Boston housing market: Back Bay home values and trends

Back Bay market data

Zillow Home Value Index (typical home value), August 2026; Freddie Mac PMMS, week of 10/1/2026; City of Boston Assessing.

Zillow typical home values (ZHVI, mid-tier), August 2026. Zillow publishes no street or building values. 02199 covers the Prudential Center area, so its values do not describe brownstones.

Back Bay home values and trend

The market data block above shows the headline figures, the ten-year chart of Back Bay against the City of Boston, and Zillow values by ZIP code. All values here are Zillow's typical home value (the mid-tier Zillow Home Value Index) for August 2026, the latest month published. Zillow publishes no street or building figures, so these describe the neighborhood and its ZIP codes, not any one home.

Latest value

Zillow's typical home value for the Back Bay neighborhood was $1,340,764 in August 2026. The figure covers condos and houses together, and it sits close to Zillow's condo figure for ZIP 02116.

Change over 12 months

Back Bay's typical value fell 2.2% from August 2025, a little more than the City of Boston's 1.4% decline. ZIP 02116 as a whole was up 0.6% over the same months, a reminder that neighborhood and ZIP series are built differently and can move apart.

Change over 10 years

From August 2016 to August 2026, Back Bay's typical value rose 18.7%, from $1,129,425 to $1,340,764. The highest August reading in that span was $1,420,804 in 2022; values have eased since. Over the same decade the City of Boston rose 38.5%, so the gap between Back Bay and the city average has narrowed in percentage terms while staying above $550,000 in dollars.

Condos and single-family homes in 02116

Condos

Zillow's typical condo value in ZIP 02116 was $1,298,982 in August 2026, up 3.4% over twelve months and 24.9% over ten years. That series covers units in converted brownstones and in newer buildings, so it is the closest published measure for a typical Back Bay floor-through or duplex. In ZIP 02115, which covers part of western Back Bay along with other areas, the typical condo value was $894,042, and the all-homes value $933,201, down 5.4% over the year. ZIP 02199, the Prudential Center area, shows $3,619,095 for all homes, but its stock is towers, not brownstones. The breakdown of Back Bay ZIP codes explains which addresses fall where.

Single-family homes

The typical single-family value in 02116 was $1,818,983, down 4.2% over twelve months and up only 2.8% over ten years. Whole houses vary widely in size, layout and condition, so any single value hides a wide range. The guide to whole Back Bay townhouses explains what separates one house from another.

Back Bay compared with Boston, Beacon Hill, the South End and the metro

Against the City of Boston

Back Bay's typical value is about 1.7 times the city's. Both fell over the past year, Back Bay slightly more.

Against Beacon Hill and the South End

The two other historic rowhouse neighborhoods both rose over the year, 3.3% on Beacon Hill and 2.0% in the South End, while Back Bay fell. Over ten years Beacon Hill gained more than Back Bay and the South End slightly less.

Against the Boston metro

The metro's typical value rose 73.2% over ten years, roughly four times Back Bay's gain.

Sale speed and pricing

No neutral source publishes monthly sale-speed figures for Back Bay alone, so the figures below are for the Boston metro (Zillow) and for the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS territory, a multi-town region. Neither describes Back Bay.

Days to pending, Boston metro

Zillow's median time from listing to pending sale in the Boston metro was 13 days in August 2026, against 24 days nationally.

Sale-to-list ratio, Boston metro

Zillow's median sale-to-list ratio for the Boston metro was 100.4% in July 2026, against 99.9% nationally, and 54.9% of metro homes sold above list price, against 30.2% nationally.

Condos in the GBAR region

In the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS territory, the median condo sale price was $725,000 in August 2026, up 3.7% from a year earlier. Condos sold for 97.7% of original list price after a median 47 days on market, with 3.2 months of supply and 790 closings, down 6.6%. A month earlier, in July, the median was also $725,000, with 3.5 months of supply and 42 days on market. Year to date through August, the region's median condo price was $735,000, up 1.4%, on 6,205 closed sales.

Single-family homes in the GBAR region

Single-family homes in the same region had a median sale price of $1,002,500 in August 2026, up 6.6%. They sold at 99.7% of original list price after 35 days, with 2.0 months of supply. For closed sales on your own street or in your building, ask for MLS PIN data.

Seasonal pattern, Boston metro

Zillow's monthly series for the Boston metro shows a steady seasonal swing in how long homes take to go under contract. The slowest months are December and January: a median 23 days in both December 2025 and January 2026, and 15 days in December 2024 and January 2025. The fastest are April to June, at 7 to 9 days in both 2025 and 2026. These are metro figures for all home types; a Back Bay listing's timing also depends on the building, the floor and what else is for sale on the street. What to do before listing is covered in how a Back Bay brownstone sale is prepared.

Outlook for Boston home values

Zillow's home value forecast for the Boston metro, made from August 2026 data, calls for growth of 0.3% by September 2026, 1.0% by November 2026 and 1.4% by August 2027. That is Zillow's forecast for the metro as a whole, not a prediction of any Back Bay home's value, and this site makes no forecast of its own. Freddie Mac's survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% in the week of October 1, 2026, which keeps monthly costs high for buyers who finance.

What the market means for sellers and buyers

For sellers

With Back Bay's typical value 2.2% below a year ago and the 02116 single-family series down 4.2%, list prices need to track recent closed sales on your street and floor rather than the 2022 high. Condition, approvals on file and condo finances move price within a building. Recent sales for your building and block tell you more than any index, and our recommended agent can pull them; the guide to selling in Back Bay walks through pricing and preparation.

For buyers

A condo at the 02116 typical value of $1,298,982 with 20% down needs a loan of about $1,039,186, above Suffolk County's 2026 conforming limit of $962,550, so it would be a jumbo loan. At 7.28% over 30 years, principal and interest come to about $7,110 a month before tax, condo fee and insurance. Property tax adds to that: at Boston's FY2026 residential rate of $12.40 per $1,000, an owner-occupied home assessed at $1,500,000 would pay $14,246.26 a year with the residential exemption. The overview of jumbo loans in Massachusetts covers lender requirements. Try your own numbers in the jumbo loan payment calculator, see the Back Bay brownstone condo guide for what fees and documents to check, and read about transit and parks in Back Bay and the monthly costs of owning there before you choose a block.

Frequently asked questions