The past year saw rent prices rise across the vast majority of cities in the US. Much of this was a consequence of a number of market dynamics: the population of renters increased (both young and old), vacancy rates dropped to historic lows, and new construction in many urban areas failed to keep up with net migration.
Boston was no exception to this trend. Prices for a one bedroom apartment across the city increased 2.1% in 2015, a multiple of inflation, with a number of neighborhoods skyrocketing by double digit percentages. The map below depicts how asking rents for one bedroom units in the Boston area changed between December 2014 and December 2015.
Rent distributions saw the greatest increases in Cambridge, with neighborhoods such as MIT/Kendall Square, Harvard Square, and Riverside all experiencing a 15% or higher rent appreciation in the year. East Cambridge, Cambridgeport, and Inman Square also saw significant increases. Much of the core neighborhoods in central Boston saw modest increases between 1-5%. Beacon Hill stood out with an appreciation of 10.2% in the year.
Other areas saw prices actually decrease. The North End and West End both dropped around 2%, while Chinatown saw a more pronounced fall of over 10%. Prices in the South End remained unchanged.
If you’re interested to see how these changes compare to the rest of the United States, view our December National Rent Report, which analyzes over 1 million active listings available in the month prior to publication.
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