These Boston-area rentals have discounts — if you can afford them
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A larger share of U.S. rental listings in 2024 offered discounts to sweeten the deal for prospective tenants, even in Boston.
Why it matters: This marketing tactic can help ease renters' financial burden.
Yes, but: Concessions only go so far in high-cost cities like Boston, especially when they're offered by upscale apartment complexes.
The big picture: Renters have the multifamily construction boom to thank for deals in many cities, Zillow economist Kara Ng says.
- Renters have plenty of apartments to choose from, so property managers need ways to win them over.
Zoom in: Boston's rental market, known for low supply and high costs, tells a different story.
- Rental prices dropped earlier this year as fewer apartments came off the market by August, near the popular Sept. 1 move-in date, per a report from ApartmentAdvisor.
- The report suggests the price drops resulted from fed-up renters leaving the high-cost areas or finding alternatives to new, pricey leases, not an increase in housing stock like in other states.
- Demand was far lower in January compared to the start of the school year, despite the region's low supply and high prices.
State of play: The share of concessions offered in the Boston-area rental market rose to 31% in December 2024, below national levels but the highest locally since May 2021.
- Many of the discounts appear in listings in new, luxury buildings with amenities, from Dot Block in Dorchester to the Maxwell in Everett.
Case in point: Dot Block is offering two months free for renters to fill up their 243-unit building, where studios start at $2,565.
- The project's second phase will add 84 units, all marketed as "affordable," per the Dorchester Reporter.
Other discounts:
- The Brynx in Jamaica Plain is offering $1,500 off. Their one-bedroom apartments start at $3,200.
- The South Standard complex in Southie offers a month of free rent. Its units range from studios, starting at $2,650, to three-bedroom apartments, costing more than $6,320 a month.
- The Maxwell in Everett is offering a month of free rent and a $1,500 gift card for new renters, with studios starting at roughly $2,300 a month.
The bottom line: You can find savings while on the apartment hunt — if you can afford the upscale buildings in the first place.