Live in East Boston (Eastie) – 02128

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East Boston is home to slightly more than 38,000 people, with the median income per household around $31,000. Its current demographic is a true potpourri of cultures, with groups of residents of Italian, Central American, South American, Vietnamese, and even Irish descent populating various enclaves of the neighborhood – Orient Heights, the historic hill in East Boston, remains the heart of the Italian community in East Boston.

Isolated from the city by water and the airport, Eastie’s tree-lined streets and copious three-deckers are home to a diverse and vibrant Latin American community – in fact, one of the centers of Latino culture in New England. East Boston is also bordered by Winthrop, Revere, and the Chelsea Creek.

Though Eastie has a spectacular view of the downtown skyline, the community’s rents and property values have increased more slowly than the rest of the metro-Boston region. This slower growth can be attributed to factors such as: the isolated nature of the neighborhood, difficulties of real estate development along the waterfront, and the negative attitude towards Logan Airport that local East Boston residents have both tolerated and perpetuated.

East Boston housing is a mix of historic buildings and new dwellings, with many three-deckers lining neighborhood streets. In recent years, homeowners have been restoring the historic homes of the area to their former glory. Maverick Square is busy, but you’ll want to make the walk up to Day Square to get a better sense of the turf. East Boston is home to six community gardens, managed by various organizations. Participating gardeners at some of the gardens are assigned small plots which they may plant as they like, in exchange for a nominal annual dues payment.

Area Schools

East Boston lies in the Boston Public School district. BPS’s transportation policies are outlined here. Excel Academy Charter School, a charter middle school and Central Catholic School are located in East Boston.

Great Schools provides ratings for most schools in the United States. Below, you can see what schools are near the address you are thinking of buying and then compare it to other neighboring schools.

Although East Boston appears to be peaceful, it is always wise to check and see if there is reported criminal activity in the area in which you plan to buy/live. The Boston Police Department also has a web page dedicated to East Boston which you can access for their latest news.

The MBTA provides a plethora of services to get you from East Boston to wherever you need to go! To keep up with daily goings on you can check in online with Eastie Times, EastBoston.com, or, of course, the Boston Globe, and the Boston Herald.

Access the City of Boston’s official website, for the neighborhood of East Boston. Then, if you have a specific property in mind to buy, The City of Boston maintains a database for the City Assessor which you can access to see what value the City gives the property and what the annual taxes are. Boston does offer a residential tax break for primary residences for which you might need to apply after your purchase.

East Boston Real Estate

Housing in East Boston is quite eclectic. Single family homes run from $600,000 to $1,120,000. Condos typically run from $165,000 for a run-of-the-mill one-bedroom to $2,500,000 for a condo on the waterfront at The Mark at DeNormandie Wharf condos. Your best value is in snapping up a multi-family. They have been selling in the $530,000 to $5,175,000. If you can only afford to rent now, that will run you $1250 for a small one-bedroom up to $8,200. Of course, prices vary depending upon size, location, and amenities.

If you have a specific property in mind that you think you might like to buy, The City of Boston also maintains a database for the City Assessor which you can access to see what value the City gives the property and what the annual taxes are. Boston does offer a residential tax break for primary residences for which you might need to apply after your purchase.

Real estate markets are very fluid and can fluctuate in a matter of hours because homes can come on and off the market daily… even hourly. The following chart is a visual, historical representation of the cyclical nature of real estate and compares the ups and downs of East Boston to those of the entire city of Boston since 2005.

The taller the column the better it is for buyers. The shorter the column the better it is for sellers. Hence 2006-2007 was the best time for a buyer to buy in East Boston, while 2013 was a great year for sellers. However, buyers will be happy to know that the above graphic indicates a weakening seller’s market.

This next chart shows the number of sales occurring in East Boston month-to-month, year-to-year since 2018 and provides you a historical overview of the best times to sell – months with the greatest number of sales (spring and fall) – and the best times to buy – months with the fewest number of sales (summer and winter). CAVEAT: there are usually more homes to choose from in the first half of the year.