Vacancy Rates for Boston Apartments Almost Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
After a wild year, the Boston apartment rental market is nearing it’s pre-pandemic levels. The vacancy rate in Boston is down to 1.48% from over 9% in September. Now it’s a matter of time before prices begin to climb again.
Did you know that Real Time Vacancy Rates (RTVR) for Boston apartments are almost back to pre-pandemic levels? This is good news for property owners. For some time, Covid-19 disrupted the supply and demand balance in the city. Historically speaking, there have always been more future tenants looking to rent Boston apartments than units available for lease. During the height of the pandemic, that flip-flopped as all walks of life moved further from large cities. There were too many apartments available for rent compared to the amount of people who were looking to lease them.
Numerous students were not renting Boston apartments. Instead, many stayed home and attended classes remotely. Boston apartments were also available because a plethora of people decided to leave the city. Some of them included working professionals who were relegated or adapted to working from home. They no longer needed to plan their housing based around their commute. This once in a lifetime phenomenon tipped the scales in favor of the tenants. That meant that apartment hunters could actually start negotiating terms, which in turn drove down the prices. That was great news for people who were still looking to move into the city last year. It also allowed many renters to seek apartments in Greater Boston neighborhoods that they were previously edged out of.
