Buying in Boston: the full guide

What homes cost

The median sale price in the city of Boston was $859,431 across all home types in the three months to August 2026, up 3.4% on a year earlier, at about $717 per square foot. Homes sold in around 26 days. A square foot is about 0.093 square metres, so that is roughly $7,700 per square metre.

Much of what sells inside the city is condominiums in converted town houses and triple-deckers, the three-storey wooden buildings typical of the area. Detached family houses are mostly found in the suburbs, in towns such as Newton, Brookline, Lexington and Wellesley.

Property tax changes at the town line

Greater Boston is a patchwork of independent municipalities, and each sets its own tax rate. For fiscal year 2026 the residential rate per $1,000 of assessed value is $12.40 in Boston, $10.98 in Somerville, $10.24 in Brookline, $9.69 in Newton and $6.67 in Cambridge. On a home assessed at $900,000 that is $11,160 a year in Boston against $6,003 in Cambridge, by our arithmetic and before exemptions.

Boston and Cambridge both give a residential exemption to owners who live in the property. In Boston it was worth up to $4,353.74 in fiscal year 2026 and applies to one property only, your principal residence. Bills come quarterly. If your loan has an escrow account, the lender collects the tax monthly with your mortgage payment and pays the city for you.

Financing at Boston prices

The conforming loan limit for 2026 is $962,550 for a one-unit home in the three counties that cover Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton and Somerville. That is higher than in most of the country, and it means many purchases here still fit standard lending. Above it, a jumbo loan is needed.

Two points catch newcomers. With less than 20% down on a conventional loan you will usually pay private mortgage insurance until you have built enough equity. And a lender counts the full monthly cost, including property tax, home insurance and condominium fees, against your income, so a low-tax town can stretch your borrowing further than the price alone suggests.

Buying a condominium

If you buy a flat, you buy into an owners' association with its own budget, reserves and rules. Ask for the budget, recent meeting minutes and any planned special assessments. Under state law the association has to tell you, within ten business days of a written request, exactly what common charges are outstanding on the unit, and that statement binds it. Lenders also review the building itself, so a poorly run association can limit your loan options.

If you plan to let it

Boston's short-term rental ordinance is strict. Only owner-occupied condominiums and one to three family homes can be registered, the owner has to live there at least nine months of the year, and investor units are excluded. Where short stays are allowed they can carry the 5.7% state excise, up to 6.5% local tax and a 2.75% convention centre surcharge. A buyer planning to cover costs by short-letting a second flat in Boston should assume it is not possible.

Getting home

Massport lists nonstop flights from Logan to Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Ponta Delgada, Porto, Reykjavik, Rome, Shannon, Terceira, Vienna and Zurich, some of them seasonal. For families splitting time between two continents, that is among the best European connections of any US city.

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