Boston Apartment Occupancy Hits All-Time High

Apartment occupancy in Boston has reached an all-time high according to the latest rental market data from Boston PadsLinks to an external site.. The city’s current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) is 0.38%, indicating that 99.62% of Boston apartmentsLinks to an external site. are currently occupied. The rental shortage is already putting upwards pressure on apartment prices. Boston’s average rent price surpassed its all-time high in May and is continuing to rise.

Just a year ago, Boston’s rental market was reeling as a result of remote work and remote learning. The city’s rental supply soared to unprecedented levels while rent prices dropped for the first time in over a decade. How did the rental market in Boston experience such a dramatic shift from one year to the next? Let’s take a look at how we got here.