Where Have Single-family Home Prices Jumped 10% Or More in 2025?
Rent Control Proposal Heads to the Ballot | News Nuggets
Home Prices Still Rising in Many Greater Boston Communities
In total, 92 cities and towns statewide experienced a 10 percent or more spike in the median price of a single-family home during the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period in 2024. The data comes from The Warren Group.
The following are 42 Greater Boston cities and towns, including several in Worcester County, where the median price of a single-family home increased 10 percent or more.
The cities and towns are listed alphabetically. The median price for each year represents the period from January through October. Municipalities in bold saw prices jump 15 percent or more.
1. Abington, MA: 2024 $550,000; 2025 $615,000; change: 11.8 percent
2. Amesbury, MA: 2024 $640,000; 2025 $713,325; change: 11.5 percent
3. Ashby, MA: 2024 $415,000; 2025 $499,000; change: 20.2 percent
4. Ashland, MA: 2024 $660,000; 2025 $770,000; change: 16.7 percent
5. Auburn, MA: 2024 $429,000; 2025 $475,000; change: 10.7 percent
6. Ayer, MA: 2024 $557,300; 2025 $625,000; change: 12.1 percent
7. Belmont, MA: 2024 $1,505,463; 2025 $1,765,000; change: 17.2 percent
8. Berlin, MA: 2024 $739,000; 2025 $922,500; change: 24.8 percent
9. Boxford, MA: 2024 $925,000; 2025 $1,105,000; change: 19.5 percent
10. Brookline, MA: 2024 $2,358,000; 2025 $2,675,000; change: 13.4 percent
11. Concord, MA: 2024 $1,489,500; 2025 $1,715,000; change: 15.1 percent
12. Dighton, MA: 2024 $527,500; 2025 $599,900; change: 13.7 percent
13. Douglas, MA: 2024 $500,000; 2025 $553,700; change: 10.7 percent
14. Essex, MA: 2024 $720,000; 2025 $802,222; change: 11.4 percent
15. Freetown, MA: 2024 $493,000; 2025 $600,000; change: 21.7 percent
16. Groveland, MA: 2024 $620,000; 2025 $739,000; change: 19.2 percent
17. Lexington, MA: 2024 $1,600,000; 2025 $1,805,000; change: 12.8 percent
18. Manchester, MA: 2024 $1,065,000; 2025 $1,267,500; change: 19 percent
19. Mattapoisett, MA: 2024 $699,000; 2025 $775,000; change: 10.9 percent
20. Maynard, MA: 2024 $560,000; 2025 $625,000; change: 11.6 percent
21. Melrose, MA: 2024 $867,000; 2025 $980,000; change: 13 percent
22. Middleboro, MA: 2024 $522,500; 2025 $592,500; change: 13.4 percent
23. Millis, MA: 2024 $640,000; 2025 $742,450; change: 16 percent
24. North Attleboro, MA: 2024 $585,500; 2025 $650,000; change: 11 percent
25. Northfield, MA: 2024 $329,000; 2025 $377,500; change: 14.7 percent
26. Norwood, MA: 2024 $681,000; 2025 $760,000; change: 11.6 percent
27. Petersham, MA: 2024 $399,000; 2025 $465,000; change: 16.5 percent
28. Plainville, MA: 2024 $591,000; 2025 $650,000; change: 10 percent
29. Rochester, MA: 2024 $560,000; 2025 $682,500; change: 21.9 percent
30. Rowley, MA: 2024 $744,500; 2025 $915,000; change: 22.9 percent
31. Royalston, MA: 2024 $337,500; 2025 $375,000; change: 11.1 percent
32. Scituate, MA: 2024 $875,000; 2025 $1,100,000; change: 25.7 percent
33. Seekonk, MA: 2024 $520,000; 2025 $577,000; change: 11.0 percent
34. Shirley, MA: 2024 $490,000; 2025 $575,000; change: 17.3 percent
35. Sturbridge, MA: 2024 $499,900; 2025 $550,000; change: 10.0 percent
36. Topsfield, MA: 2024 $885,450; 2025 $981,875; change: 10.9 percent
37. Tyngsboro, MA: 2024 $625,000; 2025 $700,000; change: 12.0 percent
38. Upton, MA: 2024 $652,500; 2025 $725,000; change: 11.1 percent
39. Waltham, MA: 2024 $785,000; 2025 $865,000; change: 10.2 percent
40. Watertown, MA: 2024 $875,000; 2025 $1,000,000; change: 14.3 percent
41. West Brookfield, MA: 2024 $390,000; 2025 $440,000; change: 12.8 percent
42. Weston, MA: 2024 $2,225,000; 2025 $2,626,257; change: 18 percent
While single-family prices continue to rise, some cities and towns have seen condominium prices decline.
Advocates for the Return of Rent Control Want to Circumvent the Massachusetts Legislature
More than 30 years after Massachusetts voters narrowly banned rent control statewide, a new campaign is trying to put rent stabilization back on the ballot in November 2026.
