Boston Suburbs Where Rent Dropped the Most Since COVID Began

One of the most interesting trends to watch in real estate over the past 2 years has been the impressive growth achieved by suburban markets around the country. The pandemic caused seismic shifts in housing markets, as populations dispersed away from densely populated areas and sought more spacious living accomodations where social distancing was easy and remote work was comfortable. This was especially true in Boston, where in 2020, Downtown’s vacancy rate soared to over 25% and apartment availability was lowest in the outer areas.

Much of this demand shift was a combination of remote work and remote learning at local Universities. Now that most of Boston’s student’s have returned in Fall 2021, we can get a better sense of whether the shift in demand was a temporary phenomena or if it’s a trend that’s here to stay. Supply levels for Boston apartments contracted rapidly in the latter half of 2021, while the recovery was slower in most of the metro’s suburban markets.

As a result, the rent price growth experienced by most of the suburban markets in 2020 has reversed course. Currently 8 out of Boston’s 12 closest suburbs are showing a 2 year loss in average rent price. Here are the 4 neighborhoods where rents have dropped the most.