The city of Gloucester’s famous Fisherman’s Memorial. Unlike many communities the North Shore, Gloucester saw its median single-family sale price fall slightly this year. iStock photo

Essex County’s quaint coastal communities and their proximity to Boston are helping to keep the region’s home prices on a slightly stronger footing than most other parts of the state.

The region has definitely been experiencing a major fall-off in sales of late, as has the rest of the state, due to fewer homes being put on the market.

Nestled in the northeast corner of the Bay State, Essex County has seen a dramatic 27 percent plunge in single-family home sales year-to-date through October, compared to a 24 percent decline statewide, according to data from The Warren Group, owner of Banker & Tradesman. That mirrors the 25.2 percent drop seen in all communities inside Interstate 495 over the same period.

But Essex County’s median single-family home prices increased by 4 percent year-over-year through October, slightly higher than the statewide 3.6 percent increase and a notable improvement over Greater Boston’s 2.9 percent upward bump in prices during the same time period.

It’s not a commanding price point for Essex County, where the year-to-date median single-family home price stood at $650,000 on Oct. 31. It’s also far from the double-digit price increases seen in years past on the North Shore and elsewhere.

Yet the price growth differential does reflect a relatively strong north-of-Boston market, despite all of today’s economic challenges, due to a number of factors, according to local real estate experts.

Some Towns See Price Drops

Those positive factors include easy access to Boston via the MBTA commuter rail, generally good school systems and a New England quaintness that’s attractive to many buyers, many of whom are moving out of the immediate Boston area for more affordable homes.

“It’s a great place to be,” Chris Brown, branch manager of Coldwell Banker-Marblehead, said of the North Shore in general. “It’s a great investment for buyers.”

To be clear: Not all North Shore communities are seeing modest price increases, despite continued solid statewide demand for homes.

The median single-family home sale price in Salem, for instance, was down 3 percent, to $585,000, through October, according to The Warren Group. During the same time period, Newburyport’s median price was also down by 7 percent and Gloucester’s was off by 3 percent on the same basis.

Meanwhile, towns such as Beverly and Marblehead saw 11 percent and 10 percent median sale price increases, respectively. Ipswich saw an impressive 21 percent gain in median single-family prices through October, to $805,000.

‘Lack of Inventory is Key’

Though it’s not a hard and fast rule, prices appear to be increasing at a faster clip in less-affluent towns, where home prices have been historically more affordable and where many first-time buyers are now focusing their attention.

But the net result of that increased attention: Previously more affordable towns are themselves getting more expensive.

Brown, the branch manager in Marblehead, notes that the Swampscott market, once seen as relatively affordable, has been red-hot of late, with average single-family prices increasing by about 15 percent to $1.1 million this past year.

Amy Wallick, a Realtor at Lamacchia Realty in Beverly and the president-elect of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said the coastal region’s quaintness, strong schools and other positive attributes are helping to keep demand high for homes on the North Shore.

But she said the shrinking number of homes for sale remains the predominant challenge facing the industry.

“Lack of inventory is key,” she said.

With the demand for homes remaining strong, despite higher interest rates, the competition for homes is still fierce in many areas of the region, she said.

“If priced appropriately, there are still multiple offers” for homes, she said.

Gloucester Saw Price Drop

As is the case in other parts of the state, first-time homebuyers are finding it increasingly hard to find homes they can afford on the North Shore, as prices relentlessly rise in many communities.

Compass Realtor Amanda Armstrong, who covers the North Shore and focuses on the Cape Ann area, said there’s “tremendous interest” to buy homes in the coastal region in general.

But three things are going against first-time buyers: lack of inventory, higher interest rates and steep price increases in general.

“They’re being shut out of the market,” Armstrong said of first-time buyers. “You’re lucky if you can find something to buy in the $800,000 range [in Rockport and Manchester-by-the-Sea].”

In the more gritty city of Gloucester, also located on Cape Ann, single-family homes saw a median price decrease of 3 percent, to $600,000, through the first 10 months of 2023.

But some real estate agents believe that the Gloucester price drop might be tied to the fact that the city, though more affordable compared to nearby towns, is considered too far away from Boston.

Mark Wade, another agent at Coldwell Banker in Marblehead, said that successful first-time homebuyers today seem to be more affluent and little older than in previous years.

He also said he’s still seeing many buyers from the Boston area, such as those in Somerville and Charlestown, looking for larger and more affordable homes along the North Shore.

“Pricing and demand are still strong,” he said. “I’m not seeing many price reductions. But there’s less volume. There’s been a pretty dramatic decline in inventory.”

Wallick, the incoming president of MAR, said she anticipates current overall market conditions lasting for a while.

“I don’t think we’re going to see any sizable shift through early 2024,” she said.