The Massachusetts housing market, by the numbers.
Median sale price, days on market, and what a traditional sale really costs a Massachusetts seller — every figure on this page comes from the source cited next to it.
- Median sale price: $688,000
- Median days on market: 21
- Typical selling costs: ~7.03% of the price
- Foreclosure timeline: 4 to 8 months
Planning a Massachusetts sale?
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The headline numbers.
Each figure comes from the source cited under it. Medians describe the middle of the Massachusetts market, not any specific house.
Selling the traditional way in Massachusetts: the math.
The same arithmetic an agent would run at your kitchen table, worked on the Massachusetts median sale price.
How to read this: on the $688,000 median sale, the traditional route leaves roughly $639,634 before loan payoff, repairs, and the holding costs (effective property tax ~1.23%/yr per the Tax Foundation, plus insurance and utilities) that stack up while you wait about 21 days on market. These are estimates worked on the Massachusetts median; your actual costs vary by county, property, and buyer.
The Massachusetts foreclosure clock.
Massachusetts uses a non-judicial foreclosure process, and a typical case runs 4 to 8 months — that window is how much real time an owner has to catch up, refinance, or sell.
How long it really takes: Roughly 7–9 months from default to auction in a typical uncontested case, often longer — federal rules (12 C.F.R. §1024.41) generally bar starting foreclosure until the loan is more than 120 days delinquent, then the 90-day cure period, the optional Land Court Servicemembers case, and §14 notice/publication follow (practitioner estimate). Note: the Land Court Servicemembers case most lenders file is NOT itself a foreclosure and is not a foreclosure defense — it only determines Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections; receiving that complaint means foreclosure is being prepared, but the auction date is set separately.
Primary statute: G.L. c. 244 §35A. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm the specifics with a local attorney.
If you need to sell fast.
The numbers above describe the traditional route in Massachusetts: roughly 7.03% of the price in selling costs and about 21 days of waiting before a financed buyer even closes. When time is the real problem — a foreclosure date, back taxes, a move that can't wait — some owners trade part of the headline price for speed and certainty by selling as-is to a cash buyer.
Where we fit: Fair Home Cash is a connector, not the buyer. We put Massachusetts homeowners in touch with independent cash buyers who purchase houses as-is; buyers pay us a flat marketing fee for the connection, and we never take a cut of your sale. Requesting offers is free, and you decide what happens next.
See what the Massachusetts numbers mean for your house.
Compare the traditional math above with a fast as-is sale — free tools, sourced data, and a timeline you control.
Selling fast in Massachusetts →