House prices and costs in Boston, MA

Public loan records · 2025

What buyers here actually borrowed and paid (2025)

2025 home-purchase loans (first liens) on owner-occupied 1–4 unit homes in Boston's census tracts: 3,515 loans. These are loans that closed in Boston, not offers: a rate depends on your credit, down payment, points and the day you lock it.

Interest rate, 30-year fixed (conventional)

6% to 6.75%Middle half of loans; median 6.49% · 2,335 loans

Loan costs at closing

$4,463 to $6,889Middle half; median $5,339. Origination charges (points included) and settlement services, Closing Disclosure section D · 3,154 loans

Borrowed, every loan on the home combined

80% of the value (median)Middle half 70.7% to 90%. 41.5% of buyers borrowed more than 80% of the value, 21.7% more than 90%, 6.1% more than 95%. HMDA's combined loan-to-value: every loan on the home (second loans, down-payment-assistance loans and financed FHA or VA fees too) ÷ the value the lender used, so it doesn't show the cash buyers put down · 3,402 loans

Loan types

Conventional 94.3% · FHA 3.1%VA 2.6% · USDA 0%

Discount points

24.4% of loans paid pointsMedian paid: $2,938. Points buy a lower rate.

Loan limits, 2026

$962,550 conformingAbove it, a jumbo loan with its own rates and rules; FHA limit $962,550 (one-unit home, Suffolk County)

For comparison: 7.03% is Freddie Mac's average 30-year fixed rate for the week of Sep 24, 2026, for buyers with 20% down and excellent credit. It isn't an offer or an APR. Source: FFIEC Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data: 2025 Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset (data as of June 1, 2026), via the CFPB HMDA Data Browser; Homiy's calculations (2025 loans; retrieved 2026-09-27).

Research summary · not legal advice

How buying works in Massachusetts

The usual steps, deadlines and closing costs for a purchase in Boston, from state law, standard contract forms and local custom. Contracts can change any of it. Homiy is a prototype: it isn't a licensed brokerage in Massachusetts and offers no services here.

Who runs the closing

Attorneys run the closing. A lawyer must conduct it. Typical time from contract to keys: about 45 days.

The contract

Your signed offer becomes a binding contract once the seller accepts it.

Details

Accepted written offer followed by attorney-negotiated Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S)

Buyer agreement

Written Massachusetts buyer representation agreement and agency disclosure, signed before touring.

Details

Homiy's prototype requires a written agreement before a represented tour. NAR's rule binds participating MLS brokers; do not describe it as a universal state law. Compensation is negotiable and total brokerage pay cannot exceed the agreement.

Source: NAR: written buyer agreements before touring (MLS participation rule, not a universal state statute) (reviewed 2026-09-27)

Second signing

About 14 days after the accepted offer (a sample target); the deposit comes to about 5% of the price.

Details

The accepted offer can already bind; P&S commonly follows inspection, with total escrow deposit topped up to about 5%, not an additional 5%. Fourteen days is a sample target. Attorneys negotiate P&S and participate substantively in closing (REBA v. NREIS).

Inspection

About 10 days for inspections.

Details

760 CMR74 protects inspection rights for nonexempt transactions after 2025-10-15: seller may not condition acceptance on waiver or accept an offer indicating intended waiver; required separate disclosure and reasonable inspection time. Do not offer an inspection-waiver strategy. 10 calendar days is a negotiable sample planning period, not a statutory deadline.

Earnest money

0.1–0.5% of the price, paid when the contract is signed, held by: Listing broker escrow or attorney trust account.

Details

Small initial offer deposit is negotiated (often a fixed dollar sum); 0.1–0.5% is a sample range, not market statistics. Top up, do not double-count, the roughly 5% total at P&S.

Seller's disclosure

Not generally required (No general mandatory condition form; lead-paint, septic/Title 5 and inspection-right disclosures as applicable).

Details

No generic statutory seller-condition cooling-off period. Do not confuse optional condition statement with mandatory lead, septic and 760 CMR74 disclosures; fraud and broker disclosure duties still apply.

Source: Massachusetts real estate brokers and salespersons consumer fact sheet (reviewed 2026-09-27)

Loan and appraisal

Loan contingency: 30 days (set in the contract).

Details

30-day financing period and the typical closing time are sample planning assumptions, not measured averages or legal rights. Financing and appraisal protection require the signed form/addenda; an appraisal shortfall is not automatically protected. Tie the actual commitment date to the offer/P&S; extensions require buyer and seller approval.

Title insurance

The buyer customarily pays for the owner's policy.

Details

Payer is a negotiable local custom, not a mandatory charge; obtain a title quote and follow the signed allocation. Filed insurer/rating-bureau rates are not a state-promulgated price.

Property tax for a new owner

Your property tax follows the county's assessed market value. About 1.2% of the price a year is our planning figure for Boston; your bill can differ.

Details

Use the assessor's current taxable value, assessment ratio and parcel tax district. Price is only a planning proxy; exemptions, revaluations, credits and special assessments are not inherited automatically.

FY2026 Boston residential rate $12.40/$1,000 assessed value =1.24%, applied to assessor value (price proxy), before the owner-occupant residential exemption and other relief. Eligibility/reference dates can delay a new buyer's exemption; use actual assessment. Not a statewide rate. HOA range and lender-title percentage are SAMPLE planning inputs, not observed means.

Agent credits to the buyer

Massachusetts allows an agent to credit part of their pay to the buyer, with the lender's approval.

Details

MGL112 §§87AAA(e),87QQ distinguish principals from people requiring brokerage licenses. The Board executive director's published explanation expressly permits gifts/inducements to buyers and sellers, not unlicensed people doing brokerage. Disclose the agreed credit and obtain lender approval; the historical interpretation is not approval of this prototype.

Source: MA Board Executive Director Joseph Autilio: transaction-party gifts/rebates (regulator-authored explanation, reprint) (2014-06-17 reprint; MGL112 §§87AAA(e),87QQ)

Methodology

How we measure, and what it isn't

Past change, not a forecast. These figures describe the past from public data; they don't tell you where prices go next.