No relief as rent’s booming in the ’burbs
Hub’s effect pulls prices higher from Revere to Worcester
If it seems like the high rents that are driving tenants out of Boston are following them to outlying communities, you’re not mistaken — Malden and Revere saw some of the area’s steepest rent hikes last year, studies show.
“It makes sense. There is a definite demand for Boston and when prices get too high in Boston, people move to the next communities,” said
Greg Vasil CEO & president of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.
Boston is now the third most expensive city in the nation to live in, according to market research firm Zumper. The median rent for a one-bedroom in Massachusetts was $1,868 last month, but the cost for renters in the Greater Boston region is hundreds of dollars more, according to a new report.
Cambridge is the most expensive city in the Boston area, where one-bedrooms rent for a median price of $2,650. Boston comes in second with an average price tag of $2,550.
The report shows communities outside of Boston are also starting to feel the growing pains of a region without enough housing to support its booming economy and growing job industry. Median prices for a one-bedroom apartment now exceeds $2,000 a month for eight metro-area communities:
Cambridge, Boston, Medford, Everett, Waltham, Revere, Somerville and Newton.
Malden — where the average one-bedroom now costs $1,960 — had the fastestgrowing rent between January 2019 and 2020, up 15.3%.
Newton saw rents climb 7.9% during that same time to $2,050. Revere rents are up 6.1% to a median price of $2,100 — the same price as Somerville.
Those communities which are all accessible to Boston via the T have become targets for developers and have seen an explosion of luxurystyle high-rises in recent years — which tend to be at the higher end of the market and drive up median costs, Vasil said.
Communities as far out as Worcester are feeling the pressure. A one-bedroom there still only costs about $1,250, but the median price has jumped 6.4% in a year, according to the report.
“It all goes back to the need for a regional housing solution,” Vasil said.
Rising rents have renewed calls for legislative solutions for what many have called an out-of-control problem. Last month hundreds of tenants and lawmakers gathered at the State House rallying for a return of rent control — a measure supported by a handful of metro-area cities including Boston — and the imposition of a real-estate sales tax.
Vasil favors Gov. Charlie Baker’s housing solutions package, which includes a bill that would make it easier for communities to open up local zoning to allow for the kind of high-density housing he said needs to built in communities all around Boston.
Vasil said that while deals are few and far between these days for Boston renters, it’s still possible to find below-market-rate apartments if you look hard enough and have good references.
“There are landlords out there who are willing to rent below market for really good tenants,” Vasil said.