Renting

An in-depth look at the Massachusetts apartment market

The average rent has fallen in every category except for apartments with three or more bedrooms. For those, they want more.

Boston remains the third most expensive city for renters in the country. David L. Ryan/Globe staff/File 2016

November 5, 2023

2 minutes to read

It’s only November, but college students should already be thinking about where they’re going to live next year.

The good news is that the average asking rents for studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments are lower than they were at this time last year.

The bad news? If you’re looking to share a three-bedroom with a bunch of roommates, you may wind up paying more for your share.

In it’s Nov. 2 report, ApartmentAdvisor, an online rental marketplace, noted that the average asking price for a studio apartment in Boston on Wednesday was $2,594, a 7.4 percent year over year decrease.

The more bedrooms you seek, however, the less of a bargain you may get:

UNIT TYPE	11/2/2022	11/2/2023	% CHANGE
Studio	$2,801	$2,594	-7.4%
One bedroom	$3,198	$3,026	-5.4%
Two bedrooms	$3,599	$3,442	-4.4%
Three-plus bedrooms	$3,200	$3,649	14%

Source: Apartment Advisor
Figures are based on available listings on the site on that date.

Studio apartments

If you’re looking to live alone (I mean who wants to watch their roommate clip toenails on the living room couch?), you may be able to find bargains in Brighton and Jamaica Plain right now. Prices have jumped the most year over year, however, in Back Bay, Downtown, and East Boston.

Source: Apartment Advisor
Figures are based on available listings on the site on Nov. 2.
* indicates that there weren’t enough listings for an accurate measurement.

One-bedroom apartments

Prices in this market jumped considerably in desirable Jamaica Plain (nearly 34 percent), but the average asking price has dropped appreciably in Dorchester, West Roxbury, and the North End.

Two-bedroom apartments

Charlestown and Back Bay are showing significant drops in the asking rents of available apartments, but you’ll have to shell out more in Mission Hill and Hyde Park.

Three-bedroom-plus apartments

Asking prices are up year over year in every neighborhood but Charlestown and Fenway.

Source: Apartment Advisor
Figures are based on available listings on the site on Nov. 2.

Apartment-hunting in Massachusetts

In a bit of good news, ApartmentAdvisor reported that the average asking rent price for a one-bedroom apartment in the state as of Nov. 2 remained unchanged month over month.

But it’s up 3 percent year over year.

The top 5 most expensive communities for one-bedroom asking rents in October in the state were:

Cambridge ($3,077)
Boston ($3,000)
Watertown ($2,921)
Brookline ($2,865)
Burlington ($2,849)

The top 5 least expensive communities for one-bedroom asking rents were:

Pittsfield ($1,150)
Chicopee ($1,323)
Fall River ($1,345)
Springfield ($1,394)
Leominster ($1,516)

Where are prices climbing? Where are they falling?

The US rental market

Boston remains the third-most expensive city for renters in the United States, behind only New York City and Jersey City, according to ApartmentAdvisor’s October report:

RANK	CITY	AVE. RENT (1 BEDROOM)
1.	New York City	$4,620
2.	Jersey City	$3,381
3.	Boston	$3,050
4.	San Francisco	$2,812
5.	Miami	$2,360
6.	San Diego	$2,357
7.	Washington, D.C.	$2,320
8.	San Jose	$2,250
9.	Los Angeles	$2,167
10.	Charleston, S.C.	$2,028

Source: ApartmentAdvisor

More on renting

Eileen Woods

Editor, real estate

Eileen McEleney Woods is the real estate editor for Boston.com and editor of the Boston Globe's Sunday real estate section (Address).

An in-depth look at the Massachusetts apartment market