Boston apartment rents are becoming more of a burden to renters
Boston apartments for rent
Boston apartment rents are becoming more of a burden to renters
Moody’s Analytics’ Thomas LaSalvia (LinkedIn, Getty)
Boston apartment renters are paying 30 percent of their median income for an average rent, according to a fourth-quarter housing affordability report from Moody’s Analytics. In more than 20 years of tracking, that’s the highest average rent-to-income ratio recorded.
The 30 percent figure is significant. That’s the threshold for how the Department of Housing and Urban Development defines a family that’s rent-burdened, signifying challenges in affordable needs beyond housing, such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.
The apartment rental market has surged during the pandemic.
The Boston apartment rental market has surged during the pandemic. The spike in housing prices was eventually coupled with rising mortgage rates, forcing many Boston condo buyers away from home purchases and positioning them to become renters. Meanwhile, inflation has boosted the prices of everything, but wage growth hasn’t kept up.
Year-over-year, the average rent-to-income ratio increased 1.5 percentage points. But rental costs have been on an upwards trajectory — albeit a slimmer one — for years.
When Moody’s first tracked rent-to-income ratio in 1999, the typical ratio was 22.5 percent. More recently, the ratio clocked in at 27.2 percent in 2019, 25.7 percent in 2020 (likely due to the start of the pandemic) and 28.5 percent in 2021.
