.12%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Cambridge were at 0.16%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 0.64%.

Relative to Massachusetts, our data show that Cambridge's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 95% of the other cities and towns in Massachusetts.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Cambridge differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Cambridge - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 1990, to assist you in making the best Cambridge real estate investment or home purchase decisions.