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How much higher can rents go?

Posted by Scott Van Voorhis June 7, 2013 10:28 AM

Boston-area rents rose more than 5 percent in May, more than double the national pace.

It's enough to make Greater Boston the fifth least affordable rental market in the country, behind only the likes of New York, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Trulia reports.

In terms of the pace of rent increases, Boston is No. 2 in the country right now, second only to Miami, which saw a 6.4 percent hike in May compared to the same month the year before.

So exactly how unaffordable have our local rents become?

It now takes 44 percent of the average wage to pay the median rent on a two bedroom apartment, according to Trulia.

In Miami that number is 57 percent and in New York, big surprise, it's even higher, at 58 percent.

Rents for a two-bedroom in Boston range from more than $4,400 in downtown neighborhoods like the Back Bay to $1,600 to $1,800 in Allston, Brighton and Mission Hill, according to this Trulia rent map.

What's your take on rents? At what point do the increases become unsustainable?

Time to bring back rent control?

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