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SALEM – Massachusetts is home to four of the hottest real estate markets in the country this year, a new ranking says.
In fact, three cities in the state make the Top 10 in Realtor.com’s list of the “Hottest ZIP Codes of 2024.”
Salem is third on the heat map, behind only top-ranked Gahanna, Ohio and Ballwin, Missouri. Leominster is seventh, Westfield is eighth and Attleboro is 13th.
Realtor.com says it determines its Hottest ZIP Code rankings by looking at how many views a property gets on its website, and how long that listing remains active. The highest-ranked markets have listings with lots of views that sell fast.
“Zip codes in Boston, as well as in the nearby Worcester and Springfield metros highlight the popularity of commuter markets near the northeast hub,” Realtor.com said.
Salem, known around the world for its famous Halloween celebrations, had a median listing price of $596,000. Homes there typically stay on the market for only 16 days, Realtor.com said.
The price drops in the hot ZIP codes further to the west. The median listing price in Leominster is $462,000, and in Westfield it’s $347,000. In Attleboro, the median value is $516,000.
Median home sale prices across all of Massachusetts reached a new high for the month of July at $650,000, according to a recent report by The Warren Group. And a survey of Massachusetts residents this summer found that about one in five say they are thinking about leaving the state in the next five years because of rising housing costs.
HILTON HEAD, S.C. (WLNE) — A family from Massachusetts is asking the public’s help in locating a man who went missing.
60-year-old Stanley Kotowski of Methuen disappeared last week at Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, according to a report from ABC6’s affiliate station, WCVB.
In a post shared in a Hilton Head Island Facebook group, Kotowski’s wife Jackie thanked everyone for the love and support her family had received and said that as of August 22, her husband remained missing.
“We’ve received no shortage of love, prayers, good vibes, etc. and are incredibly thankful to you are,” she wrote.
According to the police report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Jackie told officers that her husband went missing in the morning hours of Friday, August 16.
He did not have his wallet, identification, or even shoes on when he left the condominium the family was staying at.
Kotowski told officers that her husband had become paranoid ever since they arrived, and he had told her that he thought Sea Pines Resort was a “set up.”
Asked if her husband was suicidal, Kotowski’s wife said he was not but before he disappeared he stated “promise me you’ll go on without me.”
The family stated they would continue to share periodic updates on social media which can be found here:
If anyone has information regarding Stanley Kotowski’s whereabouts, they are encouraged to contact the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Local News
Massachusetts is closing another correctional facility, in the latest change to the state’s prison system amid its declining population.
The Massachusetts Department of Correction announced Thursday that Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater will no longer house inmates due to the facility’s condition and renovation needs. The state said not renovating the facility will save about $2.6 million.
OCCC-Minimum, constructed 40 years ago, is a minimum security men’s facility that focuses on mental health located on the same campus as a medium security facility, Bridgewater State Hospital, and the Massachusetts Treatment Center, all of which will stay open.
OCCC-Minimum, which has 160 beds, currently has 70 people incarcerated there, the DOC said. Those individuals will be transferred to other minimum security facilities, including Boston Pre-Release Center, Northeastern Correctional Center, and Pondville Correctional Center. Overall, those facilities are operating at 59 percent capacity, according to the department’s weekly inmate reports.
The 26 staff members will be reassigned to OCCC’s medium security facility on the same campus, MADOC said. While the state did not say exactly when the facility will close, all inmates will be transferred out by Oct. 31.
The announcement to shutter OCCC-Minimum comes just a month after the closure of MCI-Concord, the state’s oldest prison. Its closure saves about $16 million annually. The state dissolved housing at maximum-security facility MCI-Cedar Junction in Walpole last year.
“The historically low population within the DOC allows us to assess our facility needs in order to be a fiscally responsible partner in the state of Massachusetts,” Shawn Jenkins, DOC’s interim director, said in a statement. “The DOC will continue to empower our housed individuals to succeed upon release and we believe the closure of this facility and relocation of the current population will help them flourish.”
Massachusetts’s prison population has declined over the last decade. In 2014, the department reported more than 11,700 inmates. Earlier this month, the DOC said there are 6,050 inmates across their 18 facilities.
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New England Travel
Summer may be winding down, but there is still time to hit the beach. Just make sure you visit an open one. These 86 beaches across Massachusetts are closed as of Aug. 22 due to bacteria concerns.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health says bacteria levels tend to rise right after periods of heavy rainfall. Dirty runoff from the streets gathers excrement and other harmful bacteria in the sewers, which in turn can run into nearby bodies of water.
Swimming in unsafe water can potentially lead to a bevy of health problems. The most frequent and notable effects are gastrointestinal symptoms, like nausea and diarrhea. When ingested, bacteria can also cause flu-like symptoms, skin rashes, and eye-nose-throat problems.
It is unclear when the beaches will reopen. Water testing results take 24 hours, DPH says, so results typically come out the next day. For now, the department warns beachgoers to be vigilant and check its interactive beach water quality dashboard.
Beaches with an * indicate beaches that were closed for over a week. Two asterisks (**) indicate the beach has been closed for more than two weeks. Three asteristcs (***) indicate the beach has been closed for more than 3 weeks. Beaches with a † indicate beaches that have been closed for more than one month.
Amherst
Ashby
Ashland
Barnstable
Beverly
Boston
Braintree
Brewster
Chilmark
Clarksburg
Cohasset
Concord
Danvers
Dartmouth
Dennis
Framingham
Franklin
Gloucester
Grafton
Haverhill
Holland
Kingston
Lowell
Lynn
Manchester
Medford
Nahant
Nantucket
Natick
North Andover
Northampton
Oxford
Plymouth
Provincetown
Quincy
Salem
Sandwich
Saugus
Scituate
Shutesbury
Southwick
Springfield
Swampscott
Swansea
Templeton
Townsend
Truro
Wayland
West Stockbridge
West Tisbury
Westborough
Winchendon
Winchester
Winthrop
Worcester
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