Rental market update (August issue). Where are prices falling?

Rental

Boston dropped one spot and is now the fourth most expensive rental market in the country. Thanks, New Jersey.

If you’re looking for a one-bedroom apartment in Boston itself, the average rent for apartments on offer is currently $300 higher than it was on New Year’s Day, according to an analysis by ApartmentAdvisor.

But compared to the previous year, costs have fallen by more than 5 percent, the rental marketplace reported.

Nationally, we are seeing rents increase, but at a slower pace. According to Zillow, “The typical U.S. rent rose 0.4 percent to $2,070 in July, compared to a 0.5 percent increase in June and 0.6 percent in April and May.”

What’s going on in Boston itself? Comparing asking prices for August 2023 and 2024, ApartmentAdvisor found an increase in the median rent of available listings in all markets except the one-bedroom market:

A look at the available offers shows that the stock of two-bedroom apartments (32.41 percent) slightly exceeds that of one-bedroom apartments (31.26 percent). Units with three or more bedrooms accounted for 25.22 percent of these, while studios only accounted for 11.1 percent.

Studio apartments

A year-on-year comparison shows that it’s cheaper to find a studio apartment in Back Bay, Fenway, Dorchester and the coveted Jamaica Plain, but the cost of an apartment in Brighton, popular with college students, is more than 15 percent higher than in 2022:

One-bedroom apartments

There are savings to be had in Allston, where the median rent for available apartments is nearly 24 percent lower than in August 2022. In Dorchester, the median rent is about 21 percent lower than last August and more than 23 percent lower than in August 2022. There are also savings to be had in Mission Hill, Fenway, and South Boston, but in Roxbury, prices are skyrocketing:

Two-room apartments

The year-over-year increase in rental costs in Fenway (185.4 percent) shows that the median rental price in this analysis is based on available inventory and that apartments on the market here can be expensive. Prices have also risen in Charlestown (23.4 percent) and Brighton (7.9 percent) since last August, but bargains can also be had in Back Bay (down 22.4 percent since August 2022), South Boston (down 14.4 percent since August 2022) and the North End (down 14.8 percent during this period):

Three-bedroom-plus apartments

Prices are rising in this market segment, especially downtown and in Fenway and West Roxbury. Look for deals in Back Bay and Charlestown. Historically one of the more affordable neighborhoods, Roxbury has seen its median price increase by nearly 15 percent from August of last year to today, and more than 22 percent since August 2022:

Our position at national level

Boston has dropped in the national rankings and is now the fourth most expensive city in the U.S. for renters. Burlington, Vermont, remains at No. 8 on the list – in a state that United Van Lines has named the state with the highest immigration rate for three years in a row.

These were the 10 most expensive cities for a one-room apartment:

And the cheapest:

This is what happened to some other cities in New England:

For renters looking for affordable housing in Providence, the search has become more forgiving. The median asking price for a one-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island’s capital city was $1,732 as of August 15, down nearly 14 percent from a year ago.

The Massachusetts market

A look at asking prices across the state (the latest available are from July) shows that Vulcan-grip Cambridge takes the most expensive spot: $2,652 for a studio, $2,982 for a one-bedroom, $3,676 for a two-bedroom, and $4,350 for a three-bedroom or more apartment. When you look at the larger rents, you see that towns like Hingham, Lexington, and West Tisbury top the list, but overall, Cambridge is the most expensive community. And that’s despite a 3.8 percent year-over-year decline in asking rents:

And these were the cheapest:

It’s worth noting that in Worcester, an option for renters looking for more affordable housing, the median asking price of $1,750 for a one-bedroom apartment has dropped nearly 14 percent year over year, according to the website’s state market analysis.

How are prices developing in the community you are targeting:

In good news for renters, Zillow’s July rent report released Monday suggests that some potential renters are gaining the upper hand in negotiations. More landlords in the Greater Boston area are offering their tenants concessions, the online rental site said. “In the Greater Boston area, 21.7 percent of rental properties were offered a concession in July, compared to just 14.6 percent a year ago.”