Beverly Named 'Top Spot to Live'

The "upswing" in real estate prices in Beverly during the past two years has put it on a list of communities in Greater Boston named this year's "top spots to live."

Beverly was one of 13 Eastern Massachusetts communities spotlighted in Sunday's 2013 "Top Places to Live" feature in the Boston Globe Magazine. 

Citing the importance of home buyers wanting to "feel confident that they’re making a good investment" when purchasing a home, the Globe identified 13 communities "all on the upswing, with the biggest single-family home price increases in Greater Boston from 2011 to 2012.

Beverly's median single-family home price in 2012 was $355,000, up 9.31 percent from 2011, according to the Globe.

Beverly is a community with a lot "going for it" with a location on the water and a 40 minute commute to Boston, the report said.

The story noted Beverly has "plenty of green space" and a variety of neighborhoods that each have "unique charm."

Joining Beverly on this list: Cambridge, Freetown, Groveland, Medfield, Newbury, Revere, Rockland, Shirley, South Boston, Stoughton, Swampscott, and Topsfield. 

The Globe named 19 "honorable mention" communities, including the nearby communities of Danvers, Gloucester and Peabody. 

Only communities with 50 or more sales in 2012 were included in this feature, according to the Globe.