Weekly real estate insights for Greater Boston suburban buyers
Data-driven market analysis, strategic buyer intelligence, and actionable insights for the $800K-$1.5M entry-luxury commuter-home segment.
Medfield created a ~51.4-acre MCMOD centered around Town Center—big enough to matter and small enough to make overlay parcels scarce. Here's where single-family buyers should go long, where to be neutral, and where to avoid.
Medfield created the Medfield Community Master's Overlay District (MCMOD) to comply with MBTA Communities requirements. The overlay is ~51.4 acres centered around Medfield Town Center, North St, and Route 109 corridor, designed to accommodate 750+ units of multifamily capacity. Medfield's vibe is 'village suburb + rural edges,' not a TOD city. There is no commuter rail station, so amenity value relies entirely on walkability, schools, and the town center, not transit.
From foundation assessments to pre-offer inspections and specialized testing, learn the systematic framework professional home inspectors use to evaluate property condition—before you discover the $40K foundation issue or $25K electrical panel replacement after closing.
Most buyers treat home inspections as a formality—they schedule the cheapest inspector, skim the 60-page report, and hope for the best. Then they discover major defects after closing when it's too late to negotiate. Professional buyers use strategic inspection frameworks: pre-offer assessments for competitive markets, comprehensive general inspections, specialized follow-up testing (structural, pest, sewer), and evidence-based repair negotiations. This guide teaches you which inspections to order, how to interpret findings, what red flags justify walking away, and how to negotiate repairs that actually get completed properly.
A deep dive into the beautiful flaws of homes built between 1860 and 1940, and whether we could ever afford to build them again.
Look at a street of historic row houses and you feel something—a solidity, craftsmanship, and soul missing from modern suburbs. But that charming 1890 brick rowhouse in Beacon Hill or the South End? You're not just buying history. You're buying an entirely different set of physics, a $200,000+ equity problem, and a maintenance philosophy that most buyers catastrophically misunderstand.
North Scituate (42.6% Irish) leads America's most concentrated Irish heritage region, where South Shore towns from Scituate to Weymouth maintain 33-42% Irish populations—the strongest Irish cultural density outside Ireland itself. With 848,919 Irish ancestry residents statewide, Massachusetts preserves the quintessential Boston Irish identity.
North Scituate claims 42.6% Irish (2,420 people)—possibly the most Irish town in America by percentage. Scituate (41.5%), Kingston (39.5%), Walpole (37.8%), and Abington (36.0%) form a South Shore Irish cultural corridor with 848,919 total Irish ancestry across Massachusetts. This is the geographic heart of Boston's Irish heritage—where St. Patrick's Day isn't just a parade, it's daily life.
Fall River (36% Portuguese) and New Bedford (33%) form America's most concentrated Portuguese cultural region outside of Portugal itself. With 180,827 Portuguese ancestry residents across Massachusetts, the South Coast offers authentic bakeries, seafood markets, cultural festivals—and now, direct train access to Boston via South Coast Rail.
Massachusetts has the strongest Portuguese heritage concentration in America, with Fall River (36.1%, 33,790 people) and New Bedford (32.6%, 32,771) leading a South Coast cultural powerhouse. Add Somerset (31.5%), Taunton (18.7%), and you have 180,827 Portuguese ancestry residents statewide. The March 2025 South Coast Rail launch changes everything—these historic fishing towns are now 70 minutes from Boston by train.
From Quincy's Chinatown-rival food scene (18% Chinese) to Lexington's tech-driven Indian community (10%), discover where Asian families are building thriving cultural hubs with authentic restaurants, language schools, and community organizations across Greater Boston.
Quincy has become a Chinese cultural powerhouse with 18.1% Chinese population (18,256 people)—the largest concentration outside of Boston's Chinatown. Lexington leads in Asian Indian population at 9.8% (3,351), while Randolph claims the highest Vietnamese share at 8.2% (2,860). This comprehensive analysis of Census ancestry data reveals where Asian communities have established the strongest cultural footholds in Massachusetts.
An analysis of 6,684 property sales reveals that 13.2% are teardown candidates where the structure has negative value. Understanding the land vs. structure split is the key to long-term wealth preservation.
In Greater Boston's housing market, a $1.3M home in Lynnfield and a $1.3M home in Acton are not equivalent investments. One has 54% land share; the other has 7%. This analysis of 6,684 property sales and 455 land-only transactions reveals that durability—not price—determines long-term value. We found 885 properties (13.2%) where the structure is already a liability, not an asset. The data is clear: land endures, structures depreciate, and over decades, value converges back to the dirt.
Harvard, Bolton, Groton, and Boxford combine $189K-$200K median incomes with $750K-$950K home costs—delivering high earning power plus 1-2+ acre lots at 55-65% below Weston/Dover. The trade? 50-60 minute commutes make these pure remote-work plays. For families who define wealth as land ownership and freedom from traffic, these four towns are the insider's choice.
Four exurban towns prove high income does not require Boston proximity: Harvard ($201K income, $950K homes), Bolton ($198K, $850K), Groton ($189K, $800K), and Boxford ($193K, $900K) all rank in the top 20 wealthiest Massachusetts municipalities despite 40-50 miles from Boston. Who lives here? Remote workers, semi-retired executives, dual-income professionals with flexible schedules. All four offer 1-2+ acre lots, 40-50%+ conservation land, and genuine rural character. Schools are solid (7.5-8.5/10 range) but not elite. The value proposition: Keep your Boston salary, eliminate the commute, buy 2+ acres for $800K-$950K vs $1.7M-$2.2M in Dover/Weston. For families prioritizing land, nature, and work-life balance over schools and career proximity, these towns are the sophisticated alternative.
Assumable mortgages let you take over a seller's low-interest loan from 2020-2021. But in Greater Boston's high-equity market, the $200k+ cash gap is the real challenge. Here's how FHA and VA assumptions actually work—and who can make them work.
Assumable mortgages are a powerful but complex tool, especially in high-cost markets like Greater Boston. They allow a buyer to 'step into the shoes' of the seller, taking over their existing loan—including the interest rate, remaining balance, and repayment schedule. But in Boston's appreciated market, the equity gap between the loan balance and today's home prices creates a massive hurdle. This comprehensive guide explains how FHA and VA loan assumptions work, who can assume them, where to find these properties, and how to bridge the $150,000-$300,000 cash gap that makes or breaks these deals.
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