Eliza Theiss Quick facts:
- Boston’s 02199 is the #1 most expensive in Massachusetts and #11 nationwide;
- The second most expensive zip code, 02108, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District;
- Boston’s 02116 dominated the state’s residential market by sheer volume – 430 sales;
- 2016’s top three deals came from Nantucket’s 02554 at a combined value of $46.6 million;
Massachusetts’ residential market had a banner year in 2016, with Boston and Nantucket leading the state’s most expensive home sales, totaling $80.9 million for the top six most expensive assets to trade. According to the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, inventory in the GBA has decreased by 35% over the course of 2016, as did the number of days spent on the market. At the same time, the median sale price grew 9.4 percent for single family properties and 4.8 percent for condominiums. This is despite the fact that Boston home sizes tend to be more modest at an average of 909 square feet.
Job growth in the state is fueling demand in the residential sector. According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Massachusetts added 75,000 jobs in 2016, bringing unemployment down to 2.8 percent, its lowest level in 16 years. Comparatively, the national rate stood at 4.7 percent in December 2016 per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Taking Massachusetts’ economic growth into account, we weren’t surprised that the Commonwealth nabbed two spots in our 100 most expensive zip codes in the US for 2016 list. At a median sale price of $2,800,000, Boston’s 02199 was just $15,000 short of breaking into the top 10, having landed on the 11th position. Massachusetts’ most expensive zip code managed this impressive feat with only five transactions concluded last year. All five properties are condo units within two of the most exclusive addresses in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood: The Residences at Mandarin Oriental and The Belvedere. Back Bay is a celebrity hotspot in Boston having been home to such stars as power couple supermodel Giselle Bündchen and five-times Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Unsurprisingly, Boston’s prestigious Beacon Hill neighborhood is one of the priciest areas in Massachusetts for homeownership. With a median home price of $1,430,000, the state’s second most expensive zip code, 02108, is also the nation’s 83rd most pricey one. A U.S National Historic Landmark District and home of the Massachusetts State House, Beacon Hill is a neighborhood of rich history and lavish homes.
With the median home price at $1,331,000, Newton’s 02468 is Massachusetts’ third priciest zip code. Covering the village of Waban, one of 13 that make up the town of Newton, 02468 is among the nation’s most affluent zip codes, known as ‘Super Zips’. 83 percent of Waban residents possess college degrees and the median household income surpasses the $200,000 threshold.
Although only the 12th priciest Massachusetts zip code overall, 02116 is not to be glossed over – this Boston zip code had the highest residential sales activity in the entire state. 430 transactions completed here in 2016 with a median home sale price of $980,000.
But a picture of Massachusetts’ residential real estate market wouldn’t be complete without taking a closer look at the largest residential transactions of 2016. The state’s three most expensive home sales originated in one zip code: Nantucket’s 02554. The state’s 4th most expensive zip code, with a median home price of $1,200,000, Nantucket’s 02554 also saw 317 properties change hands. The sale of the year, 28 Easton St., traded hands for a whopping $19,000,000 in early September. It was followed by the $15,000,000 sale of 141 Cliff Road, a 7,626-square-foot single family home sitting on 2.7 acres of land. Massachusetts’ third most expensive home to trade in 2016 was the 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom 11 Sherburne Turnpike. Built in 1940, the 2,645-square-foot waterfront property sold for $12,600,000
Check out the 50 most expensive zip codes in Massachusetts below:
| # | Zip code | Area | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02199 | Boston | $2,800,000 |
| 2 | 02108 | Boston | $1,430,000 |
| 3 | 02468 | Newton | $1,331,000 |
| 4 | 02493 | Weston | $1,327,500 |
| 5 | 02481 | Wellesley | $1,265,000 |
| 6 | 02554 | Nantucket | $1,175,000 |
| 7 | 02459 | Newton | $1,050,000 |
| 8 | 02535 | Chilmark | $1,050,000 |
| 9 | 02482 | Wellesley | $1,027,500 |
| 10 | 02210 | Boston | $1,000,000 |
| 11 | 02116 | Boston | $980,000 |
| 12 | 02420 | Lexington | $937,500 |
| 13 | 02030 | Dover | $935,000 |
| 14 | 02421 | Lexington | $925,000 |
| 15 | 02467 | Brookline | $924,500 |
| 16 | 02142 | Cambridge | $905,000 |
| 17 | 02111 | Boston | $871,875 |
| 18 | 02462 | Newton | $865,000 |
| 19 | 01773 | Lincoln | $860,000 |
| 20 | 01890 | Winchester | $853,000 |
| 21 | 02478 | Belmont | $850,000 |
| 22 | 02492 | Needham | $829,500 |
| 23 | 02460 | Newton | $828,000 |
| 24 | 02650 | Chatham | $826,250 |
| 25 | 02461 | Newton | $822,500 |
| 26 | 02539 | Edgartown | $810,000 |
| 27 | 02465 | Newton | $805,000 |
| 28 | 02110 | Boston | $799,500 |
| 29 | 02109 | Boston | $799,000 |
| 30 | 02466 | Newton | $795,000 |
| 31 | 01742 | Concord | $794,000 |
| 32 | 02118 | Boston | $780,000 |
| 33 | 01741 | Carlisle | $760,000 |
| 34 | 02445 | Brookline | $754,000 |
| 35 | 02446 | Brookline | $750,000 |
| 36 | 01944 | Manchester-by-the-Sea | $747,500 |
| 37 | 01770 | Sherborn | $735,500 |
| 38 | 02025 | Cohasset | $725,000 |
| 39 | 02138 | Cambridge | $725,000 |
| 40 | 02494 | Needham | $723,938 |
| 41 | 02043 | Hingham | $715,000 |
| 42 | 02458 | Newton | $710,000 |
| 43 | 02115 | Boston | $683,500 |
| 44 | 01776 | Sudbury | $680,000 |
| 45 | 02139 | Cambridge | $673,750 |
| 46 | 01730 | Bedford | $662,500 |
| 47 | 01778 | Wayland | $656,500 |
| 48 | 02144 | Somerville | $652,500 |
| 49 | 02090 | Westwood | $650,500 |
| 50 | 02141 | Cambridge | $635,000 |
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Methodology: In order to determine which were the most expensive ZIP codes in Massachusetts, we looked at all residential transactions closed in 2016, taking into account condo, co-op, single- and the two-family homes. All package deals were excluded.
Correction: The list of most expensive zip codes in Massachusetts was updated on March 9, 2017 to account for Middlesex zip codes that were not included initially due to a technical glitch when compiling the stats.
