Renting

An in-depth look at the Massachusetts rental market

The region's big move-in day is behind us, but have we closed the door on climbing rental prices?

By Eileen Woods

October 5, 2023

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Email
• Email
• 4

Sept. 1 marks the biggest moving day in Boston, as college students, new renters, and apartment-switchers pack up, move out, and try to avoid Storrow Drive on their way to their new home.

With move-in day in the rearview mirror, we have to wonder: Are the asking prices for apartments in Boston calming down? Yes and no.

Boston remains the third-most-expensive metro for renters, according to the September national report from ApartmentAdvisor, an online rental market place. Four New England cities made the top 20 list of the most expensive metros for renters in September:

Apartments in Boston

The majority of available apartments in Boston (as of Oct. 4) sit in the $2,100 to $3,400 range, according to the website’s drilldown into Boston. The second-largest segment asks for $3,400 to $4,700:

Studio apartments

In the hunt for bargains, Brighton looks like a deal, with a 20%-plus drop in the median asking rent since last September. Prices have soared in the Back Bay and on Beacon Hill.

One-bedroom apartments

If you don’t mind tight streets and welcome the challenge of parking on them, the North End may be the bargain you need. Prices there have dropped roughly 13% year over year in September. As people expand their search for bargain rentals outside the city center, outer neighborhoods like Roslindale become big draws. Rents there climbed nearly 11% year over year.

Two-bedroom apartments

You’ll probably need a roommate to take the second bedroom in Mission Hill, according to the September round-up of two-bedroom apartment costs, or perhaps most of the lower-priced units were taken? The median asking price in this neighborhood jumped more than 53% year over year in September. Charlestown and South Boston saw a dip in costs.

Three-bedroom-plus apartments

Based on available listings, prices in Back Bay are up 80% since last year, while costs in Charlestown slipped about 34%. These widely disparate numbers just goes to show that patience is required on the apartment hunt in Boston.

Apartments in Massachusetts

Cambridge still holds the throne for the most expensive city for renters, and a report from RentHop that named Harvard as one of the top 10 costliest universities for off-campus housing underscores that reign.

ApartmentAdvisor’s state analysis ranked these communities as the top 5 most expensive for renters in the state:

1. Cambridge
2. Brookline
3. Lexington
4. Boston
5. Medford.

These cities made the top 5 least expensive list:

1. Pittsfield
2. Fall River
3. Springfield
4. Leominster
5. Franklin

The most substantial month-over-month increases were in:

1. Pittsfield
2. Waltham
3. Braintree

The most substantial month-over-month decreases were in:

1. Plymouth
2. Hull
3. Winthrop

What are rental prices doing in the community you have your eye on?