Boston housing market: home prices, trends and forecast
Boston home prices: the Zillow Home Value Index valued a typical home in Boston, Massachusetts at $761,236 in September 2026, which is −1.6% versus a year earlier and −2.9% under the peak of $783,816 set in April 2025.
- Value of the typical home
- $761,236September 2026, Zillow ZHVI
- Change over 12 months
- −1.6%. Change since September 2025.
Boston home prices since 2000
Boston is drawn with the steel line, and the United States with the grey one. From January 2000, the typical Boston home has moved from $212,990 to $761,236, a multiple of ×3.57, compared with ×2.99 for the US in the same period. At the boom high, in November 2005, the value reached $412,388, and the low of October 2011 came at $347,682, −15.7%.
Boston median home price by year
Each yearly figure averages the twelve monthly values; for 2026 the latest month is shown.
| Year | Boston | Change on the year | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $225,098 | $125,745 | |
| 2001 | $265,121 | +17.8% | $134,899 |
| 2002 | $301,809 | +13.8% | $144,276 |
| 2003 | $339,410 | +12.5% | $155,308 |
| 2004 | $369,038 | +8.7% | $169,891 |
| 2005 | $404,096 | +9.5% | $189,732 |
| 2006 | $402,585 | −0.4% | $206,531 |
| 2007 | $389,596 | −3.2% | $208,449 |
| 2008 | $372,760 | −4.3% | $195,574 |
| 2009 | $353,054 | −5.3% | $177,542 |
| 2010 | $356,522 | +1.0% | $171,462 |
| 2011 | $351,426 | −1.4% | $162,508 |
| 2012 | $366,289 | +4.2% | $161,137 |
| 2013 | $411,049 | +12.2% | $171,420 |
| 2014 | $459,766 | +11.9% | $182,996 |
| 2015 | $505,474 | +9.9% | $192,738 |
| 2016 | $549,529 | +8.7% | $204,509 |
| 2017 | $597,155 | +8.7% | $216,767 |
| 2018 | $640,913 | +7.3% | $230,541 |
| 2019 | $656,152 | +2.4% | $242,088 |
| 2020 | $674,459 | +2.8% | $257,151 |
| 2021 | $716,989 | +6.3% | $295,959 |
| 2022 | $750,426 | +4.7% | $340,014 |
| 2023 | $738,303 | −1.6% | $348,160 |
| 2024 | $765,649 | +3.7% | $359,751 |
| 2025 | $778,317 | +1.7% | $362,959 |
| September 2026 | $761,236 | −1.6% | $366,157 |
What a home bought in Boston in any year is worth now
An estimate built on an index for a typical home. It is not an appraisal.
Each year's figure averages its twelve monthly index values; the current value is September 2026. Other options: home appreciation calculator.
Considering a sale? Local agents can be compared on Realtor.com. Advertising disclosure: links like this one may pay the site; they never change a number. Disclosure.
Boston housing market forecast
For the Boston, MA metro, Zillow's forecast shows +1.4% over the 12 months beginning September 2026, and +0.5% over the three months that come next. Starting from Boston's typical value of $761,236, the forecast would put the figure near $771,900 a year from then.
That forecast restates Zillow's central estimate for the metro; no forecast of its own is published here. For a 12-month forecast of this kind, the realised change has typically differed by several percentage points, in both directions. Nothing here is investment advice.
All metro forecasts in a single table: housing market forecast.
Boston housing market crash risk score
56 out of 100, on the high side
Against the 292 cities, Boston is ranked on five conditions that ran high before earlier price falls. Every input is scored from 0 to 100 by comparison with the other cities, and the five scores are averaged with equal weight. The score covers conditions today; it makes no crash prediction.
| Input | Value | Sub-score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active listings vs 2019 | −17.1% | 22 | 20% |
| Days on the market vs 2019 | −8.5% | 24 | 20% |
| Price-to-rent ratio | 19.4 | 58 | 20% |
| Price-to-income ratio | 7.8 | 88 | 20% |
| 12-month price change | −1.6% | 86 | 20% |
This is not investment advice. How the inputs get their scores: scoring methodology. All 292 cities ranked: city crash risk ranking.
Inventory and days on market for Boston
For September 2026 the Boston, MA metro counted 9,017 homes for sale, +16.1% versus a year earlier and −17.1% compared with the same month of 2019. Listings sold in a median of 43 days (−8.5% against 2019). A price cut appeared on 16.6% of listings.
| Boston, MA metro, September 2026 | Value | On a year |
|---|---|---|
| Active listings | 9,017 | +16.1% |
| New listings | 6,054 | |
| Median days on market | 43 | +18.1% |
| Median list price | $784,778 | −3.4% |
| Share with a price cut | 16.6% |
Metro inventory comes from Realtor.com® Economic Research. Realtor.com data. See every metro: days on market by city.
What it costs to live in Boston
The Zillow Observed Rent Index puts Boston's typical asking rent at $3,271 a month, +2.1% on a year. That rent takes 19.4 years to cover the cost of a typical home. Median household income stands at $97,791 (Census ACS 2024); the typical home then equals 7.8 times that yearly income. On BEA's figures, housing costs in the metro reach 148.4, and prices reach 108.3 where the US average is 100.
How much rent costs, what prices look like, and the salary needed to move there: Boston cost of living.
More housing markets in Massachusetts
- Worcester at $432,708.
- Springfield, Massachusetts $301,926
For the whole state: Massachusetts housing market.
How to read this chart
Every point plots the Zillow Home Value Index for Boston: what a typical home in the market's middle third was worth, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, in that month's dollars. A hollow dot shows the month picked on the slider, while the terracotta dot shows the latest month. Inflation is not taken out of these figures, and an index tracks the typical home rather than any one house: to value a particular home, take its own sale price, then use the home appreciation calculator or the card above it.