Sell Your Commercial Property In Essex County, MA

Who rents in Essex County

Renters head 114,309 of the 313,147 occupied households in Essex County, a 36.5% share in the 2020-2024 ACS. Owners hold the larger piece, with 198,838 households. Lawrence stands out, where renters are 71.9% of all households, the highest share among Essex County's covered cities.

Lynn adds the largest renter pool after Lawrence, with 18,892 renter households and a 51.9% share. Salem follows at 10,194 renter households and 50.3%. Methuen and Gloucester lean more toward owners, with renter shares at 27.7% and 36.1%. Across all eight covered cities, renter households range from 4,847 in Gloucester to 22,404 in Lawrence, a reflection of how much each city's housing stock leans toward owner-occupied single-family homes versus rental buildings.

Rents, growth and affordability

Essex County's median gross rent climbed 41.5%, from $1,241 to $1,756, between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 surveys. Population grew more slowly, up 3.7% to 813,054 residents. Renter households rose 8.5%, adding 8,911 households.

Apartment supply grew too. Units in 5+ unit buildings in Essex County increased 13.3%, adding 8,250 units, yet they still make up only 21.2% of the county's housing stock. Rental vacancy sits at 2.6%, a tight market for buyers to underwrite.

Rent burden runs high. In the 2020-2024 ACS, 56.8% of Essex County renters paid 30% or more of income on gross rent. HUD's FY2027 two-bedroom Fair Market Rents for Essex County's 34 New England FMR towns range from $2,367 to $3,008, effective October 1, 2026, both above the county's median gross rent.

City-by-city comparison

Salem posts the highest share of apartment-style housing among Essex County's covered cities, with 31.9% of its units in 5+ unit buildings, followed by Lawrence at 28.9%. Peabody's $1,950 median gross rent is the highest in the table, while Gloucester's $1,411 is the lowest.

Vacancy varies by city. Gloucester posts just 0.2% vacancy and Methuen 1.2%, while Peabody reaches 3.0%. Lawrence combines a 71.9% renter share with only 1.4% vacancy, a sign of tight demand for its rental stock. Beverly and Haverhill sit closer to the county average on renter share, at 39.9% and 37.2%, while offering mid-range rents near $1,770 and $1,668.

Property taxes and assessment in Essex County

Massachusetts assesses property at fair cash value under M.G.L. c.59 Section 38, with local assessors classifying parcels as residential, open space, commercial or industrial. Essex County's cities and towns each set their own tax rate and assessed value for apartment buildings, so a parcel's bill depends on its municipality.

Massachusetts Proposition 2 1/2, c.59 Section 21C, caps the total levy at 2.5% of full valuation and limits yearly levy growth to 102.5% of the prior year's limit plus new growth, unless voters approve an override. Pull the current assessed value and tax rate from the city or town assessor before pricing an Essex County sale. Commercial and apartment parcels are typically assessed on income and market-sale evidence rather than the residential formula used for owner-occupied homes, so an assessor's commercial division is the right contact for a multifamily building.

What this means if you sell in Essex County

When you sell commercial property in Essex County, MA, you sell into a deep renter pool. Renters hold 36.5% of households countywide, and that share tops 50% in Lynn and Salem and 71.9% in Lawrence. The 2.6% rental vacancy rate means buyers will test your rent roll against a tight local market rather than assume easy lease-up.

Massachusetts bars local rent control under M.G.L. c.40P, so Essex County owners set rents by lease terms and market conditions alone. Security deposits are capped under c.186 Section 15B, and the deposit transfers to a buyer at closing, who must notify the tenant within 45 days, a detail buyers check in due diligence.

As a multifamily buyer in Essex County, we look at 5+ unit buildings from Lynn to Salem as they stand today. Send a current rent roll, a T-12 and the latest tax bill, and we will price the building on those numbers.