BOSTON, MA — (Marketwire) — 01/13/12 — Average asking rent in Boston dropped by one percent over the last quarter, according to data from the third quarterly RentJuice Rent Index in Boston. The analysis was today released by RentJuice, which offers lease marketing technology to thousands of real estate property managers and brokers. Currently, approximately 76 percent of total on-market rental inventory in Boston is being shared via RentJuice-s online platform.
Boston renters can crack a smile today, because the price they-re being asked to pay for their apartments finally headed south over the last three months. As of the end of Q4 2011, average asking rent in Boston was $1,961, which is one percent less than last quarter.
East Boston renters are a not-so-lucky exception. The neighborhood experienced the biggest hike in rent during the last three months. Average asking price in East Boston soared by nearly 14 percent, trumping several other neighborhoods that also experienced rent increases. Newtonville residents, on the other hand, ended up with more money in their pocket, as their average rent plummeted by almost 21 percent. Other neighborhoods with rent decreases were Newton Highlands (-12.4%), Newton Corner (-11.6%), Auburndale (-10.76%), and Newton (-9.77%).
Surprisingly, renters in Auburndale are paying less for rent on average this quarter, but they-ll be paying drastically more for a spacious unit. Auburndale increased by 46 percent in terms of price per square foot. Auburndale-s increase in price per square foot was more than twice that of other neighborhoods that experienced cost increases.
The Rent Index-s weighted average measurement of rent takes into account the change in the number of options available to renters in today-s market. One might think that the price of square footage in a unit would decrease as additional bedrooms are added – but for a neighborhood like Auburndale, increases in the availability of one and two bedroom units along with decreases in the availability of three and four bedroom units have combined to drive down the average asking rent while pulling up the price of square foot. One could reasonably expect if Auburndale-s availabilities switch to a more three to four bedroom friendly view, square footage costs would fall and asking prices would rise.
Elsewhere in Boston, Newton saw a drastic drop (-10%) in the average asking price ($1,828), but the price per square foot remained nearly constant at three percent. Bay Village experienced the opposite, where its value per square foot decreased by 20 percent. Other significant decreases in price per square foot were seen in Davis Square (-14%), Harvard Square (-12%), Roxbury (-10%), and Newton Center (-8%).
Renters looking to move in early January will have a somewhat small pool of apartments to choose from with only one in five (20.7%) rental listings available immediately. For the widest selection of apartments, Boston-s apartment hunters should hold off until April, the month when 63.1 percent of rentals are noted as becoming available. For renters looking to find a new place in January, the neighborhoods of Everett, Chelsea, Braintree, West Roxbury and Dorchester will have the largest selection of availabilities. These areas all have over 60 percent in terms of immediate availability, well above the norm across Boston. Renters in Symphony, Northeastern University, Brighton, Fenway and Audubon Circle will have slim pickings, with each neighborhood now having less than five percent availability.
“The RentJuice Rent Index is so much more than a snapshot or survey of pricing data in Boston,” said David Vivero, RentJuice CEO. “By tracking changes in the availability of real rental units in different neighborhoods and by specific configurations, for example, we can help shed light on all of the options available to aspiring tenants.”
RentJuice is an online platform that allows property managers and landlords to instantly share their availabilities with partner agencies for free to shorten vacancies and improve communication. The Company also offers a paid upgrade that provides agents, brokers and leasing offices a “virtual rental office.” From powering a leasing agent-s Facebook page and WordPress website to offering outsourced data entry and automatic ad syndication to dozens of consumer websites such as Boston.com, Zillow and Trulia, RentJuice makes every step of the rental process simpler.
The RentJuice Rent Index is included as a benefit to all RentJuice users. The whitepaper and data tables are available for download at:
About RentJuice
RentJuice was founded in 2009 by CEO David Vivero — recently named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Real Estate list — and CTO Kunal Shah and is led by a team that has helped grow companies like TripIt, Market Leader, Vimeo and CollegeHumor. The Company pioneered the online software category Rental Relationship Management (RRM) and currently serves the Boston, Chicago, Miami and New York markets.
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Lauren DuBois
(917) 573-2485
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