Essex, MA
Tracking 2,224 properties across Essex, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1958 and the oldest to 1637. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
Essex, MAInc. 1634
Essex is a small coastal town at the head of the Essex River estuary, known historically as a shipbuilding center and more recently for its antique shops and seafood restaurants along Route 133. The town's compact footprint — just under 14 square miles — holds a modest number of properties, most of them single-family homes on lots that range from village-scale near the center to larger rural parcels inland.
The Essex River salt marshes dominate the town's eastern geography, creating extensive FEMA flood zones and environmental constraints that affect a significant share of properties. For insurance professionals, the combination of coastal flood exposure, older construction, and limited fire hydrant coverage in the rural sections creates a distinct risk profile. The town has no municipal sewer system, and most properties rely on septic systems — a factor in both property valuation and environmental compliance.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
792 properties (36%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
Fire Protection Grades
Fire protection grades reflect proximity to fire stations and hydrant infrastructure. Grade affects insurance pricing in every New England state.
Coastal & Water Exposure
811 properties (37%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 832 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 3,624 ft from the coastline.
The Property Landscape
2,224 properties · Median year built 1958 · Avg 1,951 sf
Property Types
Construction by Era
Architectural Styles
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Essex County Registry of Deeds
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 85% of Essex 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
2,753 municipal building permits on file · 34% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 2,753 building permits across 753 Essex properties — 34% coverage. 743 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.
Living in Essex
Essex County · Massachusetts
Essex covers 14.3 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $604K.
Single-family homes account for 995 of Essex's 2,224 properties and 238 multi-family buildings. There are 51 commercial properties and 201 parcels of vacant land. About 45% of properties are owner-occupied, and 4% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $47K and $865K, with the highest assessed property at $9.5M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
40% of properties are on municipal sewer, with the remainder on private septic systems, and 47% have public water service. Electric service is provided by National Grid (Massachusetts Electric). 298 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Essex its character. 123 properties have swimming pools.
Environmental note: Essex has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 70th percentile nationally, consistent with 315 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard.
What Essex Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 36% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 37% in the coastal zone, Essex concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Essex's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1637 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. 36% of Essex 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
2,753 permits across 34% of properties means most Essex inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Essex property intelligence.
2,224 Essex properties — each with risk profiles, building data, permit history, and ownership analysis from 140+ sources. Open any property and see the full picture.
Source: NE Provenance, “Professional Property Intelligence for New England,” neprovenance.com/insights/town/essex-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.