Boston Multifamily Report – Summer 2019
The metro's rent growth is supported by high demand for upscale apartments in core submarkets.
Boston rent evolution, click to enlarge
Boston’s multifamily market maintained its healthy fundamentals in the first half of 2019. In June, year-over-year rent growth reached the highest value in nearly three years—3.8 percent—supported by high demand for upscale apartments in core submarkets, particularly in North End–Charleston, home to the largest multifamily development underway, the 2,400 units within the Cambridge Crossing megaproject.
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While employment growth slowed down, the metro continued to consolidate the main pillars of its economy, adding a total of 22,300 jobs in the 12 months ending in May. Education and health services (11,500), government (5,200) and professional and business services (5,000) led growth. Boston’s tech market is among the nation’s most competitive, with more graduates than available jobs. Nearly half of all Boston office leases in 2018 involved technology companies, according to a Cushman & Wakefield analysis that ranked the market fourth after Silicon Valley, Salt Lake City and San Francisco.
Boston sales volume and number of properties sold, click to enlarge
Almost 25,000 units were underway in Boston as of June and a total of 7,894 units are slated to come online this year for a new cycle peak. Even though demand should remain strong, particularly for upscale apartments, we expect rent growth to moderate slightly, at 3.5 percent for the whole of 2019.
