Cambridge, Brookline priciest places in Boston area to rent as 2018 starts

Cambridge and Brookline were the most expensive municipalities in the Boston area to rent either a one-bedroom or a two-bedroom apartment as the calendar flipped from 2017 to 2018, according to real estate listings site Zumper.

Zumper’s report analyzed vacant and available apartments in 16 municipalities in December, so the report is a pretty solid snapshot of where the regional rental market stood as 2018 started.

How expensive are Cambridge and Brookline compared with other cities/towns in the region? Cambridge’s one-bedroom median of $2,400 a month in December was nearly $500 higher than neighboring Somerville’s and $130 more than in Boston proper.

And Brookline’s two-bedroom median of $2,820 a month was well more than $500 above neighboring Newton’s and $700-plus ahead of the median two-bedroom in nearby Medford.

See the chart below for a comprehensive breakdown, including month-over-month changes (that’s November to December) and year-over-year ones, too.

• Boston metro report: January 2018 [Zumper]