Case Study · Greater Boston · Single-Family Homes

45 Minutesto Mass Ave

A commuter's study of 15 Greater Boston towns around the Novartis campus in Cambridge, measured against one buyer's brief: a single-family home, 2–3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, about 1,600 sq ft, public water and sewer, within 45 minutes of the campus, up to $850,000.

CDG Digital Media · November 2026 · Data: MBTA · Warren Group / MAR · Walk Score · MWRA

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01 — The Brief

One buyer, one address

This study measures towns against a single set of requirements, anchored to the Novartis campus at 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge.

Commute Within 45 minutes of the campus Required

Price Up to $850,000 Required

Home Single-family · 2–3 bedrooms Required

Bathrooms 2 full bathrooms minimum Required

Utilities Public water and sewer Required

Transit Close to a train line Preferred

Size 1,600 sq ft or more Preferred

Setting A walkable town on the water — or one or the other Preferred

Bedroom, bathroom and square-footage requirements apply to individual listings. Town-level data cannot filter for them, so this study measures towns on commute, price, utilities, walkability and waterfront.

01b — The Destination

Novartis, 250 Massachusetts Avenue

Novartis lists its research unit (Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.) at 250 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. The Cambridge campus also includes 181 Massachusetts Avenue, at the corner of Albany and Osborn streets, and 22 Windsor Street. The campus sits between Central Square and MIT, served by the Red Line, several bus routes and the free EZRide shuttle from North Station.

Red Line

Central station

10 min

About 0.4 mi on foot from 250 Mass Ave (Walk Score). Kendall/MIT is the other nearby Red Line stop.

Shuttle

EZRide from North Station

8–12 min

Free shuttle from North Station; buses every 8–12 minutes on weekdays (weekend service every 20). Morning buses stop at Vassar St/Mass Ave near MIT. Ride time varies with traffic.

Bus

Routes 1, 70, 85, 47

0.1–0.3 mi

Route 1 stops about 0.1 mi from 250 Mass Ave; routes 70 and 85 about 0.2 mi; route 47 about 0.3 mi (Walk Score).

02 — The Lines

Every route into Cambridge

The towns in this study sit on 8 transit routes into Boston and Cambridge. Schematic — directions are approximate and distances are not to scale.

Red Line
Greenbush Line
MBTA ferries
Blue Line
Newburyport/Rockport Line
Orange Line
Fitchburg Line
Route 70 bus

Red Line. Trains from Quincy and Braintree run straight through to Kendall/MIT and Central — no transfer.

Greenbush Line. Commuter rail from Weymouth and Hingham to South Station, then the Red Line. Five inbound trains in the morning peak.

MBTA ferries. Boats from Hull and Winthrop land at Long Wharf and Central Wharf downtown. The Winthrop route has been extended through December 31, 2026.

Blue Line. Revere's three Blue Line stations run to State, with transfers to the Orange and Red lines.

Newburyport/Rockport Line. Commuter rail from Lynn, Swampscott, Salem and Beverly to North Station — seven inbound trains in the morning peak.

Orange Line. Wellington in Medford and Malden Center run to Downtown Crossing, then one stop to Park Street for the Red Line.

Fitchburg Line. Commuter rail from Waltham to Porter in 13–14 minutes, then the Red Line to Central.

Route 70 bus. Route 70 runs from Watertown Square to Central Square and University Park, about 0.2 mi from the campus.

03 — The Commute

Station to campus, minute by minute

Each bar is the scheduled weekday-morning trip from a town's main station to the campus: the ride into Boston or Cambridge, then the connection to Kendall/MIT or Central and the walk. Time spent getting to the home station is not included.

Main rideConnection + walk45-minute limit

45 min

QuincyRed Line

32 min

WalthamCommuter Rail

32 min

MedfordOrange Line

34 min

MaldenOrange Line

37 min

BraintreeRed Line

38 min

RevereBlue Line

46 min

WeymouthCommuter Rail

51 min

LynnCommuter Rail

56 min

HullFerry

59 min

WinthropFerry

59 min

SwampscottCommuter Rail

59 min

HinghamCommuter Rail

60 min

SalemCommuter Rail

66 min

BeverlyCommuter Rail

71 min

The main ride. Red Line trains from Quincy and Braintree run straight to Kendall/MIT and Central with no transfer. Commuter rail and ferries end at North Station, South Station or Long Wharf.

The connection. From a downtown terminal, the trip continues by subway, shuttle or on foot to the campus on Massachusetts Avenue.

The 45-minute line. Towns whose scheduled station-to-campus time exceeds the brief's limit are dimmed.

Scheduled times from MBTA timetables for typical weekday AM peak trips; real trips vary with delays and transfer waits. See Data for each line, station and source.

04 — The Price

What a single-family home costs

Median single-family sale prices by town, against the brief's $850,000 ceiling. Source: The Warren Group, full-year 2025 single-family sales.

Median single-family sale price2024 median (marker)$850,000 ceiling

$850,000

Lynn

$585,000

Weymouth

$640,000

Revere

$655,000

Salem

$680,000

Malden

$697,500

Hull

$705,000

Quincy

$706,250

Winthrop

$719,000

Braintree

$725,000

Beverly

$755,450

Waltham

$850,000

Swampscott

$885,000

Medford

$910,000

Watertown

$1,000,000

Hingham

$1,337,500

Median sale price. Half of single-family homes sold for more than this figure, half for less. The median home in each town is not necessarily 1,600 sq ft or 2 full baths.

The $850,000 line. Towns whose median single-family price sits above the ceiling are dimmed.

A year earlier. The black marker shows each town's 2024 median. Thirteen of the fifteen towns rose from 2024 to 2025; Winthrop and Malden dipped.

The Warren Group town statistics, January–December 2025, single-family homes (deed-recorded sales). Medians describe every single-family sale in a town, not only homes matching the brief. Massachusetts Association of Realtors figures, which cover MLS sales only, run slightly higher — Quincy $727,500, for example.

05 — The Towns