Somerville

The Green Line extension reshaped access across Somerville and pricing followed, particularly around Union Square and Gilman. Areas that were a genuine walk from transit are now a few minutes from a station, and the market repriced accordingly.

That repricing is largely done. Buyers hoping to get ahead of it are several years late; buyers looking for a well-connected, dense, walkable neighborhood are in the right place.

Somerville's housing stock is overwhelmingly two and three family, and a large share has been converted to condominium. That produces a specific set of questions: how many units, how the association is run, what the reserve position is, and whether the conversion was done properly.

Small associations, three units, self-managed, are common here and are a genuinely different proposition from a professionally managed building. They can work very well and they depend entirely on the other owners.

Davis Square is the most established, with Red Line access and the deepest amenity base. Union Square has changed fastest and now has its own station. Ball Square and Magoun are quieter and slightly better value.

Assembly, on the Orange Line, is a different product again: newer, denser, and more purpose-built.