One of the more august, celebrated towns in all of the United States, Cambridge also has a compelling claim as the strongest housing market in all of Greater Boston.
Below, we’ve focused on three areas where Cambridge excels.
1. Exceptional Housing Activity
Not only is Cambridge among the most active housing markets in Greater Boston – there have been 425 home sales through the first eight months of 2016 – but it is also far and away the top-selling condo market in the area, with 371 sales over the same time period (a 9.1 percent uptick over 2015).
And as if that weren’t enough, Cambridge’s sales volume is also driving some of the strongest price increases in Beantown. According to recent analysis, Cambridge’s median price has risen from $1.4135 million to $1.675 million over the last year, an 18.5 percent increase that is second only to Chelsea.
Suffice to say, few housing markets in the nation are more friendly to home sellers than Cambridge.
Click here to learn about Greater Boston markets where home sales are soaring – and falling.
2. A Thriving Local Economy
A big part of Cambridge’s housing demand is the town’s flourishing economy, which is rooted its unparalleled university climate; after all, not many cities feature two of the world’s top five universities.
Given that education bedrock, it’s no surprise that Boston’s surging tech sector has been so prominent in Cambridge. Among the city’s top 10 employers, half – Novartis, Biogen Idec, Genzyme, Cambridge Innovation Center and Akamai – involve science and technology. And it’s in no small part that the success of those sectors has helped keep Cambridge’s unemployment rate at a minuscule 2.5 percent, nearly half that of the national rate.
3. The Place to Be
With all the aforementioned positives, Cambridge is a fixture in national rankings of communities. Some recent accolades include:
- A Coldwell Banker study ranked it among the 25 most exclusive housing markets in the U.S.
- Niche selected it as the best place to live in Greater Boston
- WalletHub ranked it among the top 10 college towns in the country
- And finally, with nearly three quarters of its residents having bachelor’s degrees (and more than a quarter having master’s), Cambridge is among the nation’s most educated places.