Massachusetts Rent Report – August 2019

• The national average rent reached $1,472 in August, up by 3.3% ($47) year-over-year, and 0.1% ($2) month-over-month, according to data from Yardi Matrix.
• Shrewsbury, MA renters saw the highest monthly rent increase in August, with the average rate reaching $1,930 per month. 
• Boston apartments are the most expensive among the state’s largest cities, while apartments in Holyoke have the cheapest rents. 

The national average rent ends the peak season at $1,472

Continued interest in rental apartments and slowing construction keeps the national average rent on a strong upward trend, with a yearly increase of 3.3% ($47), having reached $1,472 in August, according to the latest survey from Yardi Matrix. With the peak rental season coming to an end, rent prices dwindled in the past month, displaying the slowest rise since February, 0.1% ($2). Rates rose slower than they did in August last year, exhibiting a shy monthly uptick commonly seen during the sluggish Autumn-Winter season.

Renting in Massachusetts in August 2019

The average rent in Massachusetts cities is generally higher than the national average rent. The fastest growing rents in August were in Shrewsbury, where rental apartment prices increased by 1.1% month over month, or $21. Billerica and Quincy apartments saw the second highest monthly increase, both jumping by 0.7%, or $14 and $16, respectively, while the slowest rising rents were in Amherst, where prices decreased by 1.0% ($15) compared to July.

Boston apartments are the state’s most expensive for renters, with an average rent of $3,545, followed by apartments in Cambridge, where the average monthly rent is $3,244. On the other hand, the cheapest city to rent an apartment of the cities analyzed is Holyoke, with its average rent of $967.

To compare the rental market in Massachusetts with other cities in the U.S., you can also check our national August rent report.

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the United States.

The data on average rents included in our reports comes directly from competitively-rented (market-rate) large-scale multifamily properties (50+ units in size), via telephone survey. The data is compiled and reported by our sister company Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors. Fully-affordable properties are not included in the survey and are not reported in rental rate averages. Local rent reports include only cities with a statistically-relevant stock of large-scale multifamily properties of 50+ units.