Amherst, MA
Hampshire County42.3732°N, 72.5199°W
Tracking 7,359 properties across Amherst, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1968 and the oldest to 1700. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
7,359
Properties Tracked
1968
Median Year Built
$411K
Median Assessed Value
2%
FEMA Flood Zone
2.15M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
Zone 1
Radon Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Amherst, MAInc. 1703
Amherst is one of the most significant college towns in New England, home to UMass Amherst, Amherst College, and Hampshire College. The three institutions shape nearly every aspect of the town — housing demand, commercial activity, land use, and population dynamics. The town center has a walkable, cultural character with bookstores, restaurants, and the kind of community infrastructure that a large university supports.
For property professionals, Amherst's college-town dynamics create a market unlike the surrounding rural communities. Rental demand from students and faculty, institutional land holdings, and the seasonal population swings affect property values and investment economics. The housing stock ranges from historic homes near the town center to student-oriented multi-family buildings to rural residential properties in the outlying areas.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
146 properties (2%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
7,212
AE
91
A
55
NOT DIGITIZED
1
Fire Protection Grades
Fire protection grades reflect proximity to fire stations and hydrant infrastructure. Grade affects insurance pricing in every New England state.
Grade A
840
Grade B
2,199
Grade C
2,238
Grade D
1,369
Grade E
713
Zone 1
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
40 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Relatively Low
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
7,359 properties · Median year built 1968 · Avg 2,178 sf
Property Types
Single Family
4,217
Two-Family
1,129
Institutional
629
Multi-Family
497
Vacant Land
400
Commercial
314
Agricultural / Open Space
70
Other
57
Industrial
25
Mixed Use
9
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
60
1800-1849
114
1850-1899
407
1900-1949
1,055
1950-1979
2,623
1980-1999
1,295
2000+
725
Architectural Styles
Ranch
976
Cape Cod
920
Colonial
714
Vacant Land
514
Res Condo
431
Contemporary
399
Multi-Family
333
Church / Synagogue
280
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Hampshire County Registry of Deeds
57%
Owner-Occupied
5%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 98% of Amherst properties. Ownership intelligence includes transaction history, entity detection, portfolio identification, and lien analysis — assembled from public registry records into a single property-level profile.
Building Permits & Maintenance
20,025 municipal building permits on file · 55% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 20,025 building permits across 4,050 Amherst properties — 55% coverage. 4,011 properties have permit activity in the last five years.
Each permit record reveals maintenance decisions: roof replacements, electrical upgrades, kitchen renovations, solar installations. For insurance, lending, and appraisal professionals, permit history is the most objective evidence of property condition available from public records.
20,025
Permits on File
55%
Coverage
Properties with permits
4,011
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
85%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Amherst
Hampshire County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes0100201003
39,263
Population
2020 Census
7,359
Properties
$411K
Median Assessed
57%
Owner-Occupied
27.8
Square Miles
Amherst covers 27.8 square miles in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $411K.
Single-family homes account for 4,217 of Amherst's 7,359 properties and 1,626 multi-family buildings. There are 314 commercial properties and 400 parcels of vacant land. About 57% of properties are owner-occupied, and 5% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $261K and $555K, with the highest assessed property at $824.9M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
75% of properties are on municipal sewer, with the remainder on private septic systems, and 86% have public water service. Electric service is provided by NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY. 662 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Amherst its character.
What Amherst Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
Amherst's fire protection grade distribution (840 Grade A, 2,199 Grade B) directly affects premium calculation. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Amherst's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1700 to present, require local market knowledge for accurate comparable selection and valuation. NEP assembles building characteristics, environmental exposure, and condition signals into a single property profile.
Real estate solutionsLending & Title
Collateral assessment requires flood zone verification, environmental screening, and ownership chain validation. 2% of Amherst properties are in SFHAs where flood insurance is a federal lending requirement. NEP provides property-level compliance data from public records.
Lending solutionsInspection & Property Services
20,025 permits across 55% of properties means most Amherst inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Amherst property intelligence.
7,359 Amherst properties — each with risk profiles, building data, permit history, and ownership analysis from 140+ sources. Open any property and see the full picture.
Newburyport, MA · Federalist · 3,524 sq ft · 4 bed / 3 bath · Built 1800 · Historic District
NEP Property Intelligence Summary
ConditionC1Fire ClassBFlood ZoneXOwnerIndividualOccupancyOwner-Occupied
Purchased2018 (8yr)Permits11 totalSystems3 updatedLiensClearAssessed$1.6MOcean0.3 mi
EraPre-1940HistoricDesignatedRenovationRecentRadonZone 1
Cite this data
Source: NE Provenance, “Professional Property Intelligence for New England,” neprovenance.com/insights/town/amherst-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.