Supporters of a statewide ballot initiative said they collected more than 124,000 signatures, well above the roughly 75,000 needed to advance to the next stage and put the initiative before voters. State and local election officials still must certify the signatures before the measure can proceed through the remaining steps to reach the ballot.
If approved by voters, the proposal would cap most annual rent increases in all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns at the lower of two figures: the yearly change in the Consumer Price Index or 5 percent. The cap would also apply when units change tenants, limiting how much rent could rise between renters. The measure would set “base” rents using what landlords charge on January 31, 2026, potentially incentivizing landlords to raise rents on January 1, 2026.
The initiative includes several exemptions. Newly constructed buildings would be excluded for the first 10 years after they begin housing residents. Owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units, such as many small multifamily properties, would also be exempt.
Other carveouts described by supporters include most public housing, certain nonprofit housing, units in educational or religious institutions, and short-term rentals typically offered for fewer than 14 days.
The campaign backing the measure, Keep Massachusetts Home, is supported by Homes for All Massachusetts. Organizers say they turned to the ballot after rent control efforts repeatedly stalled on Beacon Hill, including home-rule petitions from Boston, Brookline, and Somerville, as well as broader statewide bills.
Over the past month or so, several labor organizations have endorsed the ballot effort, including SEIU Massachusetts State Council, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, UAW Region 9A MA Cap Council, UFCW Local 1445, and the Boston Teachers Union.
Real estate and development groups have moved quickly to organize opposition. Industry leaders argue that the proposal would be among the most restrictive rent control systems in the country and could worsen the housing shortage by discouraging new construction and investment. They also contend that limiting rent growth to inflation, even between tenants, could make it harder to cover rising costs and fund repairs and improvements.
Leaders of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, and the Commercial Real Estate Development Association have signaled they will campaign aggressively against the question.
The proposal is also creating friction among some longtime rent control supporters. A key debate is strategy: a statewide mandate versus a “local option” approach that would repeal the 1994 ban and let communities choose whether to adopt rent stabilization. Some progressive officials say they plan to support the ballot question while questioning whether a one-size-fits-all policy is the best fit for a state with widely varying housing markets.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu could be a pivotal figure. She is a high-profile supporter of rent stabilization efforts but has not endorsed the 2026 ballot initiative. Wu has described the 5 percent cap as more restrictive than the approach she has advocated for Boston and has emphasized the need to avoid chilling housing production while keeping residents in their homes.
The debate is unfolding against a backdrop of tight rental conditions: Rents in Greater Boston vary widely, but $2,000 plus – or even $3,000 plus in some Boston neighborhoods – for a one-bedroom apartment is common. According to Apartments.com, the average rent in Boston for December 2025 is $3,413 for an average-sized apartment (697 square feet), up 0.7 percent from a year ago. “When you rent an apartment in Boston, you can expect to pay about $2,852 per month for a studio, $3,413 for a one-bedroom apartment, and around $4,338 for a two-bedroom apartment. If you opt for a three-bedroom rental, you could pay $5,829 or more.”
The Healey administration has said Massachusetts needs at least 222,000 new housing units over the next decade, a figure virtually no one thinks is feasible.
Contrarian Boston reported that it costs more to build an apartment in Boston than in ultra-expensive New York City.
If the ballot question fails, the initiative can not return to voters for at least six years, raising the stakes for both supporters and opponents as the certification and campaign phases continue.
News Nuggets
Boston Residential Real Estate Taxes: Mayor Wu said residential property taxes will increase 13 percent in January. Wu continues to push the Massachusetts Legislature to approve a home-rule petition to shift more of the tax burden to commercial property owners. The average homeowner will see a $780 increase in their property taxes. The increase is driven in part by the decline in commercial property taxes, as the value of commercial buildings has dropped since the pandemic. Commercial property values declined by 6 percent this year and 5 percent last year. The Massachusetts Senate has shown little interest in Wu’s home-rule petition.
ADU Boom or Bust?: Neither. While accessory dwelling units are popping up across the state thanks to a 2024 law, the pace of adoption remains slow, according to various reports. The Boston Globe reports, “Through the first six months of 2025, the state saw 884 applications for ADUs across 170 communities, and at least 550 had been approved, according to the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. (The data likely undercount applications, the state said, as many municipalities did not respond to its survey.)”
The 5% cap being more restrictive than what Wu advocated for Boston is the underreported tension here. When even progressive mayors who support rent stabilization are hesitant about a statewide mandate, it signals that one-size-fits-all might not work across markets as diferent as Petersham and Brookline. I covered local housing policy debates in the Bay Area and the same dynamic played out, communities with tighter markets ended up needing more flexibilty than blunt caps allowed. The real test will be whether exempting new construction for 10 years is enough to avoid choking supply even further.