Single-family home sales and prices in Greater Boston have in many cases surpassed their pre-crash peak, but the data for cities and towns outside Route 128 tell a different story.

Through the end of July 2015, the median sale price of a single-family home in the Bay State was $340,000, versus $355,000 in 2005. For the cities and towns outside of Route 128, it was just $295,000, down 8.45 percent ($36,000) from the July 2005 year-to-date numbers, according to data from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

The cities and towns inside Route 128 fared a little better. The median price of a single-family home in those communities was $318,700 through the end of July 2015.

Towns in Southeastern Massachusetts like Sandwich ($339,000), Dennis ($335,000) and Hull ($337,000) are in the region where the home prices best reflect the statewide numbers.

The northwestern corner of the state is home to the cities and towns with the lowest median sales prices, like Springfield ($138,000), Clarksburg ($129,000) and North Adams ($115,000).

Not surprisingly, the towns with the highest median sales prices were on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. However, on the mainland the towns with highest prices outside of Route 128 were, perhaps also unsurprisingly, Weston ($1.2 million), Lincoln ($1.15 million) and Dover ($1 million).

In fact, the median sales price of single-family homes in 244 of the 351 municipalities in the commonwealth are still lower than they were in 2005. Fewer than one-third of Massachusetts cities and towns have reached or exceeded their 2005 median sales price and most of those are within commuting distance of Boston.

It’s All About The Jobs

Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, says it all comes down to one thing: jobs. Greater Boston is where more of the better-paying jobs in fields like pharmaceuticals, life sciences, medicine, academics, research, construction, technology and software are located. It follows that the robust housing markets are near the best job center.

Anthony Lamacchia, owner of Lamacchia Real Estate headquartered in Waltham, agrees.

“This recovery has certainly gone from east to west,” Lamacchia said. “Just this year we’re seeing Worcester County starting to recover. It’s been at a snail’s pace, but it’s starting to happen.”

While Worcester County growth has been sluggish, Lamacchia said he finds the double-digit annual appreciation in some Greater Boston communities concerning. He said he’d be more comfortable in the range of a steady 5 percent annual appreciation, though he was quick to add that he’s not worried about another crash any time soon.

“It’s early enough in the cycle that I don’t think we’re near the crest of the wave,” he said.

Lamacchia said the recovery is still marching westward and is spilling over into the band of towns between Routes 128 and 495, and beyond.

“Jobs have a lot to do with it,” Lamacchia said. “I think that commercial buildings along Route 128 were hurting five years ago. Those buildings are filling up again and that gives many people the ability to live in the belt between 128 and 495 and still have a comfortable commute.”

The data backs it up.

In the second quarter of 2015 Boston-based commercial real estate developer and research firm Transwestern reported commercial real estate vacancies in Greater Boston fell from 12.7 percent in Q1 to 12 percent in Q2. The report found Greater Boston has just completed a “nine-quarter positive streak and there are strong results seen in every submarket in Greater Boston.”

“The Route 128 submarkets combined for 644,000 square feet of positive absorption,” the report said. “The 2.4 million square feet absorbed in the past year marks the most in any 12-month period since 2000 for those submarkets.”

Buyers Want Walkability

Amy Tierce, regional vice president for Wintrust Mortgage in Needham, said today’s homebuyers don’t want to rely on their car to get around – which isn’t an easy thing to find in the outer suburbs.

“Lifestyles are changing; more people want to be closer to the city, they want access to public transit, they want walkability,” Tierce said.

Tierce said one nice thing about towns that are recovering more slowly is that it’s allowing more opportunities for first-time buyers to find an affordable home.

“I feel like in general, the real estate market in most Massachusetts communities is pretty healthy,” Tierce said. “Cities like Worcester, Lowell and Brockton still have a lot of distressed properties, but high-quality properties are selling rapidly, though prices haven’t moved as dramatically.”

Tierce said that price appreciation inside Route 128 was fueled by a large number of cash buyers and bidding wars. When buyers bid up the price of a house in the middle of state, they might pay $5,000 to $8,000 over the asking price, she said; in some Greater Boston communities, it can be $50,000 to $100,000 or more.

“There are significantly fewer bidding wars going on now across all markets,” Tierce said. “And that’s a sign of a return to normalcy.”