Boston Multifamily Market Report

Rent surge slows as Bostonians react to rising costs. After the most rapid vacancy contraction seen in multiple decades, Boston reported a period of negative net absorption during the second quarter as metro vacancy rose to 2.9 percent. Class C units led the decompression in this metric, indicating a large portion of this movement stems from household consolidation. As vacancy approaches previous cyclical norms, an uptick in concessionary activity may occur, resulting in effective rents stagnating in the latter half of this year. Additionally, rent growth returning to pre-pandemic levels may temper calls for rent control in Boston proper, which have intensified in reaction to the acute rent increases recently.