Cape Cod Realtors, Town by Town

Centerville is Barnstable's beach village with a historic district attached. Its original name, Chequaquet, means "pleasant harbor," and Main Street and Old Stage Road still line up nineteenth-century sea captains' homes listed on the state and national historic registers — one of the town's most intact traditional New England settings (ARTS Barnstable — Centerville). Then there's Craigville Beach, the long, wide Nantucket Sound beach that half the Cape seems to have a childhood memory of. Centerville is mostly residential, with a small village center, and its people like it that way.

The market, honestly

Centerville doesn't get its own line in most public trackers, so the numbers here are Barnstable-wide: in August 2026, the town's median sold price was $949,000, with homes averaging 55 days on market and 54 active listings (Movoto market trends, data as of Sept 2, 2026). Inside Centerville the spread is wide — year-round ranches and capes off Route 28 and around Lake Wequaquet on one end, Craigville and Centerville River waterfront on the other. A local agent who knows which side of Main Street a house sits on will read it better than any chart; that's what the realtors serving Centerville are for.

Property taxes

Centerville pays Barnstable's FY 2026 town rate of $6.80 per $1,000 for residential, plus the COMM Fire District rate of $1.15 — about $7.95 per $1,000 combined, and COMM's is the lowest fire-district rate in town. Primary residents can apply for the town's 30% residential exemption, worth $274,787 of assessed value in FY26 (Town of Barnstable, FY 2026 Tax Rates). COMM covers Centerville, Osterville, and Marstons Mills (Town of Barnstable — Fire Districts); confirm any parcel with the town's Assessing Division before you budget.

Schools

Centerville is served by Barnstable Public Schools, with its own neighborhood elementary: Centerville Elementary School (K–3) on Bay Lane. Older students move on to Barnstable United School (4–5) in Marstons Mills, then Barnstable Intermediate School (6–7) and Barnstable High School (8–12) in Hyannis (Barnstable Public Schools — Our Schools). Confirm current assignment for any address with the district.

Getting here, getting around

Centerville sits between Route 28 and Nantucket Sound, a short drive from Hyannis — which means the hospital, the airport, the island ferries, and the Hyannis Transportation Center are all close without being on top of you. The Mid-Cape Highway is a few minutes north. The catch is Craigville Beach Road in July: beach traffic is part of summer life here, and locals learn their back ways early. Confirm current CCRTA and seasonal schedules before you count on transit in the off-season.

Living here year-round

Centerville is a real neighborhood village — a library, a historical museum, a civic association, and village-center shops, with Hyannis close for everything else (ARTS Barnstable — Centerville). The honest version: it's quieter than Hyannis and less polished than Osterville, and the Craigville end swings hard between summer crowds and off-season calm. Plenty of families pick it precisely for that balance: a walkable historic core, an elementary school in the village, and a beach you can bike to.

Rules worth knowing before you buy

• Septic & Title 5: much of Centerville runs on private septic in nitrogen-sensitive watersheds that drain to the Centerville River and the bays, and Barnstable's sewer-expansion work is ongoing. Confirm the property's status and schedule with the town.
• Water: Centerville is served by the COMM Water Department (Barnstable Water Resources) — confirm the service for the specific parcel.
• Flood zones & insurance: Craigville, the Centerville River, and low-lying streets near the Sound carry real FEMA flood-zone exposure, and two houses apart can rate completely differently. Check the parcel, not the neighborhood.
• Short-term rentals: Massachusetts requires STR registration and Barnstable has its own local requirements — confirm them with the town before underwriting rental income.
• Historic character: the historic Main Street area and older homes can carry historic or demolition-delay review. Ask the town before planning changes to an antique.
• Beach parking: Craigville takes a resident/taxpayer permit or a daily pass; Covell's and Lake Wequaquet are resident-permit only (Barnstable Recreation beach information).

(None of these are reasons not to buy — they're the questions a good local agent raises in the first conversation. Ask them.)

What's happening

Summer here orbits Craigville — the beach, and the 1871 Craigville Tabernacle, which is on the National Register of Historic Places (ARTS Barnstable — Centerville). The Centerville Historical Museum keeps the sea-captain story, and off-season means paddling the river and walking an empty beach. Our Barnstable guides cover the rest.

---

Keep going

• Explore Centerville → — every business visited and photographed in person: food, shops, services, beaches.
• Realtors serving Centerville → — local agents, listed by name, agency, and license.
• Barnstable guides → — first-timer's guide, the seven villages, hidden gems.

Facts on this page verified by Cape Cod Certified on September 17, 2026. Sources: Town of Barnstable — FY 2026 Tax Rates · Movoto Barnstable market trends · Barnstable Public Schools. Market figures are town-wide snapshots and move monthly; confirm current rules with the Town of Barnstable.