Melrose, MA
Tracking 9,528 properties across Melrose, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1926 and the oldest to 1680. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
Melrose, MAInc. 1629
Melrose is a compact, walkable city northeast of Boston with a housing stock that reflects its development as a streetcar suburb in the late 19th century. The city's residential neighborhoods are characterized by closely spaced Victorians, colonials, and early 20th century homes, with a well-defined commercial center along Main Street. Wyoming Cemetery, Ell Pond, and the Middlesex Fells Reservation provide green space in what is otherwise a densely developed community.
For property professionals, Melrose is a consistent residential market with strong demand driven by its proximity to Boston, good schools, and walkable character. The housing stock is uniformly old — mostly pre-1940 — which means condition assessment is the primary differentiator between properties that otherwise look similar on paper.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
293 properties (3%) 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
43 properties (1%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 98 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 2.6 mi from the coastline.
The Property Landscape
9,528 properties · Median year built 1926 · Avg 2,425 sf
Property Types
Construction by Era
Architectural Styles
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Middlesex County Registry of Deeds
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 99% of Melrose 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 Melrose
Middlesex County · Massachusetts
Melrose covers 4.8 square miles in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $763K.
Single-family homes account for 6,387 of Melrose's 9,528 properties, with 1,985 condominiums and 209 multi-family buildings. There are 193 commercial properties and 197 parcels of vacant land. About 77% of properties are owner-occupied.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $635K and $886K, with the highest assessed property at $161.8M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most of Melrose (100%) is on municipal sewer. Electric service is provided by NSTAR ELECTRIC COMPANY. 845 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Melrose its character.
Environmental note: Melrose has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 51th percentile nationally, consistent with 1,280 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard. 1,775 properties exceed at least one EPA environmental justice threshold — a factor in lending compliance and environmental due diligence.
What Melrose Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 3% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 1% in the coastal zone, Melrose concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Melrose's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1680 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. 3% of Melrose 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 Melrose property intelligence.
9,528 Melrose 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/melrose-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.