Marblehead, MA
Essex County42.5001°N, 70.8578°W
Tracking 8,805 properties across Marblehead, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1947 and the oldest to 1650. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
8,805
Properties Tracked
1947
Median Year Built
$867K
Median Assessed Value
11%
FEMA Flood Zone
3.81M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
100%
Coastal Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Marblehead, MAInc. 1629
Marblehead is a dense coastal town on a peninsula jutting into Massachusetts Bay, with a harbor that has been central to American yachting since the 19th century. The town's Old Town neighborhood contains one of the most intact collections of colonial-era architecture in New England — narrow streets lined with 17th and 18th century houses built tight to the street, many of them pre-dating the Revolution.
The peninsula geography means nearly every property in Marblehead has some relationship to the coast — direct waterfront, harbor view, or proximity to flood zones. The Marblehead Neck causeway connects a spit of land with some of the most exposed oceanfront properties in Essex County. For insurance and lending professionals, Marblehead concentrates coastal risk, historic construction, and high assessed values in a way that demands parcel-level precision. Two properties a block apart can have completely different flood zone designations, building ages, and exposure profiles.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
976 properties (11%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
7,829
VE
696
AE
279
A
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
1,628
Grade B
5,877
Grade C
1,263
Grade D
37
Coastal & Water Exposure
8,805 properties (100%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 1,579 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 0 ft from the coastline.
600
SLR 1 ft
Properties affected
633
SLR 3 ft
Properties affected
795
SLR 6 ft
Properties affected
1,515
Surge Exposure
Cat 1/2/3/4
684
Marine
Waterfront
213
Estuary
Waterfront
160
Pond
Waterfront
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
8,805 properties · Median year built 1947 · Avg 2,562 sf
Property Types
Single Family
6,235
Condominium
569
Multi-Family
506
Other
441
Institutional
317
Two-Family
230
Vacant Land
204
Commercial
199
Mixed Use
77
Industrial
16
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
330
1800-1849
231
1850-1899
667
1900-1949
2,788
1950-1979
2,581
1980-1999
688
2000+
467
Architectural Styles
Colonial
2,079
Old Style
1,300
Cape Cod
759
Condominium
665
Ranch
546
Split Level
361
Contemporary
361
Antique
347
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Essex County Registry of Deeds
162
Sales (12 mo)
Arms-length transactions
$950K
Median Sale Price
Past 12 months
70%
Owner-Occupied
3%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 94% of Marblehead 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
37,162 municipal building permits on file · 75% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 37,162 building permits across 6,627 Marblehead properties — 75% coverage. 4,363 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.
37,162
Permits on File
75%
Coverage
Properties with permits
4,363
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
88%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Marblehead
Essex County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes01945
20,441
Population
2020 Census
8,805
Properties
$867K
Median Assessed
70%
Owner-Occupied
4.4
Square Miles
Marblehead covers 4.4 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $867K.
Single-family homes account for 6,235 of Marblehead's 8,805 properties, with 569 condominiums and 736 multi-family buildings. There are 199 commercial properties and 204 parcels of vacant land. About 70% of properties are owner-occupied, and 3% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $703K and $1.2M, with the highest assessed property at $40.2M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most of Marblehead (100%) is on municipal sewer. Electric service is provided by Marblehead Municipal Light Department. 1,329 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Marblehead its character.
Environmental note: Marblehead has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 82th percentile nationally, consistent with 1,228 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard.
What Marblehead Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 11% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 100% in the coastal zone, Marblehead concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Marblehead's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1650 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. 11% of Marblehead 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
37,162 permits across 75% of properties means most Marblehead inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Marblehead property intelligence.
8,805 Marblehead 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/marblehead-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.