You’re thinking about moving, and one of the things that you want to know about is how much everything is going to cost. It’s expensive to move, and if you have thought about moving to Massachusetts, you’ll want to know what to expect there in terms of cost. You are pretty sure that it’s going to be beyond what you can afford. However, you aren’t able to give up your dream and have begun thinking about pulling up stakes and moving there.
If you’re located somewhere else in the United States, the name Massachusetts obviously makes you think of New England, a magical place. But are there ordinary people living there? it may not seem possible. However, there are people who own apartments both in Springfield and Boston. They purchase houses in Worcester and Salem.
You don’t feel very optimistic. Even if you’re able to find the perfect home, the daily cost of living is likely too high.
It’s expensive to buy a house in Massachusetts. It’s also very costly to live there. even though you’re dreaming about moving there, you also should make sure that you are finding the right house buying company. Once reality starts setting in, it’s possible that you’re going to find that you’re primarily concerned about money. But the key to solving this problem isn’t money. The thing that you are going to need is information. The right information is going to tell you the amount of money that will be needed for living without having to worry about if you will have enough if there’s an unexpected bill.
Keep on reading. You are going to find out what the houses in Massachusetts are selling for, the amount that you are going to pay for property taxes and utilities, what the average foot cost is, and the comparable figures for small towns and cities across Massachusetts.
What It’s Like to Live in Massachusetts – The Housing Market
Real estate costs in Massachusetts are a few times higher when compared with the United States average. It also climbs each year. in part, this is due to supply and demand. As many more people are flocking to Massachusetts, there’s an increase in the demand for houses, and this always will outpace what is available. If you already live in Massachusetts and you find that you want to sell your home, we will buy your house in Massachusetts.
Like just about anywhere else, the prices that Massachusetts has are going to change based on the place and the season. Chances are that you’ve heard that you are going to pay less in a small town than in an urban center. But this isn’t always the case in Massachusetts. There are a lot of exciting exceptions.
It’s full of education and history. Cambridge is relatively small, and yet the prices are high because it’s near home to two of the most esteemed universities in the nation – Harvard and MIT. It’s also close to Plymouth Rock, home of the Mayflower landing in 1620.
These are all attractions that will drive the prices up, and the average home price went past $500K in 2021. Some sources say that it’s nearer to $600K. in the small town of Cambridge, you can expect to pay nearly $700K for a house with 2 bedrooms and one bath with less than 800 square feet of space.
A one-bedroom condo in Brockton, which is Massachusett’s 6th-largest city for less than $200K. If you need 2 bedrooms, but you’re happy to settle for a 900 sq foot bungalow, you’re going to pay almost 400K. In Braintree, a home’s medium price is more than $500K.
While you are thinking about these details, you also want to think about the time that is best for looking for a house. In Massachusetts, you shouldn’t overlook timing.
Winters aren’t extremely cold. However, they are going to be cold. It also will warm up slowly in the spring. April is when the market will wake up when the temperatures go up past 50 and they continue to rise until late May when they hit their high.
During that peak period, there are a lot of listings, but the prices are also high. There’re some beautiful houses available. Whether you are buying or selling, or you are doing both, you want to keep this in mind.
If you want to do your best to find the best possible deal, make sure that you are coming wearing some good snow boots. You’ll want to come looking during the winter. This is when it’s a buyers’ market, so good news for you but bad news for your seller since the price is going to be lower.
How Much it Costs to Live in Massachusetts
Now that you know that the housing market in Massachusetts isn’t predictable or consistent, you want to know more about how much it costs to live here each day. The truth is that the prices will also fluctuate when it comes to living here. However, living in a large city rather than one of the small towns will be more expensive. Prestigious hospitals or universities and historical areas also are more expensive.
There are a lot of small expenses that you are going to encounter each month. However, to gain a serious understanding of what it’s going to cost for living there will require you to understand a few big categories. You aren’t going to survive very long when you haven’t looked at your estimated costs so that you can keep yourself and your family housed, fed, and healthy.
The first place that you want to start is with the biggest price on your monthly budget.
Massachusetts Housing Prices
It can be often hard to calculate your mortgage payments. But in order to have an accurate idea of what you are going to spend each month. You have to focus on a few key points. Your total payment normally will include the ore loan amount, the interest, how long the loan is, the property taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.
Simply calculating your loan, without any taxes or insurance, for a house that costs $500K in Massachusetts, using a $30K down payment, the payment is going to be more than $2,000. But you should figure on paying almost or more than $3,000 per month.
Bills & Utility Costs to Live in Massachusetts
After you’ve made the decision on a house, you want to make sure it will be comfortably cool during the summer and nice and cozy during the cold nights in the winter. However, the amount that you are going to pay is going to be rather high. On average, homeowners are going to pay almost $500 monthly for electricity and gas.
Transportation Costs In Massachusetts
The amount that people pay in Massachusetts fluctuates, based on the calculation basis. Even though the number of commuters driving in Massachusetts is lower than the nation’s average, the average amount that people pay each year for gas is $800. The majority of estimates include the premiums for car insurance in their total, which brings the average amount for transportation to around $9,500.
Medical & Health Costs to Live in Massachusetts
Another cost that is lower than the nation’s average is healthcare. Compared with the countrywide average of $4,266, a single adult with a minimum amount is $3,339. For a household of four, the countrywide average is $13,000 while Massachusetts’s average is $10K.
Food & Shopping in Massachusetts
Although there aren’t any estimates for meals that are eaten out, it’s estimated that the average person spends $3,544 annually on food, and a family with two adults and two kids will spend $10,435.
When you want to cook something special at home, you are going to spend a minimum of $410 on groceries each month.
The good news is that the living expenses that you are going to encounter in Massachusetts get nearly balanced out by the higher incomes. Back in 2019, the average household income was $85,843. The average value for property was $418,600. If you are going to look at really rough estimates when it comes to Massachusetts cost of living, these are the estimates that you should budget based on:
Mortgage (this includes property taxes and private insurance) – $36,000 annually, $3,000 a month.
Groceries: $10K annually
Healthcare: $10K annually
Transportation: $10K annually
The last thing that you want to remember is these estimates don’t include personal items, clothing, household items such as cleaning products and paper, credit card interest, repair and maintenance on appliances, entertainment, and other luxuries that you give yourself occasionally.
Massachusetts is a very enjoyable and beautiful place to live, work, raise your family, retire, and attend university. But it’s also among the most expensive.
Massachusetts is one of the most beautiful, enjoyable, and most expensive places in the country to live, attend university, work, raise a family and retire.
Is It in Your Budget to Move to & Live in Massachusetts?
Your Massachusetts home is going to most likely cost $500,000. But there’s a good chance that you are going to earn over $80K.
Looking at just a couple of those daily living costs in your home, you’re going to pay the bank approximately $3,000 per month. If you’re in a family of 4, you are going to spend around $10K on food, transportation, and healthcare. But remember that these aren’t factoring in general shopping, utilities, or payments and interest on credit cards.
It also leaves out unpredictable costs such as furnace repairs or replacement or when your fridge is no longer working. So look at the prices and then think about whether or not you want to move here or if you want to look elsewhere.
And don’t forget, if you have inherited a house and you don’t want to live in Massachusetts, or you currently live in Massachusetts and don’t think you can afford it anymore, we can help.
We buy houses in Massachusetts. Contact us today for a fair, no-obligation quote.
