Nahant, MA
Essex County42.4265°N, 70.9189°W
Tracking 1,496 properties across Nahant, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1926 and the oldest to 1723. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
1,496
Properties Tracked
1926
Median Year Built
$867K
Median Assessed Value
37%
FEMA Flood Zone
670,210
NEP Data Facts Tracked
100%
Coastal Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Nahant, MAInc. 1630
Nahant is a small peninsula town connected to Lynn by a narrow causeway, effectively an island community of fewer than 1,500 properties. Nearly every property in Nahant has some degree of ocean exposure — the town is surrounded by water on three sides, and the highest point is only about 160 feet above sea level. This geography makes Nahant one of the most concentrated coastal risk environments in Essex County.
For insurance and lending professionals, Nahant is a case study in coastal property risk: storm surge, flood zones, salt air deterioration, wind exposure, and erosion all converge on a small land area. The housing stock ranges from modest cottages to oceanfront properties with significant assessed values, but every property shares the fundamental reality of living on a peninsula in the open Atlantic. Parcel-level data on flood zone, surge category, and ocean proximity is not just useful here — it's essential.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
549 properties (37%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
947
VE
280
AE
257
AO
12
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
416
Grade B
946
Grade C
133
Grade D
1
Coastal & Water Exposure
1,496 properties (100%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 857 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 0 ft from the coastline.
130
SLR 1 ft
Properties affected
154
SLR 3 ft
Properties affected
436
SLR 6 ft
Properties affected
725
Surge Exposure
Cat 1/2/3/4
345
Marine
Waterfront
5
Estuary
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
1,496 properties · Median year built 1926 · Avg 2,347 sf
Property Types
Single Family
1,145
Institutional
98
Multi-Family
89
Condominium
62
Vacant Land
38
Other
25
Two-Family
17
Mixed Use
11
Commercial
8
Residential Other
2
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
1
1800-1849
50
1850-1899
158
1900-1949
652
1950-1979
333
1980-1999
78
2000+
72
Architectural Styles
Old Style
493
Colonial
138
Ranch
125
Conventional
120
Cape Cod
95
Contemporary
89
Condominium
61
Multi-Family
58
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Essex County Registry of Deeds
15
Sales (12 mo)
Arms-length transactions
$735K
Median Sale Price
Past 12 months
75%
Owner-Occupied
4%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 95% of Nahant 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
9,286 municipal building permits on file · 84% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 9,286 building permits across 1,257 Nahant properties — 84% coverage. 834 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.
9,286
Permits on File
84%
Coverage
Properties with permits
834
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
90%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Nahant
Essex County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes01908
3,334
Population
2020 Census
1,496
Properties
$867K
Median Assessed
75%
Owner-Occupied
1.3
Square Miles
Nahant covers 1.3 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $867K.
Single-family homes account for 1,145 of Nahant's 1,496 properties and 106 multi-family buildings. There are 38 parcels of vacant land. About 75% 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 $691K and $1.2M, with the highest assessed property at $19.8M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most of Nahant (99%) is on municipal sewer. Electric service is provided by National Grid (Massachusetts Electric). 187 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Nahant its character.
Environmental note: Nahant has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 90th percentile nationally, consistent with 209 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard.
What Nahant Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 37% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 100% in the coastal zone, Nahant concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Nahant's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1723 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. 37% of Nahant 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
9,286 permits across 84% of properties means most Nahant inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Nahant property intelligence.
1,496 Nahant 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/nahant-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.