Townsend, MA
Middlesex County42.6673°N, 71.7054°W
Tracking 4,071 properties across Townsend, Massachusetts — a community where the median home dates to 1976 and the oldest to 1700. Every parcel mapped with building characteristics, environmental exposure, hazard risk, and ownership history assembled from 140+ sources.
4,071
Properties Tracked
1976
Median Year Built
$383K
Median Assessed Value
5%
FEMA Flood Zone
1.13M
NEP Data Facts Tracked
Zone 1
Radon Zone
Click any parcel to view intelligence
Townsend, MAInc. 1676
Townsend is a small, rural town at the northern edge of Middlesex County, bordering New Hampshire. The town is divided between Townsend Center, with its compact village, and West Townsend and Townsend Harbor, smaller villages with their own identities. The housing stock is predominantly single-family homes on larger lots, with construction ranging from 18th-century farmhouses to modern homes built in newer subdivisions.
For property professionals, Townsend is at the outer edge of the Boston commuter shed — affordable by Middlesex County standards but distant from major employment centers. The town's rural infrastructure and volunteer fire coverage create the property-level considerations typical of small New England towns.
Risk Profile
FEMA flood zones, fire protection grades, radon — parcel by parcel
FEMA Flood Zones
213 properties (5%) are in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas, where flood insurance is required for federally-backed mortgages.
X
3,858
AE
146
A
67
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
14
Grade B
919
Grade C
1,043
Grade D
1,263
Grade E
832
Zone 1
Radon Risk
123 mph
Design Wind Speed
ASCE 7 standard
60 psf
Ground Snow Load
ASCE 7 standard
Relatively Low
FEMA Risk Index
NRI composite rating
The Property Landscape
4,071 properties · Median year built 1976 · Avg 2,112 sf
Property Types
Single Family
2,955
Condominium
299
Institutional
266
Vacant Land
247
Commercial
78
Multi-Family
56
Mixed Use
55
Other
37
Industrial
29
Residential Other
26
Construction by Era
Pre-1800
53
1800-1849
89
1850-1899
152
1900-1949
407
1950-1979
1,515
1980-1999
824
2000+
426
Architectural Styles
Cape Cod
892
Colonial
879
Ranch
516
Split Entry
314
Condominium
247
Old Style
192
Municipal Government
130
Bungalow
84
Market Activity
Recorded transactions from Middlesex County Registry of Deeds
10
Sales (12 mo)
Arms-length transactions
$461K
Median Sale Price
Past 12 months
68%
Owner-Occupied
3%
Out-of-State Owners
NE Provenance tracks recorded deeds, mortgages, and liens for 98% of Townsend 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
2,775 municipal building permits on file · 28% of properties
NE Provenance tracks 2,775 building permits across 1,119 Townsend properties — 28% coverage. 1,092 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.
2,775
Permits on File
28%
Coverage
Properties with permits
1,092
Active (5yr)
Recent permit activity
85%
Condition Rated
NEP assessment
Living in Townsend
Middlesex County · Massachusetts
Zip Codes0146901474
9,127
Population
2020 Census
4,071
Properties
$383K
Median Assessed
68%
Owner-Occupied
33.0
Square Miles
Townsend covers 33.0 square miles in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The median assessed property value is $383K.
Single-family homes account for 2,955 of Townsend's 4,071 properties, with 299 condominiums and 62 multi-family buildings. There are 78 commercial properties and 247 parcels of vacant land. About 68% 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 $296K and $464K, with the highest assessed property at $30.6M. For professionals working in this market, the value spread tells you a lot about what you'll encounter door to door.
Most properties rely on private septic systems, and 48% have public water service. Electric service is provided by MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANS AUTHORITY. 272 properties have identified commercial activity — restaurants, retail, professional offices, and services that give Townsend its character.
What Townsend Property Intelligence Means for Professionals
Insurance & Underwriting
Townsend's fire protection grade distribution (14 Grade A, 919 Grade B) directly affects premium calculation. Parcel-level hazard data provides the granularity that ZIP-level aggregation misses.
Insurance solutionsReal Estate & Appraisal
Townsend's 10 property types, spanning construction from 1700 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. 5% of Townsend 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
2,775 permits across 28% of properties means most Townsend inspection assignments can start with documented renovation and system history, not a blank slate.
Inspection solutionsExplore Townsend property intelligence.
4,071 Townsend 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/townsend-ma. For references or attribution, please link back to this page or neprovenance.com. Thank you, we appreciate it.