Plymouth County

Plymouth County sits at a 3.13% cap rate and a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0482%, which tells you most of what you need to know before reading another word. At a $640,329 median home price against $2,572 in median rent, this market is priced for appreciation, not cash flow. The model underwrite confirms it: after a $128,066 down payment, a 6.85% mortgage runs $3,357 per month, and with $900 in estimated expenses layered on top, you're looking at negative $1,685 in monthly cash flow and a cash-on-cash return of negative 13.73%. The appreciation score of 80 out of 100 is the number doing the real work here, supported by 3% year-over-year home price growth. This is a market where the equity thesis has to carry the deal, because the income statement will not.

That profile suits one type of buyer clearly: the appreciation-oriented investor with long hold horizon, low leverage tolerance for pain, or the ability to offset negative carry from other income. It does not suit a cash-flow buyer at current prices and rates. A value-add operator could theoretically close some of the gap by pushing rents above the $2,572 median, but at a $640,329 entry point, the spread required to get to breakeven is large enough that even meaningful rent bumps are unlikely to get you to flat without significant forced appreciation. The affordability index of 39 and an overall score of 53 out of 100, placing Plymouth in the 34th percentile nationally, reinforce that this is a market where price has outrun income faster than rent has followed. Median household income of $105,387 is healthy, but it is not enough to compress that affordability gap at current valuations.

Monthly tax and insurance on a median-priced purchase runs $795, or $9,541 annually, using the state-average effective property tax rate of 1.23% and an insurance rate of 0.26%. That figure is already baked into the negative cash flow number above, but it is worth seeing it isolated: $795 per month before a single repair or vacancy. The 1.23% rate is flagged as normal relative to other states, so it is not the headline risk here, but at a $640,329 purchase price the dollar amount is material regardless of where the rate sits on a relative scale. Keep in mind this is a state-average estimate and actual county or township rates in Plymouth can differ, so pull the specific assessor data before closing.

Plymouth's population of 529,548 and its position as a coastal county southeast of Boston connect it to one of the deeper labor markets in the Northeast. Proximity to Boston creates commuter demand that underpins both prices and rents at the higher end, and that structural demand is likely the explanation for why appreciation scores well even as cash flow scores poorly. Markets that benefit from spillover demand from a major metro tend to hold value in downturns better than purely self-contained secondary markets, and Plymouth's stability score of 50 reflects a market that is neither unusually fragile nor unusually insulated.

The concentration risk here is the inverse of what you'd flag in a struggling market. Plymouth's risk is price sensitivity to rate movements. At a 3.13% cap rate, any decompression in cap rates, driven by sustained higher interest rates or softening demand from Boston spillover, hits valuations hard. The negative 13.73% cash-on-cash return means you are writing a check every month and betting the appreciation side covers it. If the 3% annual price growth flattens or reverses, there is no income cushion. Investors with shorter hold periods or who need the asset to service itself should be aware the margin for error is thin.

Against its neighbors, Plymouth is the most expensive market in this comparison set by a meaningful distance. Worcester County comes in at $481,357 with a rent-to-price ratio of 0.0523, Franklin County at $355,663 with 0.0604, Hampshire County at $432,694 with 0.0664, and Berkshire County at $378,133 with 0.0493. Every neighboring county offers a better rent-to-price ratio than Plymouth's 0.0482, and Franklin and Hampshire in particular offer ratios that suggest a materially different cash-flow profile. Hampshire County's 0.0664 ratio, the highest in this group, combined with an overall score of 56, makes it the clearest alternative for an investor prioritizing current income. Bristol County, at 0.0466 and an overall score of 49, is the one neighbor that doesn't offer a compelling trade-off. Choose Plymouth over its neighbors when your thesis is capital preservation plus appreciation in a Boston-proximate coastal market, you have the balance sheet to absorb negative carry for several years, and you are comfortable betting that long-run demand dynamics from Greater Boston continue to support price growth.