Median home sale price changes shown on interactive MA maps 2026

If residing close to the ocean sounds interesting to you, you are not alone: ​​Home costs in coastal areas of Massachusetts proceed to pattern upward, knowledge exhibits.

Communities on the Cape and Islands and alongside the North and South shores dominate the checklist of locations the place median gross sales costs for single-family houses have elevated probably the most, based on knowledge from The Warren Group, an actual property data firm. Eleven of the 20 spots with the sharpest progress in costs between 2020 and 2025 are alongside the coast, when locations with 25 or extra gross sales final yr.

Provincetown led the pack, with the median home price leaping almost 95 p.c throughout that point to $2.1 million. Elsewhere on the Cape, even Dennis noticed its extra modest median price rise 68.3 p.c to $690,000.

Rowley, which encompasses sections of saltwater marsh and a number of the seashores of Plum Island, and made the 2026 checklist of the Top Spots to Live in Greater Bostoncan be amongst that waterfront pack. The median home price there final yr was 73.1 p.c larger than in 2020, with a lot of that enhance coming in 2025 alone.

“The values ​​have skyrocketed,” says John McCarthy, an actual property agent who has lived in Rowley for greater than 25 years. “We just don’t have enough homes for sale to satisfy the buyer demand.”

Also enticing was Western Massachusetts, with its total decrease housing prices and extra rural tranquility. The Berkshires city of Lee had a median home price of $440,000 in 2025, a 73.2 p.c soar from 2020. Adams, within the northwestern nook of the state, and the Pioneer Valley faculty cities of South Hadley and Northampton additionally skilled important will increase.

“We have the Berkshire mountains for skiing in the winter. We have the wonderful foliage in the fall. We have all the recreation and culture,” says Anthony Caropreso, a Lee-based actual property agent. “It’s the whole Berkshire lifestyle.”

With uncertainty prevailing in the housing marketit’s no shock that the median home price in additional locations is crossing into seven-figure territory. Added to that checklist final yr had been fascinating suburbs north of Boston comparable to Boxford, Lynnfield, and West Newbury.

Every group in Massachusetts has seen home costs go up — by above 30 p.c in most locations — from 2020 to 2025.

However, the numbers from the final yr alone have a unique story to inform. The median gross sales costs dropped in 62 of the communities we checked out and stayed flat in one other 10.

Prices edged down in suburbs comparable to North Reading and Acton; in city areas comparable to East Boston; and in communities on each the upper (Lincoln) and decrease (North Adams) ends of the funds spectrum. Nantucket noticed a drop of 6.9 p.c, though that also leaves the median price at $2.6 million (a sum that will purchase about 2,000 sq. toes not significantly near the seashore, based on present listings).

Whether it is a harbinger of falling markets within the months and years forward is an open query, say actual property consultants.

Chen Zhao, head of economics analysis at actual property firm Redfin, says the price drops seemingly present a market discovering its strategy to a brand new regular after years of gorgeous, hovering costs. But it stays to be seen what affect sluggish job progress and the Iran struggle can have on the financial system and housing costs transferring ahead. “We’re really at this inflection point,” Zhao says.

Using the interactive map, learn the way a lot median costs have modified in your group, or in the event you’re a possible purchaser, the place you’d like to name home.

Sarah Shemkus is a frequent contributor to the Globe Magazine. Additional analysis by Jon Gorey. Send feedback to journal@globe.com.

Andrew Nguyen may be reached at andrew.nguyen@globe.com. Follow him on BlueSky at onlyandrewn.