The three largest projects in front of Amesbury's Planning Board add up to 631 homes. Of those, 296 are rentals at Rocky Hill, 124 are studios and one- and two-bedroom units in a Lower Millyard mill conversion, and 126 are condominiums in two five-story buildings. The remaining 85 are for-sale homes at Rocky Hill, built as a mix of single-family houses, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. As of mid-October 2026, none of the three is under construction. The biggest one is targeting groundbreaking in early 2027.
If you're comparing Amesbury with Newburyport, Salisbury or Merrimac and hoping new construction will ease the competition for a detached house, the pipeline points the other way. Most of the new supply is rental apartments, small mill-conversion units and condos. Single-family buyers will be shopping in roughly the same thin market Amesbury has today, while condo buyers face a segment that has already cooled and has a large Pulte proposal waiting in the wings.
What Is Actually in Front of the Planning Board
Each of these projects is at a different stage, and those stages matter more than the unit counts. Here is where things stand as of October 12, 2026.
| Project | Location | Homes | Ownership | Status as of Oct. 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Hill, Dale Development | Elm Street, near Route 110 | 381 | 296 rentals, 85 for-sale | Site plan and definitive subdivision hearing continued to Oct. 14 |
| Oakland Street Lofts | 9 Oakland Street, Lower Millyard | 124 | Studios, one- and two-bedrooms, artist live/work; tenure not stated in project record | Approved July 13, 2026, per unofficial city meeting record |
| Lewis Ridge, Pulte Homes | 28 Haverhill Road | 126 | For-sale condominiums | Site plan hearing continued to Oct. 14 |
| 29 Water Street | Downtown | 6 | Condominiums | Continued in April; applicant hoped to start that summer |
| Ordway and Bagley Houses | 5 and 13 School Street | 7 | Homes, including one affordable unit | Approved |
| 2–4 Elmwood Street | Elmwood Street | 2 buildings | Rehabbed two-family plus one new single-family | Approved |
According to the City of Amesbury's project dossier for Rocky Hill, the plan calls for 29 apartment buildings in the north neighborhood and 85 for-sale homes in the south, with 10% of all units designated affordable. At an April 27 Planning Board meeting, Bob Dale of Dale Development said a single homeowners association would cover the whole south neighborhood, and the north neighborhood "will be rental and one owner." Earlier filings listed 379 homes, so the counts have shifted as the design moved through review.
Oakland Street Lofts converts three brick mill buildings and adds a new garage structure. It has 14 studios, 69 one-bedrooms, 32 two-bedrooms and nine artist live/work studios, plus about 3,939 square feet of ground-floor retail. The July 13 approval comes from the unofficial Amesbury meeting record, which reports a 5-0 vote with two abstentions. The record does not give a construction timeline.
Where the For-Sale Homes Land
Set the 211 units in the three big projects that are confirmed as for-sale against the single-family market. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors' August 2026 report for Amesbury shows 19 single-family homes for sale at the end of the month, or 1.7 months of supply. Through the first eight months of 2026, sellers brought 116 single-family homes to market.
Rocky Hill's 85 homes come to less than eight months of ordinary resale listings, and only some of those 85 will be detached houses. Dale Development's project page says the company is still looking for "a qualified homebuilder to take on the for-sale component." Until a builder signs on, nobody knows the price points, the release schedule or how fast those homes will sell.
Lewis Ridge is all one- and two-bedroom condominiums. Twenty percent of the units, 25 homes, are proposed as affordable. Planning Board records identify Pulte Homes as the applicant. It will add a lot of supply, and all of it goes to the condo segment.
The Condo Market Has Already Cooled
The condo numbers have moved much more than the single-family numbers. Here is the MAR comparison for Amesbury condominiums, January through August:
| Amesbury condos, Jan.–Aug. | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Closed sales | 75 | 71 |
| Median sale price | $512,500 | $424,000 |
| Days on market until sale | 35 | 48 |
| Share of original list price received | 100.0% | 98.7% |
A median can drop because a different mix of units happened to sell, and MAR warns that small samples can swing sharply. Even so, the other figures point the same direction. Condos are taking longer to sell, and in August alone they sold for 96.0% of original list price.
