Boston’s increasing rents finally slow down (slightly)
All those new luxury rental towers and shiny new suburban apartment buildings may finally be starting to slow down Greater Boston’s runaway rents.
All those new luxury rental towers and shiny new suburban apartment buildings may finally be starting to slow down Greater Boston’s runaway rents.
Now don’t get too excited, for the Boston area remains the fifth most expensive market in the country, a new survey by ApartmentList.com finds.
But the average Boston-area rent on a two-bedroom apartment fell 1 percent from last year to $2,500 in May, with rents on one-bedrooms edging down .2 percent to $2,000, the online apartment listing platform notes.
Even so, the Boston area is also one of the most highly rated places to live in the country, according to the survey.
Overall, the website tallies rents at larger, professionally-managed buildings, skipping over mom and pop landlords or single-family homes converted into rentals.
“I think it partly could be the new construction but it is a bit puzzling to us,’’ said Andrew Woo, a senior associate at ApartmentList.com. “Boston is one of two cities that is very highly rated but also has prices moderating.’’
The leveling off of rents, though, is fairly recent, with the website’s survey of Boston area rents this time last year finding a pretty significant 5 percent jump, Woo noted.
However, over the past year, hundreds of new apartments have hit the market, from University Station just off Route 128 in Westwood to downtown Boston.
Yet while rents at the big apartment towers and buildings may be moderating, renter satisfaction with life in Greater Boston is positively soaring.
Boston renters have the “second highest level of satisfaction in the country,’’ ApartmentList.com finds. Local renters gave a thumbs up to the local economy by a roughly 2:1 margin, while also giving Boston an A+ for recreational opportunities.
Meanwhile, a separate survey by Zillow focused mainly on single-family rentals (either converted or temporarily leased out), offers a somewhat different picture.
Boston ranks No. 2 for metro areas where rents on single-family homes are rising faster than prices of homes for sale, according to Zillow.
Rents on single-family homes rose 5.5 percent since last May, even as home values in the Boston area edged up by a negligible .2 percent.
Only Kansas City had a greater gap, with single-family rents rising 10.2 percent, while home values, like those in Boston, rose just .2 percent, Zillow finds.
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