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Apartment rents in Greater Boston rose another 3.6 percent during 2019 and the region remains one of the top U.S. destinations for transplants, according to a pair of industry reports.
Greater Boston is the sixth most-popular potential destination for out-of-metro relocations, with 38 percent of Boston-area searches on Apartment List coming from outside the region. New York accounted for 20 percent of renters looking in the Boston area, the largest share of any outside metro.
That exceeds the level of interest by renters in leaving the area. Boston ranked 11th nationwide in that category, with 33 percent of locals looking elsewhere, most often in the Providence, Hartford and Manchester, New Hampshire markets.
“These three smaller New England cities represent affordable alternatives to Boston that are ripe for renewal and can offer local scenes that will remind Boston expats of home,” the Apartment List report said.
The report was based upon Apartment List searches between June 1 and Dec. 31, 2019.
While average U.S. rents rose 3 percent in 2019, Boston area renters saw their monthly payment rise 3.6 percent through December, according to commercial real estate researchers Yardi Matrix’s multifamily national report released today. The region has consistently ranked among the top four U.S. metros, with average rents of $2,349 trailing only New York, San Francisco and San Jose.
The region’s high housing cost burden has prompted a series of proposals designed to stimulate housing production and control rents, including a bill to allow communities to restore rent control by local option.
