Renting

An in-depth look at the Massachusetts rental market: February edition

Including a breakdown by Boston neighborhood.

The median list price for a one-bedroom rental in the state increased 1.1% from December to January and more than 11% year over year to $2,464.

By Boston.com Staff

February 7, 2023

Things are looking up for home shoppers trying to rent in Boston proper.

Asking rents are going down overall across all home types, according to a market report Apartment Advisor released Feb. 6.

NO. OF BEDROOMS	AVERAGE ASKING RENT OF LISTINGS (JAN.)	AVERAGE ASKING RENT OF LISTINGS (DEC.)	%Change
Studio	$2,231	$2,528	-11.7
One bedroom	$2,801	$2,900	-3.41
Two bedrooms	$3,200	$3,279	-2.4
Three bedrooms-plus	$4,000	$4,300	-6.97

Source: Apartment Advisor

Studio prices are down nearly 29% in Back Bay and more than 17% Downtown since August, according to a market report Apartment Advisor released Feb. 6. The asking price of a one-bedroom fell more than 13% in Back Bay and 11.3% Downtown, while the cost of a two-bedroom slipped nearly 10% and just north of 2% in those neighborhoods, respectively.

These were the average rents listed for apartments in Boston in January:

apartment-advisor-studio-rent-january — (* indicates there weren’t enough listings for comparison) Source: Apartment Advisor – Source: Apartment Advisor

apartment-advisor-1bedroom-rent-january — Source: Apartment Advisor – Source: Apartment Advisor

apartment-advisor-2bedrooms-rent-january — Source: Apartment Advisor – Source: Apartment Advisor

apartment-advisor-3bedrooms-rent-january — Source: Apartment Advisor – Source: Apartment Advisor

In Massachusetts

In the Commonwealth, the news wasn’t as uplifting. The median list price for a one-bedroom rental in the state increased 1.1% from December to January and more than 11% year over year to $2,464, according to Apartment Advisor’s December market report for Massachusetts.

The site noted that it is more expensive to rent in Cambridge than in San Francisco.

And amid the most expensive Massachusetts cities for renters, there emerged a surprise contender that edged out Boston and Brookline for second:

CITY	MEDIAN LIST PRICE FOR A ONE-BEDROOM	% CHANGE NOV.-DEC.	% change year over year
Cambridge	$3,071	1.7%	9.7%
Watertown	$2,909	6.3%	16.4%
Brookline	$2,800	0%	7.7%
Boston	$2,751	-4.2%	10%

These were the least expensive cities for renters:

Pittsfield: $1,250

Fall River: $1,350

Leominster: $1,410

Worcester: $1,475

Boston was among the cities that saw the biggest month-over-month decreases in asking rents in January. The others were Newton (-12%) and Lowell (-6.4%).

What are prices doing in the community you have your eye on?