Now picture Lewis Ridge opening into that market. Its 126 units are more than every condo that closed in Amesbury from January through August 2026, which was 71. If Lewis Ridge comes online in phases, the units won't all compete at once. But even one of its two buildings, with 63 new units for sale, would give condo shoppers in this town more choice than they have had in years. For anyone selling an existing one- or two-bedroom condo around that time, it would mean competing with brand-new units in the same price range.
Single-Family Has Eased Too, for Reasons Unrelated to Construction
Single-family homes in Amesbury haven't been immune. The year-to-date median through August 2026 was $680,000, down from $730,000 a year earlier. In August, sellers received 98.4% of original list price, compared with 101.1% in August 2025.
None of that came from new construction, because none of the projects above has delivered a home yet. Supply is still as tight as it was. The August figure of 1.7 months was almost identical to the 1.8 months a year earlier, and homes still sold in a median of 26 days. For a single-family buyer, the softening that matters is the price movement already in the resale data. Supply relief from Rocky Hill is not on a schedule you can plan around.
Why None of This Arrives Before 2027
Dale Development gives an early-2027 groundbreaking for Rocky Hill and no move-in date. Here is what each large project still needs, based on its filings:
- Rocky Hill needs site plan approval and definitive subdivision approval. Both were continued on the October 14 agenda. It also needs a stormwater permit and MassDOT access approvals for Elm Street and any Route 110 or I-95 work.
- Lewis Ridge was filed April 13, 2026. It needs Planning Board site plan approval, MassDOT permits for two driveways, a Conservation Commission order of conditions, and a waiver for retaining walls taller than six feet.
- Oakland Street Lofts has its approval, but its affordable units have to be restricted before a building permit can issue. Its stormwater plan also has to account for a former industrial site with documented contamination.
Any one of these steps can add months, and the final schedules will depend on outcomes that haven't happened yet.
What This Means Depending on What You're Shopping For
If you're buying a detached single-family home, you'll be working with Amesbury's existing resale market, with about 13 new listings in a typical summer month. The small infill projects add homes a few at a time. The big projects add few detached houses, and those arrive late.
If you're buying a condo, today's market already gives buyers more room on time and price than single-family does. New construction at Lewis Ridge could add to that if it is approved.
If you own a condo and plan to sell in the next few years, timing a sale against a large new building in town is a real consideration, especially for one- and two-bedroom units.
If you're considering renting before you buy, the Rocky Hill north neighborhood alone is planned as 296 rental units under one owner. That is a lot of new rental housing for a city this size.
Questions About Amesbury's Pipeline
Why is Amesbury approving this much multifamily housing?
Rocky Hill sits inside the Rocky Hill Multi-family Overlay District, which City Council adopted 7-0 on October 8, 2024. On March 28, 2025, the state's housing office found Amesbury compliant with the MBTA Communities law. Together, the overlay and the amended Smart Growth districts provide 1,563 units of as-of-right capacity, against a requirement of 789. The city lists East End, Gateway Village and Rocky Hill as its three districts under the law. Lewis Ridge is being reviewed under the Gateway Village district rules.
What about Amesbury's tax rate?
According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Amesbury's FY2026 residential rate is $15.05 per $1,000 of assessed value, and the FY2027 rate had not been entered as of October 11, 2026. The $6 million Proposition 2½ override, which would have funded city and school budgets beginning in FY2027, failed on November 4, 2025, with 2,211 yes votes and 3,113 no votes.
Could accessory apartments add single-family-style supply?
ADUs add rental units on existing lots, not homes for sale. April 2026 Planning Board minutes note that state law now allows ADUs under 900 square feet by right and that Amesbury's special-permit ordinance needed updating. One example from that spring was a garage ADU at 84 Congress Street, which the board continued for revisions.
If you're weighing a single-family purchase in Amesbury now, or a condo sale that could overlap with new construction in town, Marc Ouellet Realty Group follows these Planning Board hearings and can show you how the latest resale numbers line up with your timeline. Schedule a Consultation and we'll go through it together.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
