Shirley, MA
Tracking 2,833 properties across Shirley, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1984 and the oldest to 1715. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
Shirley, MAInc. 1720
Shirley is a small town in the northwestern part of Middlesex County, adjacent to the former Fort Devens military reservation. The town's character is modest and working-class, with a housing stock of single-family homes, some multi-family buildings near the village center, and limited commercial development. Shirley Village, the town's center, has a compact, traditional layout with older homes and a few commercial buildings.
For property professionals, Shirley is one of the more affordable markets in Middlesex County, with assessed values well below the county median. The town's distance from major employment centers and its modest infrastructure keep it in a different market tier than the commuter suburbs to the east and south.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
123 properties (4%) 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.
The Property Landscape
2,833 properties · Median year built 1984 · Avg 2,334 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 100% of Shirley 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 Shirley
Middlesex County · Massachusetts
Shirley covers 15.9 square miles in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $388K.
Single-family homes account for 1,594 of Shirley's 2,833 properties, with 425 condominiums and 129 multi-family buildings. There are 60 commercial properties and 281 parcels of vacant land. About 57% 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 $215K and $518K, with the highest assessed property at $72.0M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
22% of properties are on municipal sewer, with the remainder on private septic systems, and 63% have public water service. Electric service is provided by MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANS AUTHORITY. 242 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Shirley its character.
What Shirley Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
Shirley's fire protection grade distribution (173 Grade A, 870 Grade B) directly affects premium calculation. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Shirley's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1715 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. 4% of Shirley 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 Shirley property intelligence.
2,833 Shirley 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/shirley-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.