Essex County: town by town guide to Median Prices
This table shows median prices for the full years 2015, 2016 and 2017, and median prices and sales for the first 9 months of 2017. Note that a small number of sales can lead to price fluctuations, as in Nahant, Essex Town and Wenham amongst others. In general, the larger the number of sales, the more reliable is the median price.
While the overall median price in Essex County was $460,000, only 12 of the 34 cities and towns had median prices below this level, while 22 had median prices above $440,000. The reason for this is that the median price for the the County is calculated by taking all individual property sales, and many of the towns with a large number of sales are in communities with lower prices.
Calculating the median price for Essex County using towns rather than individual sales produces a median price of $543,975.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.
If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Are you thinking about selling? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
Essex County Q3 market report: Prices Continue to Increase
(click here to download a copy of this report.)
The median price of the SFHs sold in Essex County in the first 9 months of 2018 increased 5% to a new record $460,000, on sales down slightly (numbers in bold represent record levels). (more…)
Housing Inventory Continues to Increase
While the number of Single Family Homes (SFH) increased, year-on-year, for the 5th consecutive month, the absolute level is back only to 2016 levels:
The increase in supply of condos (for the 6th consecutive month year- on-year) has been dramatic during the course of the year, but it was starting from a low base and has not yet returned to 2016 levels.
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.
If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Are you thinking about selling? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
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Contact Lynne Breed on 781.608.8066 for more information or to schedule a private showing and click Danvers condo for more details and photos.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
www.SaganHarborside.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Housing inventory jumps sharply in September
The number of Single Family Homes (SFH) for sale in Essex County jumped 15% in September from a year ago, the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year increases, and reached the highest level since October 2016:
The number of condos for sale jumped 13% from a year ago, the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year increases, and reached the highest level since November 2016:
Comment
After several years of decline, inventory bottomed out in the first quarter of 2018 and has been increasing year-on-year for 4 months for SFHs and 5 months for condos. While actual levels remain well below those of 2015, it is clear that buyers are now seeing more options than they have in recent years.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
www.SaganHarborside.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Housing Inventory: town by town guide
Last week’s report Housing inventory increases again pointed out that year-over-year inventory in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County had increased for the 3rd consecutive month (4th for condos), but also commented that inventory still remains very low overall.
As promised, here is a breakdown of the current supply of Single Family Homes (SFH) for each city and town, as measured by the number of months of sales represented by the number of houses for sale.
As a general guide, a market is regarded as being in equilibrium between buyers and sellers when there is 6 months of supply. Thus, while there has been – finally – some increase in supply, overall it remains clearly a strong sellers’ market, although there are signs that pricing power for sellers is not as strong as it was in the spring.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
www.SaganHarborside.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Housing Inventory increases again
The number of Single Family Homes (SFHS) for sale in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, as measured on the first of the month and compared with a year ago, increased for the 3rd consecutive month in September. This date, of course, was just before Labor Day, and there has been a sharp jump in the number of SFHs for sale in the last few days.
The number of Condos for sale increased for the 4th consecutive month.
Comment
The percentage increases in the first few days of September was significantly greater in 2018 than in 2017, especially for condos. For both SFHs and Condos inventory is the highest in almost two years.
A later report will analyze the supply by individual city and town.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
The North Shore’s only Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate
www.SaganHarborside.com
Million Dollar Home Sales jump 56%
After holding steady for several years, sales of Single Family Homes (SFHs) over $1 million in Essex County jumped 56% from 91 to 142 in the first half of 2018.
While most sales took place in the $1-2 million range, there was a significant increase also in sales over $2 million.
And here is the town by town guide for the last two years, with the largest number of sales as usual in Marblehead and Andover, although Boxford showed a sharp increase.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
The North Shore’s only Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate
www.SaganHarborside.com
Housing Inventory increases for 2nd month in a row
(Click here to download a PDF of this report.)
After 26 months of declining inventory year-over-year, August marked the second consecutive monthly increase for Single Family Homes (SFH) in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County. But read on to the section about supply which shows that inventory remains extremely low despite the modest recent increases.
Condo inventory declined for 44 consecutive months, year over year, until June and has now increased for 3 months in a row.
Supply
A market is normally regarded as being in equilibrium between buyers and sellers when the current supply is equivalent to 6 months of sales. Anything less than that is seen as a sellers’ market, meaning there are more buyers than sellers.Thus, while inventory has shown some modest year over year increases in the last couple of months, supply remains very tight in most markets in Essex County. Overall, the supply of SFHs is just 2.6 months,with only 6 towns showing supply of 6 months or more.
