Boston Real Estate Market 2026: A Score of 96 and a $799,000 Median Listing

Boston scores a 96 out of 100 on the PropertyIQ index as of February 28, 2026. That puts Boston in the top tier of the national index alongside Rochester, Buffalo, and San Francisco.

The year-over-year story and the February story are different. Here is what the data shows.

Two Timelines in One Market

Median listing values in Boston are down 4.82% year over year as of February 2026. But in February 2026 alone, listing prices jumped 5.13% month over month. This pattern is consistent with a market that softened in 2025 and has entered its spring buying cycle with significant demand returning.

The sale-to-list ratio is 100% as of November 2025. Sellers receive full asking price, on average.

Supply Is Structurally Constrained

There are 4,200 homes for sale in the Boston metro as of February 2026 -- for a metro of nearly 4.9 million people. New listings fell 3% year over year, tightening supply further. Price cuts affect only 8.63% of listings -- among the lowest of any major metro tracked. Homes average 42 days on market.

The demand score is 84.28 out of 100 as of February 2026. Supply score: 91.64. Boston scores a 96 because both supply constraint and demand indicators are simultaneously elevated.

The Affordability Gap

Boston is approximately 80.1% overvalued relative to local fundamentals as of February 2026. The income needed to buy at the median listing price of $799,000 is approximately $212,371.

Boston's median household income is $112,484 (2023 Census) -- the highest of any metro in this report. Even at that income level, the gap is significant. Average rent is $3,096/month as of December 2025.

Zillow forecasts 2.0% near-term appreciation as of December 2025.

The Investor Case

Boston is a supply-constrained, high-income, high-demand market. The 96 score reflects current conditions, not a forward-looking investment thesis. At a $799K median, cash flow is not accessible by conventional yield math.

The case for Boston is a long-term store of value in a structurally undersupplied coastal metro with durable demand drivers: universities, hospitals, tech, biotech, and finance. The 8.63% price cut rate and 100% sale-to-list ratio indicate sellers hold pricing power. That dynamic does not change unless supply materially increases -- and in a dense coastal market with zoning constraints, that is a slow process.

For comparison, San Francisco presents a similar supply-constraint profile with a different demand composition. Both score in the high 90s for the same structural reason: supply cannot meet demand.

PropertyIQ score as of February 28, 2026. Listing and inventory data as of February 1, 2026. Rent and forecast data as of December 2025. Census data 2023. All data for informational purposes only.