Manchester-by-the-sea, MA
Essex County42.5751°N, 70.7726°W
Tracking 347 properties across Manchester-by-the-sea, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1970 and the oldest to 1792. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
347
Properties Tracked
1970
Median Year Built
$28K
Median Assessed Value
24%
FEMA Flood Zone
128,110
NEP Data Facts Tracked
100%
Coastal Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Manchester-by-the-sea, MA
Manchester-by-the-Sea — the "by-the-Sea" was added in 1989 to distinguish it from other Manchesters — is a small, affluent coastal town on the North Shore between Beverly and Gloucester. Singing Beach, accessible by commuter rail, draws summer visitors, and the harbor has been a center of recreational sailing for generations. The town's housing stock reflects its position as a summer colony turned year-round community: grand shingled estates along the coast, modest village homes near the center, and newer construction on the wooded inland lots.
For property professionals, Manchester's coastal exposure, high property values, and historic building stock create a concentrated set of considerations. Waterfront properties face storm surge and flood zone designations, while the town's limited commercial tax base means residential assessments carry the full weight of municipal services. The small number of transactions in any given year makes comparable selection for appraisals and market analysis a challenge that benefits from deep property-level data.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
85 properties (24%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
262
A
47
VE
19
AE
19
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
21
Grade B
48
Grade C
63
Grade D
195
Grade E
20
Coastal & Water Exposure
347 properties (100%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 106 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 0 ft from the coastline.
21
SLR 1 ft
Properties affected
24
SLR 3 ft
Properties affected
41
SLR 6 ft
Properties affected
56
Surge Exposure
Cat 1/2/3/4
22
Pond
Waterfront
19
Marine
Waterfront
16
Estuary
Waterfront
Zone 1
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
50 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Relatively Low
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
347 properties · Median year built 1970 · Avg 395 sf
Property Types
Institutional
226
Vacant Land
69
Other
17
Commercial
17
Single Family
11
Industrial
4
Multi-Family
2
Condominium
1
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
1
1800-1849
2
1850-1899
1
1900-1949
4
1950-1979
4
1980-1999
3
2000+
5
Architectural Styles
Church / Synagogue
91
Government Land
78
Nonprofit / Charitable
21
Religious School / Hall
9
Education (Other)
7
Municipal Facility
4
Parsonage / Rectory
4
College / University
4
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Essex County Registry of Deeds
12%
Owner-Occupied
2%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 79% of Manchester-by-the-sea properties. Ownership intelligence includes transaction history, entity detection, portfolio identification, and lien analysis — assembled from public registry records into a single property-level profile.
Living in Manchester-by-the-sea
Essex County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes
VillagesManchester
347
Properties
$28K
Median Assessed
12%
Owner-Occupied
7.8
Square Miles
Manchester-by-the-sea covers 7.8 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $28K.
Single-family homes account for 11 of Manchester-by-the-sea's 347 properties. There are 69 parcels of vacant land. About 12% of properties are owner-occupied.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $11K and $185K. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most properties rely on private septic systems, and 35% have public water service. Electric service is provided by National Grid (Massachusetts Electric).
Environmental note: Manchester-by-the-sea has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 74th percentile nationally, consistent with 4 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard.
What Manchester-by-the-sea Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 24% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 100% in the coastal zone, Manchester-by-the-sea concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Manchester-by-the-sea's 8 property types, spanning construction from 1792 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. 24% of Manchester-by-the-sea 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
Understanding a property's construction era, environmental exposure, and building characteristics before arriving on site transforms inspection from discovery to verification.
Inspection solutionsExplore Manchester-by-the-sea property intelligence.
347 Manchester-by-the-sea 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/manchester-by-the-sea-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.