Thursday, August 16, 2012

RENTALS: The Cheapest, Priciest Areas to Rent an Apartment in the Hub


Everybody knows it's bad out there fortenants and very likely getting worse (forlandlords, not so much). The latest quarterly report from RentJuice/Zillow, covering approximately 85 percent of the apartment availabilities in Greater Boston, only reinforces the point.
Just take the aggregates: the average apartment rent for Boston proper in the first quarter of 2012 was $2,228, and in the second quarter was $2,503; the average apartment rent for Greater Boston was $2,218 in the earlier quarter, and $2,308 in the quarter ending June 30. Rents in some areas in particular were way up: North Cambridge, 20 percent; Belmont, 42 percent. Some were down: the rest of Cambridge, East Boston. Generally, though, the numbers reflect a rental market that appears to be trending toward ever-more demand amid tight supply, no matter how much construction there is or is planned (check out our Rental Heatmap for that).
The only real bright spot for tenants might be the availabilities coming up after the summer: Seven out of 10 rental listings being marketed now, according to the report, are noted as becoming available in early September. So there's that. 
The 20 most expensive areas:
Wellesley $4,435
Waterfront $4,255
The Harborfront* $3,667
Belmont $3,520
Needham $3,469
Arlington $3,438
Theater District $3,435
West End $3,368
Back Bay $3,328
Kendall Square $3,280
Seaport $3,262
Downtown Boston $3,256
South Boston $2,969
Bay Village $2,914
East Cambridge $2,904
South End $2,890
Teele Square $2,876
Brookline Village $2,875
Union Square $2,870
Central Square $2,853

And now the 20 cheapest:
Framingham $1,363
Everett $1,377
Norwood $1,512
Quincy $1,544

Chelsea $1,550
Admirals Hill $1,588
Hyde Park $1,622
East Boston $1,667
Malden $1,684
West Roxbury $1,694
Revere $1,774
Dorchester $1,816
Braintree $1,874
Roslindale $1,907
Kenmore $1,913
Fenway $1,913
Brighton $1,958
Allston $1,995
South Brookline $2,028
Allston Village $2,053

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