Here’s a spot of good news (we guess): Real estate research site Zumper is out with its latest national rental report, and, for what looks like the first time ever, Boston is not the third most expensive market for renting a 1-BR apartment. For years, the region has rested reliably behind San Francisco and New York.
Now, Zumper says that California enclaves San Jose and Oakland have both overtaken the Boston region. The median 1-BR apartment rent in Oakland is now $2,270, and in San Jose (a.k.a. Silicon Valley) $2,280. The median in Boston is $2,230.
The report tracked all homes available for rent or vacant as of June, so it’s a pretty good snapshot of the rental amounts out there.
Zumper also broke out the Boston region by area. The most expensive area for renting a 1-BR as of June was downtown Boston, where the median was $3,110, followed by East Cambridge’s $3,000 median, and the $2,900 1-BR median along Southie’s D Street-West Broadway corridor (which really needs its own neighborhood name).
- Zumper National Rent Report: July 2016 [Zumper]
- Four Boston Areas in Need of New Neighborhood Names [Curbed Boston]