Boston’s Rental Fever Breaks as Landlords Chase Tenants

Boston landlords are facing a new reality: the city’s rental market, long one of the tightest in the country, is finally loosening.

Owners who once fielded bidding wars are now dangling concessions and cutting prices as demand softens across the metro, Bloomberg reported. The reversal lands after years of biotech-fueled growth and steady population growth thanks to the city’s elite colleges and universities.

That engine is sputtering. Deep cuts to federal research funding, a cooldown in venture-backed life sciences and a net loss of residents have kneecapped leasing traffic.

Even prime units near MIT or BU are sitting, pushing owners into bargain mode.

One Cambridge landlord has watched a three-bedroom near MIT sit vacant for more than five months. The rent has dropped from about $4,200 to $3,550, yet the showings remain sparse. Brokers say that once-picky owners are now accepting pets, undergrads and anyone with a pulse and a credit score. In neighborhoods like Allston — usually a student stronghold, thanks to the presence of BU — vacancy is triple the rate downtown, according to Colliers.

The data backs the mood shift. Average asking rent across the Boston area dipped to $3,043 in October, its first annual decline since 2021, according to RealPage. Vacancies are at their highest since the pandemic and Massachusetts was one of only two states to post negative job growth in the year through August.

Immigration raids and tighter student visa restrictions are exacerbating the drop, particularly for landlords who depend on affluent international students to fill higher-priced inventory.

New supply is adding pressure too. The region delivered roughly 8,600 units this year, about 20 percent above its 10-year norm, according to RealPage, giving renters leverage they haven’t seen in years. Landlords are handing out free months at luxury towers, gift cards and aggressive discounts; one newly built complex in Allston is giving away three months free on certain leases.

Whether the reprieve lasts is unclear. Landlords are betting on a spring rebound, but with job insecurity lingering and a statewide rent control ballot measure looming for next year, confidence is fragile.

For now, Boston’s long-unflappable rental market is showing rare vulnerability and tenants are in the driver’s seat.

— Holden Walter-Warner