A summer of soaring rents?
Apartment rents are soaring in Greater Boston as the mercury rises.
The Boston area is getting hammered with double-digit increases in asking rents as we move into the summer months, a new report finds.
It's a field day for landlords, especially the big apartment community owners, but bad news for renters trying to make ends meet.
Rents across the metro Boston market posted a 10.3 percent, year-over-year increase through the end of June compared to the same period in 2011,Trulia reports.
That's compared to a 5.4 percent jump nationally, putting Boston in the top five, behind only San Francisco, Oakland, Denver and Miami, when it comes to rising rents. (SF is No. 1 with a whopping 14.7 percent hike.)
More importantly for Boston area renters trying to sort out their options, increases in asking rents show no signs in leveling off and have actually picked up considerable momentum since the spring.
Back in March, for example, asking rents in the Boston area were up 8.6 percent on a year-over-year basis.
But this is not just a local phenomenon, but a national one as well.
Rents are up year over year in 24 of 25 major metro markets tracked by Trulia, with battered Las Vegas the only exception. In 22 markets, rents increases are outpacing home prices, often by considerable margins.
If nothing else, it's not so easy for renters to feel safe on the sidelines and scoff at all those foolish home buyers who decided to take a chance on a rocky market.
How does it all look to you, apartment dwellers? Are you still happy renting?
And landlords, what's your take?
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