menu





Boston, MA Real Estate Market

Source & Methodology

Analytics built by:   Location, Inc.

Raw data sources:   American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Date(s) & Update Frequency:
  • Home Values, Rents: Reflects Q4 2022. Updated quarterly.
  • Setting, Housing Stock, Homeownership: 2021 (latest available). Updated annually.

Methodology:   NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data

Boston, MA Housing Market Trends

With 654,776 people, 271,950 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $765,825, Boston house prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, Boston 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 Boston, accounting for 45.02% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Boston include duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 36.54%), single-family detached homes ( 12.00%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 6.28%). 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.

Boston is dominated by renter-occupied one, two, or no bedrooms apartments. 67.67% of Boston's dwellings are rentals.

The housing in Boston was primarily built before 1939 ( 48.22%), making the housing stock in Boston some of the oldest overall in America, although there is a range of ages of homes in Boston. The next most important housing age is between 1940-1969 ( 20.34%), followed by between 1970-1999 ( 17.52%). There's also some housing in Boston built between 2000 and later ( 13.92%).

Boston Home Appreciation Rates

In the last 10 years, Boston has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. Boston real estate appreciated 111.32% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 7.77%, putting Boston in the top 20% nationally for real estate appreciation. If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, Boston definitely has a track record of being one of the best long term real estate investments in America through the last ten years.

Over the last year, Boston appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Boston's appreciation rate has been 6.76%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Boston were at -1.62%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of -6.34%.

Notably, Boston's appreciation rate in the latest quarter is one of the lowest in America.

Relative to Massachusetts, our data show that Boston's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 60% 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 Boston differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Boston - 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 2000, to assist you in making the best Boston real estate investment or home purchase decisions.

Average Home Values

 

Median Home Value:
$765,825

Boston, MA HOME PRICES

> $1,267,000
$950,001 - $1,267,000
$633,001 - $950,000
$507,001 - $633,000
$380,001 - $507,000
$253,001 - $380,000
$127,001 - $253,000
$63,001 - $127,000
$0 - $63,000
15.5%
15.5%
13.8%
13.8%
32.6%
32.6%
15.0%
15.0%
12.3%
12.3%
6.6%
6.6%
1.4%
1.4%
0.7%
0.7%
2.0%
2.0%
0.0% 100.0%
% OF HOMES
Value Relative To State

Very High for Nation

Very High for MA

Value Relative To Nation

Number Of Homes And Apartments:
271,950

Boston Appreciation Rates

 
Time Period Total Appreciation Average Annual Rate Compared To
MA
Compared To
America
Latest Quarter:
2022 Q3 - 2022 Q4
Last 12 Months:
2021 Q4 - 2022 Q4
Last 2 Years:
2020 Q4 - 2022 Q4
Last 5 Years:
2017 Q4 - 2022 Q4
Last 10 Years:
2012 Q4 - 2022 Q4
Since 2000:
2000 Q1 - 2022 Q4
203.81% 4.95%
10
9
* 10 is highest

Rent & Ownership

 

Average Market Rent:
$3,944 / per month

Homeownership Rate

Owners
Renters
Vacant
32.3%
32.3%
67.7%
67.7%
9.5%
9.5%
0.0% 100.0%
% OF HOMES

Housing Market Details

 

Age of Homes

2000 or Newer
1970 - 1999
1940 - 1969
1939 or Older
13.9%
13.9%
17.5%
17.5%
20.3%
20.3%
48.2%
48.2%
0.0% 100.0%
% OF HOMES

Types of Homes

Single-Family
Townhomes
Small Apt. Buildings
Apt. Complexes
Mobile Homes
Other
12.0%
12.0%
6.3%
6.3%
36.5%
36.5%
45.0%
45.0%
0.2%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0% 100.0%
% OF HOMES

Home Size

No Bedroom
1 Bedroom
2 Bedrooms
3 Bedrooms
4 Bedrooms
5 or more bedrooms
7.8%
7.8%
23.7%
23.7%
34.5%
34.5%
23.6%
23.6%
7.6%
7.6%
2.9%
2.9%
0.0% 100.0%
% OF HOMES