A lot, yes. But how much exactly? The question arose at a recent roundtable covered by Marc Levy at Cambridge Day. Officials were discussing the rents for M.I.T. grad students vs. plain, old Cantabrigians.
They did, said Israel Ruiz, executive vice president and treasurer at the MIT Corp. Based on the city's September survey, Ruiz gave the median monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment as $2,800 citywide versus $2,400 to $1,576 for university-provided housing, for between 12 percent and 44 percent in savings. A one-bedroom apartment citywide was given as renting for a monthly $2,300, while the university asked from $1,500 to $1,200, for a savings of between 35 percent and 48 percent. Clarifications abounded, however, following Ruiz's remarks:
First councillor David Maher, who ran the more-than-three-hour roundtable, interjected that it was "important to note" that the figures being cited by Ruiz and Cotter didn't "mean that's what the average rent is in the city – but rather, that is what the average vacancy is being advertised for." "I heard the gasps around this table when the $2,800 was stated, and I think the reality is, rents are significantly lower," Maher said.
"That's right," Cotter said. "It's really hard to get at what the average rent is because it's not data that's publicly accessible ? Certainly there are a lot of tenants in smaller buildings who've been there for a long time, and it's harder to get at that number."
Right. So, we want to know: What are the rent ranges in Cambridge for one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, etc.? Email your answers or leave them through the comments button to the above right. Anonymity guaranteed, though please do include the year your lease started.
· Roundtable Raises Question: Are City's Official Rent Data to Be Taken Seriously? [Day]
· Our Rent Check archive [Curbed Boston]
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