Essex County 2018 Median Home Prices: Town by Town
[Click here to download the table listing towns in alphabetical order, and here to download the table showing towns from highest to lowest median price.]
Overall, in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County, the median Single Family Home (SFH) price increased 3.9% to $457,000, while sales were down 2%.
The table below shows the median price for each town for the last 4 years, with the percentage change in 2918. It also compares sales for the last two years.
Note that a small number of sales can lead to price fluctuations, as in Essex Town, Rockport 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 $457,000, only 12 of the 34 cities and towns had median prices below this level, while 22 had median prices above $457,000. 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 $547,500.
Andrew Oliver
Realtor, Sagan Harborside
Sotheby’s International Realty
www.andrewJoliver.com
www.OliverReports.com
Tel: 617.834.8205
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Town by Town 2017 Median Prices in Essex County
The median price of the 6,000 plus Single Family Homes (SFH) sold in the 34 cities and towns of Essex County in 2017 increased by $31,000, or 7.6%, to a new record $440,000 compared with 2016. While the overall market reached a new high, in 14 of the towns the median price is still below the prior peak level.
This report lists the prices in four ways: alphabetically by town; by price highest to lowest; by the increase in 2017 over 2016; and by the increase in 2017 compared with 2013.
I also show sales for the last two years, because the greater the number of sales the more reliable the median price as a gauge of the market. Record price levels are shown in bold. If no figure in bold is shown in the table that means that the peak for that town was achieved in the 2005/06 period.
Median price alphabetically (click here to download a pdf of this table).
Median price highest to lowest (click here to download a pdf of this table)
The calculation for the median price for Essex County considers all 6,000 plus sales in one bucket and produces a median price of $440,000. But if one looks at the sales by town, the median price jumps to $520,750. The reason for this difference is that several of the towns with the highest number of sales have the lowest median prices.
2017 compared with 2016 (Click here to download a pdf pf this table)
12 towns saw a double digit increases in 2017, although the largest increases occurred in markets with a small number of sales.
2017 compared with 2013(click here to download a pdf of this table)
The median price in Essex County has increased by 19.2% since 2013, with 14 towns showing gains of more than 25%.
Comment
2017 was a strong year for property prices in Essex County. As always, there were variations from town to town, but overall demand exceeded supply and supply was generally very low, except at the higher end of the price range.
2018 starts with uncertainty over the impact of the tax changes as far as the limitation on the ability to deduct State and property taxes. This, however, will not impact the lower price levels, where a growing economy and rising demand will once again run into a shortage of supply.
At the higher end, where supply remains adequate, lower personal and corporate taxes and a booming stock market should give buyers the wherewithal to step up and take advantage of attractive prices.
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 Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
@OliverReports
Essex County Median Prices: town by town guide
Mid-year is a good time to look at Essex County Median Prices for Single Family Homes (SFH) on a town by town basis.
Guide to the tables
The 34 cities and towns are listed in alphabetical order. The first two columns show the median prices for the first half of 2005 and 2006 – I show both years because the peak year was 2005 in some towns and 2006 in others.
The next two columns show the median price for 2015 and 2016, followed by the percentage change of 2016 over 2015. Following that is a column showing the change in 2016 from the pre-great recession high, whether it be 2005 or 2006.
And finally, I show sales for the two years. This is important because the smaller the number of sales the greater the chance that median prices will show bigger swings.
Note that the median price for the whole of Massachusetts increased 3% and for Essex County 4% compared with 2015, while some towns with a very small number of sales often saw much bigger increases – and indeed decreases.
As always, having the numbers is a start – it is the interpretation that is important. I can produce, on request, for any of these towns the same detailed analysis I publish regularly on Marblehead, Swampscott, Salem, Beverly and Lynn. (more…)
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