Boston Real Estate Guides
Plain-English guides to buying and selling a home in Boston and the surrounding towns, from the team that does it every day.
Buying and selling guides
Buying a condo in Boston
In Massachusetts you buy a condo unit plus a percentage share of the building's common areas, governed by Chapter 183A and the association's master deed and bylaws. Before you sign a Purchase and Sale agreement, review the budget, reserves, insurance, rules and recent minutes, and confirm the building works with your loan.
Read guideBuying a multi-family in Boston (two-families and triple-deckers)
Buying a two-family or triple-decker in Boston means choosing between owner-occupied and investor financing, taking over the existing tenants, leases and deposits, and meeting landlord duties like the Massachusetts lead law, smoke and CO certification, and Boston rental registration.
Read guideFirst-time home buyer guide for Boston and Massachusetts
Buying your first home in Boston follows a Massachusetts-specific path: a homebuyer education class, pre-approval, a written offer followed by a Purchase and Sale agreement, inspections (including lead paint for older homes), and a closing run by an attorney. State and city programs can help with the down payment and the rate if you qualify.
Read guideHow making an offer on a house works in Massachusetts
In Massachusetts you usually sign two contracts: a short Offer to Purchase with a first deposit, then a fuller Purchase and Sale agreement with a larger deposit. A signed offer can be legally binding on its own, so its price, deposits, contingencies and deadlines matter from the moment it is accepted.
Read guideWhich mortgage fits which kind of home in Massachusetts
The property shapes the loan as much as the borrower does. Single-family homes fit the widest range of loans, condos depend on the building passing the loan program's project review, two- to four-family homes open up owner-occupied programs and rental income, and investment properties are limited to conventional and other non-government financing.
Read guideMoving to Boston, what to know before you relocate
Greater Boston is a patchwork of the City of Boston's neighborhoods and separate cities and towns, so start by choosing a transit line and commute, rent first if you can, plan around the September 1 lease cycle, and register your car and get a Massachusetts license as soon as you become a resident.
Read guideRenting in Boston: leases, deposits, broker fees and your rights
Most Boston leases turn over at the start of September, so plan a late-summer search early. At signing, Massachusetts landlords may collect only first and last month's rent, a security deposit of up to one month's rent and the cost of a new lock and key, and since August 1, 2025 the broker fee is paid by whoever hired the broker.
Read guideHow to sell a house in Massachusetts
Price the home from recent comparable sales, prepare it and list it, while gathering the paperwork Massachusetts requires: a smoke and CO certificate, the lead paint notification for pre-1978 homes, a home inspection disclosure, and a Title 5 report if you have a septic system. After you accept an offer, your attorney negotiates the Purchase and Sale agreement and handles the deed and deed excise tax at closing.
Read guideChoosing where to live by transit line
Commuter rail towns near Boston, line by line
The MBTA runs 12 regular commuter rail lines. Those from South Station and Back Bay serve Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Needham, Dedham, Quincy and Boston's southern neighborhoods, while North Station lines serve Belmont, Waltham, Weston, Winchester, Woburn, Medford, Malden, Melrose and Chelsea.
Read guideLiving near the Blue Line, from Bowdoin to Wonderland
The Blue Line is a single line of 12 stations, running from Bowdoin on Beacon Hill under Boston Harbor to East Boston and on to Revere, ending at Wonderland. Its East Boston and Revere stops are where most of the homes along it are.
Read guideLiving near the Green Line, a branch-by-branch guide to where to buy
The Green Line splits into four western branches (B to Boston College, C to Cleveland Circle, D to Riverside and E to Heath Street) that share a downtown tunnel, and since 2022 the Green Line Extension has carried the D to Union Square and the E to Medford/Tufts.
Read guideLiving near the Orange Line in Boston
The Orange Line runs 20 stations from Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain through Roxbury, the South End, Back Bay, downtown and Charlestown to Somerville, Medford and Oak Grove in Malden. Housing along it ranges from triple-deckers and Victorians to brownstone condos and new towers.
Read guideLiving near the Red Line in Boston
The Red Line runs from Alewife in Cambridge through Somerville, downtown Boston and South Boston, then splits at JFK/UMass into an Ashmont branch through Dorchester and a Braintree branch through Quincy. The Mattapan trolley continues from Ashmont through Milton to Mattapan.
Read guideCosts, taxes and rules
Boston residential exemption: who qualifies and how to apply
Boston's residential exemption lowers the property tax on a home you own and occupy as your principal residence by excluding part of its value from taxation. For fiscal year 2027 the application deadline is April 1, 2027, and buyers who recorded a deed and moved in between January 1 and June 30, 2026 may now qualify.
See the detailsClosing costs in Massachusetts: what buyers and sellers pay
Buyers in Massachusetts pay lender charges, title insurance, their attorney, Registry of Deeds recording fees and prepaid taxes and insurance. Sellers pay the deed excise tax ($2.28 per $500 outside Barnstable County), mortgage discharge recording, their attorney, the smoke and CO certificate and any agreed commission.
See the detailsMassachusetts deed excise tax (transfer stamps)
Outside Barnstable County, the Massachusetts deed excise tax is $2.28 for every $500 of the sale price, or fraction of $500 (about $4.56 per $1,000). The person who signs the deed, the seller in a sale, pays it when the deed is recorded.
See the detailsMassachusetts homestead declaration: protection, cost and how to file
Every Massachusetts owner-occupant gets an automatic $125,000 homestead exemption under M.G.L. c. 188. Recording a declaration of homestead at the Registry of Deeds raises it to $1,000,000, and the Suffolk and Middlesex South registries charge $35 to record one.
See the detailsProperty tax rates in Boston and nearby cities and towns
Boston's fiscal year 2026 residential tax rate is $12.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, according to the Massachusetts Division of Local Services. Nearby FY2026 residential rates run from $6.67 in Cambridge to $12.62 in Everett, and every community sets a new rate each fiscal year.
See the detailsHave a question we haven't covered?
Reach out for a confidential, no-pressure conversation with our team.
Talk to us