Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Bay State housing market – or at least its prices – have begun to soar since the local housing market hit its nadir in 2011. Compared to the rest of the country, Massachusetts is well on its way to recovery, with median prices about 7 percent below their pre-crash peak, putting it among the top 10 states for pricing recovery, according to Black Knight’s Home Price Index.

But through home prices have steadily increased all across the Bay State, they have not spread their gains equally. While overall prices are up everywhere, there are some neighborhoods and towns that have emerged from the housing crash far stronger than they went in, and a look at where they are can perhaps give us a peek at future trends in the market.

Using data provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, we analyzed home prices across the state at the ZIP code level, comparing median prices today with those from the market’s peak. Overall, median single-family home prices remain 7.9 percent below the height of the market in 2005, while statewide median condo prices are already 12.3 percent above their previous high.

Some of the neighborhoods and towns on the list will be no surprise – it’s the tony brownstones of Boston’s Back Bay that have most increased in value among single-family homes, with today’s median price of $2.65 million up 136 percent, more than double 2005’s $1.12 million median price.

But others may be more surprising: Among condos, the town that has seen the greatest increase in median prices is tiny Rowley, a town of 6,000 people tucked just below Newbury on Cape Ann.

That’s down to two new condo developments built in the town over the past few years, including one on the grounds of the Rowley country club, where prices started at $400,000, says John McCarthy, a broker at Rowley Real Estate.

The town may be experiencing an increase in popularity, but that hasn’t changed its character, he said. “It’s a small town, but you get a little more for your money than in Newburyport,” said McCarthy. “You get people coming up from the Everett, Winthrop, Melrose area that are looking for a little bit of a space, but don’t want to pay the high prices that you get in Topsfield or Lynnnfield.”

Rowley also has its own commuter rail station. One thing almost all the most valuable ZIPs for condos and single-families share is easy access to mass transit, with a string along the Green, Red and Orange lines popping up in both lists, and even more far-flung suburbs, including Westborough and East Walpole, which have their own commuter rail stations.

Changes Large And Small

Some of the areas that have recovered best from the housing crash are those that have spent the past decade quietly transitioning from “up-and-coming” to “established and desirable.” That’s certainly the case in Jamaica Plain, says Janet Deegan, an agent with Coldwell Banker.

“When I started in the late ’80s, JP was a first-time buyer market,” said Deegan. “There used to be a time where people would say, ‘Oh, I’d really like to be in Cambridge,’ and JP had some of that feel at a slightly lower price point, although not the educational institutions. Now I hear a lot, ‘I’d like to be in JP, but I can’t afford JP,’ and so those people might look to, say, Roslindale, [or other] adjacent neighborhoods. We used to be a fallback, and now JP is the goal.”

Deegan now commonly sees former suburbanites looking to downsize and return to the city purchasing in the neighborhood.

 Of course, when looking at a single neighborhood or town, a few small changes can make a big difference. Barb Hassan, a longtime Berkshire County agent, was surprised to hear The Warren Group’s data showed median prices in her hometown of Lanesborough up more than a third compared to 2005.

Upon reflection, though, she conceded that “a lot of high-end lake property has sold in this last year, in the $200,000 to $500,000 range.” But perhaps more importantly, a nearby bridge construction project has brought scores of new jobs and young people to the area, increasing sales volume and helping boost the market.

“It’s a very supportive community; that’s always been one of the biggest draws. It hasn’t changed in its dynamics much at all,” Hassan said, but she is “starting to see younger people coming in, looking to buy in the $120,000 to $170,000 range. We’re having a problem with inventory at the lower end. We’re seeing much shorter days on market, and a lot of my old stuff is moving. It’s a good sign.”  

Email: csullivan@thewarrengroup.com