Medford Apartment Rental Market Outperforming Other Boston Micro-Markets
The apartment rental market in Medford has faired well in comparison to many neighborhoods in Boston. While many neighborhoods that have a heavy student population saw vacancies soar to unprecedented levels as a result of COVID and remote learning, the vacancy rate for Medford apartments never rose above 4%. Medford is a favorite option for students seeking apartments near Tufts University, but it didn’t experience the same supply issues as other student enclaves like Fenway, Allston, and Cambridge.
The current vacancy rate in Medford is 1.8%. That is significantly lower than the current vacancy rate in the City of Boston (3.17%) and even the combined vacancy rate of all suburbs in Boston (2.9%). The rental market in Medford is heavily dependent on the local student population, and historically it has experienced the same turnover as the City of Boston as a result. So one would think that remote learning would have done the same to Medford as it did to Boston, but that is not the case. So how has Medford avoided the apartment supply glut that other neighborhoods were burdened with?
You could look to the apartment rental market of Somerville for clues. Like Medford, Somerville is a big student market for Tufts. Also like Medford, it didn’t experience nearly the same turbulence as other popular student areas in Boston as as a result of COVID-19 and remote learning. Given the two neighborhoods close proximity, it’s reasonable to think that the same trend propping up the vacancy rate in Somerville is doing the same in Medford.
Last year, the housing market in Greater Boston saw a shift in demand from renting to buying, and from the dense city centers of Downtown and Back Bay to the open spaces of the suburbs. As Downtown’s vacancy rate hit an astronomical 20%, the vacancy rates in outer areas like Roslindale and Hyde Park actually went down. So as remote learning crippled the rental markets in places like Fenway and Allston, the outer suburbs were spared as a result of the population dispersion.
As a result, apartment availability in Medford is significantly lower than other areas closer to Boston’s core. In addition to that, rent prices have not dropped in Medford like they have in some other areas. In fact, Medford is one of the few areas in Boston where rent actually increased over the past year. The current average rent in Medford is $2,271, a slight +0.14% increase since May of 2020.
Given the low vacancy rate relative to other areas and the elimination of remote learning for the Fall semester, landlords are preparing for a renting frenzy this summer like they have been used to seeing in recent years prior to the pandemic. Expect the rental market to grow in Medford in 2021 as the Tufts students return to Boston. Demand should pick up in June and peak we approach the 9/1 leasing date.