The Condo market is even tighter, with only 1.9 months of supply and no individual town recording 6 months.
Comment
While inventory has shown a welcome year over year increase recently, overall supply still strongly favours sellers – at the right price.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
www.SaganHarborside.com
Essex County H1 2018 Housing Market By The Numbers
(Click here to down load a copy of this report.)
The median price of Single Family Homes sold in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County in the first half of 2018 increased 5.8% from 2017, while sales were down slightly.
Condos
The median price of the condos sold in Essex County in the first half of 2018 increased 3.5% from a year ago, while sales were flat
*figures in bold represent record levels
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
www.SaganHarborside.com
Essex County Mid-Year 2018 Median Prices: Town by Town Guide
(Click hereto download a PDF of this report.)
The median price of the Single Family Homes (SFH) sold in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County in the first half of 2018 increased 6% from 2017, while the median condo price increased 3.5% – in both cases to new record highs.
The table below lists the towns by median price in the first half of 2018 in descending order. A few comments:
– the numbers in bold represent record figures
– 11 of the 34 towns did not record record highs in the first half of 2018, compared with 14 in the full year 2017
– in 22 of the 34 towns the median price exceeded the median price for Essex County overall. Why? Because the volume of sales varies greatly from town to town and the overall number treats the entire County as one. Looking just at the 34 towns the median price rises to $546,225, some $90,000 higher.
– which emphasizes a very important point: that the smaller the number the greater the likely variation, and the larger the number the greater the accuracy; hence I show sales number for each town.
– which emphasizes a very important point: that the smaller the number the greater the likely variation, and the larger the number the greater the accuracy. Hence, I show sales number for each town.
– Lynn had the largest number of sales at 259, and its 5.1% increase in median prices is, therefore, a good representation of pricing in that market
– Wenham, on the other hand, had just 17 sales, and its 45% increase in median prices simply reflects the mix of sales this year compared with last. This does not mean that the information is meaningless; but it does require further analysis. As always with statistics, informed analysis is needed to go with the bare numbers.
And now the actual numbers. Please feel free to ask your Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty agent for further information about any of these 34 cities and towns.
Essex County Mid-Year Housing Market Flash Report
A week after the end of the quarter we are still waiting for a handful of agents to update listings which were scheduled to close in June. Hence these numbers are not final but will be very close.
Single Family Homes (SFH)
Sales: flat in the second quarter, down about 2% YTD
Median Price: up nearly 6% to $455,000, a new record. The median price reached $400,000 for the first time in the first half of 2016.
Condos
Sales: flat in the second quarter, down about 3% YTD
Median Price: up 3.5% to $295,000, a new record. The second quarter may just have reached $300,000 for the first time.
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
Has Housing Inventory finally bottomed?
Housing inventory in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County has been declining steadily since 2014, but the latest figures suggest that the decline may finally be coming to an end. Inventory is still down about 30% from 2015 and 15% from 2016, but there has actually been a slight increase in the last month. More detailed analyses for individual towns will be published in the near future.
Essex County Q1 2018 housing market: prices continue to increase
The first Quarter of the year is the slowest one for sales in Essex County (weather!), typically representing about 15% of the year’s total. The smaller the number of sales the less significant is the data, so the numbers for individual towns can and do fluctuate from quarter to quarter.
As the numbers get bigger so does the significance. In the 34 cities and towns of Essex County overall, sales of Single Family Homes (SFH) were down 4% from Q1 2017 while the median price increased 4.4%.
In the whole of Massachusetts, sales were flat and the median price increased 3%,
The table below shows the median SFH price for each town for the last three years; and the median price and sales for Q1 for 2017 and 2018. The mid-year data, which I shall publish in mid-July, will give a better feel for the market in individual cities and towns, but these numbers support the general perception that the housing market in Essex County continues to show price increases.

OliverReports.com
Housing Inventory drops even further: a breakdown by price
This will come as no surprise to anybody who has been looking for a home to buy, but the number of both Single Family Homes (SFH) and Condos for sale throughout the North Shore, Essex County and Massachusetts as a whole has continued to drop, in many cases sharply, from already low levels a year ago.
First, I’ll show the percentage declines in the different market, followed by a detailed breakdown of inventory by price (note that the percentage change shown in the tables is from 2017 to 2018).

Oliver Reports, MLS
In line with the principle of shopping locally, I will start with 5 North Shore towns, followed by Essex County and Massachusetts.
Marblehead
Swampscott
Salem
Beverly
Lynn
Essex County
Massachusetts
If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.
If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.
Are you thinking about selling? Read Which broker should I choose to sell my house?
Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
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