Boston and Providence are closer in miles than in cost of living.
With Boston’s cost of living140 points above the national average and 141 points higher than that of Providence, in between the two cities one can track where these numbers begin to differ so dramatically.
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According to monstermoving.com, which provides geographically specific information on economic factors, the average cost of a 2,000 square-foot home in Providence is $210,000, whereas in Boston a home of the same size is valued at $560,000.
Ralph Grassia, regional vice president of Norwell, Massachusetts-based Realtor Jack Conway and Company, said a lot depends on transportation.
“One factor we’re finding is that the better the transportation is or the easier the commute is to the cities, the higher the price is,” he said.
He said the extension of Route 495 ten years ago changed a lot of things within the real estate market in the area near Cape Cod for workers who commute to Boston and those who commute to Providence.
“Another thing that we’re finding is a large community commuting down to Providence and a large community commuting to Boston in the towns around Routes 495 and 195,” he said. “When the Route 495 extension was completed it created South Plymouth as an area that has become a large commuter’s haven.”
Grassia said for this reason, prices in New Bedford have been climbing and will only continue to do so.
“If that rail ever comes into New Bedford I think it’s going to be explosive for value,” he said. “It’s one of the last cities on the coast to have rail service into the city.”
John Dulczewski, communications director for the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said because of the different housing on the market in each town, it’s not easy to determine exactly where the prices between Providence and Boston climb.
“It’s a little hard to draw a specific line,” he said.
Grassia agreed.
“There are some areas in Westport with medium-priced homes and some upper-priced homes,” he said. “And then you go into Dartmouth which seems to be very much middle of the road, but you also have some really expensive homes there.”
Gary Reilly, owner of Warwick-based Reilly Appraisal, said the line is more clearly defined.
“As soon as you cross the border the rates start to go up,” he said. “The entire Massachusetts market, even the Attleboros.”
“Anything that’s along the rail tracks, properties have just skyrocketed,” he said, “and it has filtered into Rhode Island and has created some pressure from the Massachusetts market.”
“People from Massachusetts will come over to Rhode Island and buy properties because they can get a lot more house for a lot less money because it’s such a short commute to the rail,” he said. “And especially because you can pick up the commuter train from Providence.”
Reilly said the issue of people from neighboring states coming into Rhode Island to live, but working in the original state is not unique to Massachusetts.
“The South County area is a completely different beast,” he said. “but it’s getting tremendous pressure from Connecticut and New York. Those people think they’re just giving away waterfront properties down there.”
Reilly also said workers from out of state living here is not new. It is only new in this cycle of real estate.
“We went through this in the ’80s,” he said. “People coming over the line and going into Pawtucket, Lincoln and Cumberland markets.”
This most recent wave has been going on for the last three or four years, but it has gotten a lot more intense over the past two years, he said.
“It’s probably more noticeable because of the shrinking inventory in this state,” said Reilly. “People are starting to look more closely at where the inventory is going, and they’re finding a lot of the people are from out of state.”
