Interesting Boston Magazine article highlights analysis by Zumper on the Boston residential rental marketplace, which concludes that rentals in Boston proper may remain soft for years to come, and may not have hit bottom yet because outbound migration of the city continues. However, with the migration to the suburbs comes increased demand and higher rental pricing in the suburbs. Ultimately, due to limited inventory, the shifting rental economics may balance out in the suburbs attracting more residents back to downtown neighborhoods.
Of course, college enrollment has and will continue to have a large impact on Boston’s rental housing market, and come June, when the majority of students and universities decide upon their in-person vs. virtual stances, will bring further clarity to the question of Boston’s rental rates. Personally, I believe post-vaccination, colleges will return to normalcy by fall ’22, and fall ’21 semester will be a slower return, but enough to stabilize rents in the near term, for an uplift come summer ’22.
Learn more at the link below.
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/property/2021/01/08/boston-rents-low/