Swampscott, MA
Essex County42.4699°N, 70.9172°W
Tracking 5,666 properties across Swampscott, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1933 and the oldest to 1637. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
5,666
Properties Tracked
1933
Median Year Built
$734K
Median Assessed Value
12%
FEMA Flood Zone
2.40M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
100%
Coastal Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Swampscott, MAInc. 1629
Swampscott is a compact coastal town on the North Shore between Lynn and Marblehead, with a housing stock that reflects its evolution from a fishing village to a resort community to a year-round residential suburb. The town's oceanfront neighborhoods — particularly along Humphrey Street and Phillips Beach — command premium values and carry coastal flood and storm exposure, while the inland neighborhoods are more typical of a dense suburban community.
For property professionals, Swampscott's small size and relative consistency make it a manageable market, but the coastal exposure creates meaningful variation in risk profiles within a short distance. Properties a few blocks from the ocean face fundamentally different insurance and environmental considerations than those on the inland side of town. The town's proximity to Boston — it's on the commuter rail — keeps demand steady and transaction volume sufficient for market analysis.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon, coastal exposure, storm surge — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
707 properties (12%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
4,959
AE
511
VE
176
A
13
AO
7
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
547
Grade B
2,882
Grade C
2,237
Coastal & Water Exposure
5,666 properties (100%) are within 3 miles of the ocean. 812 are classified as waterfront. The closest property is 0 ft from the coastline.
102
SLR 1 ft
Properties affected
115
SLR 3 ft
Properties affected
330
SLR 6 ft
Properties affected
1,147
Surge Exposure
Cat 1/2/3/4
233
Marine
Waterfront
50
Pond
Waterfront
Zone 1
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
40 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Very Low
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
5,666 properties · Median year built 1933 · Avg 2,438 sf
Property Types
Single Family
3,464
Condominium
711
Multi-Family
492
Other
342
Two-Family
252
Institutional
127
Vacant Land
125
Commercial
86
Mixed Use
35
Industrial
25
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
8
1800-1849
44
1850-1899
524
1900-1949
2,177
1950-1979
1,322
1980-1999
442
2000+
252
Architectural Styles
Old Style
1,429
Colonial
920
Condominium
654
Multi-Family
469
Ranch
346
Cape Cod
269
Split Level
157
Contemporary
155
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Essex County Registry of Deeds
86
Sales (12 mo)
Arms-length transactions
$892K
Median Sale Price
Past 12 months
67%
Owner-Occupied
2%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 90% of Swampscott 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
12,099 municipal building permits on file · 53% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 12,099 building permits across 2,986 Swampscott properties — 53% coverage. 2,359 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.
12,099
Permits on File
53%
Coverage
Properties with permits
2,359
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
84%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Swampscott
Essex County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes01902019070194501970
15,111
Population
2020 Census
5,666
Properties
$734K
Median Assessed
67%
Owner-Occupied
3.1
Square Miles
Swampscott covers 3.1 square miles in Essex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $734K.
Single-family homes account for 3,464 of Swampscott's 5,666 properties, with 711 condominiums and 744 multi-family buildings. There are 86 commercial properties and 125 parcels of vacant land. About 67% of properties are owner-occupied, and 2% are owned by someone out of state.
Assessed values range widely — the middle 50% of properties fall between $585K and $956K, with the highest assessed property at $64.9M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most of Swampscott (100%) is on municipal sewer. Electric service is provided by National Grid (Massachusetts Electric). 703 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Swampscott its character. 386 properties have swimming pools.
Environmental note: Swampscott has an average EPA lead paint indicator at the 75th percentile nationally, consistent with 576 properties built before 1900 when lead paint was standard.
What Swampscott Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
With 12% of properties in FEMA flood zones and 100% in the coastal zone, Swampscott concentrates several major underwriting variables. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Swampscott's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1637 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. 12% of Swampscott 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
12,099 permits across 53% of properties means most Swampscott inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Swampscott property intelligence.
5,666 Swampscott 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/swampscott-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.