Apartment rents in the Boston area rolling into spring on a high note

Whatever volatility in the Boston-area sales market or in the wider economy due to novel coronavirus and other factors, the region’s rental market is steaming into spring 2020 as one of the most expensive in the United States.

This is no surprise, of course—the Boston era has long been among the most expensive in the nation for renting an apartment. But new numbers from real estate research and listings site Zumper underscore just how expensive things are out there for tenants as the weather warms and we approach the traditionally busy spring leasing season.

Several of the 21 towns and cities that Zumper tracks via its database experienced year-over-year increases in median one- or two-bedroom rents from February 2019 to February 2020. Cambridge, Brookline, and Boston were the most expensive for tenants.

In Cambridge, the median one-bedroom apartment rent increased 6.1 percent from February 2019, to $2,620 a month, and the median two-bedroom rent went up 8.5 percent, to $3,200. In Boston proper, the one-bedroom median increased 4.6 percent year over year, to $2,500, and the median two-bedroom was up 5.5 percent, to $2,900. See below for a deeper breakdown by municipality, courtesy of Zumper (click to enlarge).

There are many reasons why rents in the region remain so high—not least the sales market, with its own hefty costs, and a historically low supply amid steady modern demand. Will it change? Not likely, at least not before the summer. Stay tuned. And, if you’re in the hunt now, try these 10 apps and sites to ease your search.