Beacon Hill’s apartment rental market has entered 2022 looking much healthier than it did a year ago. Due in large part to remote work and remote learning trends, the availability rate of Beacon Hill apartments hovered between 10-13% for nearly 6 months in 2021. Once pandemic restrictions eased, campuses and offices reopened. This resulted in Beacon Hill’s real-time availability rate (RTAR) to free fall to 0.98% by mid-November. Now, the rental supply in Beacon Hill is as tight as it has ever been.
Beacon Hill Apartment Availability
The most recent rental data in Beacon Hill shows that the RTAR is currently 4.56%. Compared to its pre-pandemic level in early April of 2019, apartment availability is -19.72% lower in 2022. The current RTAR ranks as the lowest on record for Beacon Hill during the second week of April. That is astonishing considering that last April the availability rate in Beacon Hill hit an unprecedented 12.81% before peaking at 13.67% by late May of 2021.
Beacon Hill Vacancy Rate Nearing Record Lows
The current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in Beacon Hill sits at a paltry 0.35%. The previous all-time low was set in November 2019, when that figure hit 0.22%. Considering we still have the busy summer leasing season ahead of us, it’s not unimaginable that we might see 100% occupancy in Beacon Hill before September.
These record low supply figures we’re seeing to start 2022 will undoubtedly push rent prices upwards this year.
Beacon Hill Average Rent Prices
The current average rent price in Beacon Hill is $3,020. That figure is down $249 from its all time high of $3,279 set in January 2020. As Beacon Hill struggled with the rental supply glut throughout the pandemic, rent prices stagnated between $2,900 and $3,000. That trend seems to have subsided as the average rent price in Beacon Hill surpassed $3,000 for the first time since January 2021 earlier this month.
Despite the drop in rent prices, Beacon Hill remains to be one of the most expensive places to rent in the city. The current average rent price in Beacon Hill ranks as the 8th most expensive neighborhood to rent an apartment in Boston.
2022 Beacon Hill Rental Market Predictions
Given the current shortage of apartments in Boston, we expect the average rent price to rise in Beacon Hill throughout the year in 2022. Most of the Downtown neighborhoods are experiencing similar shortages in rental units to start the leasing season, so there will be few better alternatives than Beacon Hill during the summer leasing season.
We also expect the short-term rental market to make a big comeback in the summer of 2022 after remote work stifled that demand over the past two years. This will put even more pressure on the already tight rental supply in the Downtown markets, Beacon Hill included.
That being said, renters who begin their rental search early in 2022 will find the best deals in the most inventory in Beacon Hill. Those who wait until summer could be faced with limited options and higher rent prices.
At the current pace of price growth, Beacon Hill’s average rent price wouldn’t surpass its all-time high set in 2019. However, if apartment availability continues to sink to new record lows, that could change quickly. We will keep a close eye on this trend as the summer leasing season heats up in 2022.
Demetrios Salpoglou
Published April 19, 2022
Demetrios has pulled together the largest apartment leasing team in the Greater Boston Area and is responsible for procuring more apartment rentals than anyone in New England – with over 130k people finding their housing through his services. Demetrios is an avid real estate developer, peak performance trainer, educator, guest lecturer and motivational speaker.
