2024 North End Apartment Rental Market Report

The apartment rental market in North End Boston is more renter-friendly in 2024 than it was the past two years.  Apartment availability is up +40.25% year-over-year while vacancy rates have nearly doubled over that same time span.  This has given renters more options in 2024 and provided much-needed relief to rapidly rising rent prices in what has always been one of Boston’s most expensive neighborhoods.  Here are the trends moving the apartment rental market in Boston’s North End.

North End Apartment Supply Loosens For Renters

The current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for North End apartments is 3.38%.  That figure represents a +40.25% increase compared to early July 2023 and a +108.64% increase compared to 2 years ago.  Apartments availability peaked at 5.56% in early April of this year, which was actually lower than the yearly peak in 2023 (5.97%).  However, the market has been slower to absorb the available apartment inventory over the last 3 months most likely due to the record high rent prices in the neighborhood.

North End’s real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) is currently 0.61%.  While that’s still lower than pre-pandemic levels, it still represents a +96.77% lift year-over-year and a +165.22% increase compared to early July 2022.  This is another indication that demand may be waning in the face of soaring rent prices.

According to our most recent North End apartment data, the median days on market for an apartment in North End is 24 days.  That is down 1 day from a year ago, and 4 days less than the current median days on market for apartments in Boston (28 days) .  As apartment supply has increased, prices are starting to flatten in North End, especially for larger apartments.

North End Average Rent Prices

The current average rent price in North End is $3,516, up +4.30% compared to early July 2021.  Rent prices have risen by a considerably smaller margin (+12.84%) compared to two years ago.  Rent prices for smaller apartments are still on the rise in the North End, but for larger apartments (3 bedroom and 4 bedroom), rent prices have been flat in 2024.

2024 North End Apartment Rental Market Forecast

Based on current market trends, look for rent prices growth to continue to flatten out in the North End.  Supply absorption has been slow over the past two months, which is normally when demand is hitting its peak in North End Boston.  We’re already seeing North End landlords reducing prices which is typically not seen until we pass the pivotal 9/1 leasing date.

We do not expect North End’s RTAR to bottom out below 1% this year as it has done in each of the last two years.  Unless we see a huge surge in demand over the next 60 days, RTAR will likely hit bottom somewhere between 1.5% and 2%.  That will lead to even more price reductions through the fall months as landlords look to clear out vacant inventory.  Look for prices to stay level throughout the rest of 2024, and perhaps even trend downwards in Q4.  We will continue to monitor these trends as they develop on bostonpads.com.