If you have decided to rent a house or an apartment in Boston, you’ve probably found it is quite a challenge to locate your dream apartment. Boston is a hot spot in the real estate market and the rent prices there continue to be high. Sometimes it can be really difficult to find the best housing for your needs. But how hard is it to get a house or an apartment in Boston and what makes it so difficult?
High Demand
Of course, the main reason there’s a high demand is that there’s a large number of residents who are looking for housing in the Boston area. Construction in the region has boomed recently, and even though there are many new buildings offering studios, condos and apartments, it is not enough to satisfy the demand. There are also plenty of people who are looking for an apartment or house to buy, so that makes the inventory even tighter.
Expensive Market
The rental and sales market in Boston tends to be among the most expensive in the whole country. The median prices for condos or houses in the downtown area is about $1,000 a square foot, and it isn’t much cheaper in the surrounding neighborhoods. Keeping in mind the high sales prices, it is not surprising why many people prefer renting instead of buying. However, rent prices are rather pricey as well. It’s hard to find inexpensive housing in this city.
Insufficient New Construction
Despite the recent boom in construction, it doesn’t meet the already-high demand for housing in Boston. There are many factors to blame for this: land prices, the cost of construction, the zoning in the area. In addition, construction companies and investors have given priority to luxury buildings and large-scale houses for large families. There are fewer new small apartments and studios. Saying all that, we can safely conclude that construction in the area does not keep pace with the rising population and the growth of job positions which means higher demand for apartments.
Cash to Burn
Research shows that a minimum of 30% of tenants’ incomes in Boston go to their rent. There are also plenty of people who have no trouble paying $2,500 every month for a single bedroom apartment. Boston is a cosmopolitan city that is the home to many major companies, so residents have plenty of job opportunities and salaries are usually quite high. Thus, they can afford paying expensive rent costs. This worsens the situation for people with limited budgets who have found it really hard to get housing in the area.
Commutes
You probably wonder how commuting connects to Boston’s real estate challenges. There are plenty of people who travel over an hour and a half in and out of the city – about half of Bostonians. Everyone wants to live closer to their workplace and this factor has increased the demand in Boston, making it really hard to find the perfect apartment.
Fewer Options for Big Families
How hard is it to get a house or an apartment in Boston for a family with kids? It can often be a nightmare. As the options are very scarce and the rents are very high, tenants often rent large apartments with at least three bedrooms and live with roommates. They share the rent and other expenses. Thus, bigger families with children find it extremely difficult to get the housing they need.
High Demand Perennially
Statistics show that the population in Boston has been climbing for about a decade. This means that there is a constant demand for homes. Also, since the region is economically active, there are constantly new jobs bringing people to the city. As mentioned before, construction can’t keep pace with the growth of population and new jobs.
America’s College Town
There are dozens of colleges and universities in Boston and the surrounding metropolitan area, with over 150,000 students in all of the city. These students have to live somewhere and not all of them are guaranteed housing from their schools. These students keep the demand for housing even higher and contribute to the difficult situation.
Your Personal Preferences
How hard is it to get a house or an apartment in Boston if you have specific preferences and are not willing to make compromises? Very. Understandably, people don’t want to put aside their priorities, especially when they are looking to purchase an apartment or a house. This puts them in a difficult position because they struggle to find the perfect place. Things are a bit easier if you are searching for a place to rent, especially for a short period of time, because it’s easier to compromise on somewhere you won’t be for a long time. But since the demand is high, it can be really hard to locate the perfect housing, especially if you are totally unwilling to compromise.
