Greater Boston Real Estate Market Divided in 2025
Boston vs. Seattle | Cheaper to Rent Than Buy in Boston | Boston 17th Least Affordable City in the World | Apartments Coming to a Neighborhood Near You
Which Direction Did Greater Boston Home Prices Go in 2025?
Greater Boston single-family home prices rose in 2025, while condominium prices went in the opposite direction compared to 2024, according to data compiled by The Warren Group.
Sales of houses and condos also had different outcomes last year, with single-family sales essentially flat and condominium sales jumping compared to 2024.
The Warren Group defines Greater Boston as the 139 cities and towns located within Interstate 495.
Greater Boston Single-family Homes Market Report
Greater Boston home buyers paid 5 percent more for single-family homes in 2025 compared to 2024. The median price of a house reached $799,000 in 2025 from $760,000 in 2024.
In December, the median house price rose slightly more than 1 percent to $760,000 from $750,000 in December 2024.
Home buyers bought 14 more single-family homes in December than in December 2024, when 1,728 were sold.
In 2025, single-family home sales increased nearly 3 percent to 21,009, up from 20,478 in 2024. In 2023, Greater Boston home buyers purchased 19,642 houses, and 25,664 in 2022. Despite the rise in sales last year, home buyers bought 18 percent fewer single-family homes than in 2022.
Greater Boston Condominium Market Report
The median condo price in 2025 was flat, down $1,014 from $620,000 in 2024. In December 2025, condominium prices declined by 4 percent to $576,520, down from $600,450 in December 2024.
Condominium sales surged nearly 10 percent in December, rising to 1,139 units sold, up from 1,040 in December 2024.
Home buyers purchased 13,938 condos in 2025, a 3 percent increase from 13,557 units in 2024. There were 13,866 condominium sales in 2023 and 16,967 in 2022. Compared to 2022, there were also 18 percent fewer condo sales last year.
Boston vs. Seattle: The battle for higher home prices?
If you are thinking about buying a home in the Boston area in 2026, you might want to think about – gasp! – rooting for Seattle on Sunday.
In 13 of the past 20 years, the metro area that won the professional football championship saw home values grow faster than the U.S. average in the year that followed, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
On average, the typical home in a championship market gained $4,437 more than the typical U.S. home in the year after the win.
Prospective Boston home buyers may love Drake Maye, but not the higher home prices in an already expensive Greater Boston real estate market. Boston and Seattle have median single-family home prices of around $900,000.
While these stats are fun leading up to the big game, I don’t need to tell Real Boston readers that this data is meaningless.
Cheaper to Rent Than Buy in Boston
Buying a home is generally more expensive than renting, despite what people trying to sell you a home will preach.
Of course, there are many obvious perks to owning your own home rather than renting.
What’s changed? According to data compiled by LendingTree, the gap between median monthly rent and monthly mortgage payments has widened.
Among the metros with the widest gap between rent and home-ownership costs (in dollars), the metropolitan Boston area ranked 10th, with the median rent $915 lower than the median mortgage payment.
San Francisco had the largest gap ($1,565), followed by Bridgeport, Conn. ($1,427), and New York City ($1,409).
Providence, RI, ranked 9th, with a $928 difference between the median rent and mortgage payment.
New York City had the biggest percentage difference between renting and owning at 76.1 percent, followed by Bridgeport, Conn. (75.3 percent), and Providence, RI (66.5 percent).
As a percentage, the gap is 43.6 percent in Boston, ranking 37th among the top 100 metro areas.
Boston Ranks 17th Least Affordable City in the World
Just be happy you’re not trying to buy a home in California. California earned the top four spots on Remitly’s list of the least affordable cities to buy a home.
Boston ranked 17th, slightly better than Madrid, Spain (16th), and a little worse than London, United Kingdom (18th).
In Boston, the percentage of a property a single person could afford was 46.1%. For couples, the percentage rose to 92.1%.
In San Jose, the world’s least affordable city, the percentage of a property a single person could afford was 23.7 percent and 54.6 percent for a couple.
Remitly, “a regulated cross-border payments company,” analyzed “151 popular cities” in 11 countries. The analysis included property prices, average salaries, mortgage interest rates, and other data.
Looking for a deal? Remitly ranked Detroit the world’s most affordable city. German cities accounted for six of the top 10 most affordable spots, and Italy had three.
Several Communities Launch Plans for Apartment Projects
A mix of 189 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments will offer ground-level entry and green space along Highland Avenue in Needham, MA, Boston Agent reported. Needham recently modified zoning restrictions in compliance with the MBTA Communities Act, making the project possible.
In Lexington, MA, plans call for redeveloping an office building on Hartwell Avenue into a multi-unit subdivision with 290 rental units, Boston Agent reported. The development will feature one residential building, a parking garage with 444 spaces, and a pool and playground.
In Revere, MA, developers broke ground on Portico, a 473-unit mixed-use multi-unit building that’s the latest addition to the large-scale Suffolk Downs redevelopment. According to Boston Agent, “Once complete in 2028, Portico will feature studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom floorplans and 33,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Residents will have access to a 15th-floor sky deck with ocean views, a lounge with a kitchen, a terrace overlooking Beachmont Plaza, and a courtyard. Inside, Portico will offer a fitness center, recording pods, coffee bar, and private work stations.”
Modera Allston will bring 240 rentals to Boston’s Allston neighborhood, Boston Agen reported. The six-story building, expected to be completed in 2028, will offer studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.
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