Allston’s apartment rental market began 2021 in chaos. Apartment availability at that time, which historically hovers around 1-2% in Allston during the new year, was at 10% in January as remote learning had decimated the market for off-campus housing. By March, before schools had announced reopening, that figure had soared an astounding 27.4%. Since then, students have returned to Boston and demand for Allston apartments has come roaring back. Now, Allston’s apartment supply numbers are slimmer than they were even before the pandemic.
Allston Apartment Supply Hits Historic Low in 2021
The YOY change in real-time availability rate (RTAR) and real-time vacancy rate (RTVR)of Allston has been -93.22% and -84.21% respectively. Presently, the RTAR in Allston stands at 1.65% and the RTVR is 0.58%, both at historic lows. Compare those figures to December 2019, prior to COVID, you’ll find that Allston’s apartment availability is down -10.33% while vacancies are down -36.26%.
Average Rent Prices in Allston MA
The average studio rent price in Allston is $1,638 which is quite similar to that of East Boston ($1,656) and nearby Brighton ($1,603). The average rent price of 1 bedroom apartments in Allston is $1,812 which is priced similarly to Symphony, where the average cost of renting out a 1 bedroom is $1,844. Amazingly, Allston’s average 1 bedroom price exceeds that of the South End ($1,755).
Going by the current data trends, rent prices for 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom and 4 bedroom apartments in Allston are going to grow in 2022. Compared to December 2020, Allston has recorded positive YOY changes for all of these unit sizes at+0.44%, +2.13%, +4.01% and +0.08% respectively. As a result, overall average rent price registered a positive YOY change of +0.83%, preventing Allston from recording two consecutive years of rent losses.
Those who are looking to Allston for cheaper rent prices compared to Boston apartments should know that Allston has been closing the price gap with Boston in recent years. Boston’s average rent price ($2,594) is only $100 more than Allston, which is a much smaller margin we’ve seen historically between the two areas. Look for prices in both Allston and Boston to climb in 2022 as the apartment supply has struggled to keep up to demand in Boston’s student markets since September.
