2023 Mission Hill Apartment Rental Market Report

The apartment rental market in Mission Hill has entered 2023 with average rent prices at all-time highs. A shortage in apartment inventory has affected the local market since COVID restrictions were eased.  This ultimately led to Mission Hill recording all-time lows in both real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) and real-time availability rates (RTAR) in August of last year. Now, the average rent price for Mission Hill apartments is over $3,536 and rising with each passing week.

Mission Hill Apartment Supply Metrics

Mission Hill’s current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for apartments is 7.74%, which is much lower than its level in late February 2022.  RTAR typically peaks in mid-February in Mission Hill around 10-12%. It looks like RTAR has already peaked in Mission Hill and will not exceed 10% in 2023.

The real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in Mission Hill is 0.36%.   The RTVR remained under 0.2% for most of 2022 and hasn’t exceeded 1% since September 2021.  This illustrates how tight the market is right now compared to previous years.

Mission Hill Average Rent Prices

Mission Hill’s current average rent price is $3,536 which is an all-time high.  As a result of last year’s tight inventory, rent prices are up +11.77% year-over-year.  Last September, Mission Hill broke its previous all-time high in average rent price, and has continued to increase every week since then.

Mission Hill Apartment Rental Market 2023 Forecast

Based on the most recent Mission Hill rental data, it looks like 2023 will be another challenging year for renters looking for apartments in Mission Hill. There is literally no land left to build a noticeable amount of new units on Mission Hill. The ancient zoning restrictions in place do not allow for additional height by right. These draconian restrictions limit the amount of tear downs where we could eventually bring new and better supply with more square footage. It’s time to rethink zoning on Mission hill and allow for plot assemblage and also adding height and more units on the same footprint so we can bring down apartment rents. Current supply metrics indicate that the tight apartment supply has only gotten worse since last year. We’ll be keeping a close eye on inventory levels in Mission Hill over the next 6-8 weeks to see how quickly the new 2023 inventory is getting absorbed.

If supply absorption is low over the next few months, look for rent price growth to flatten in Mission Hill. If supply plunges back down to last year’s levels, rent prices will likely not come down and could continue to climb even higher.

Regardless of which way rents turn in 2023, a big part of combatting long-term rent increases is to figure out ways to create far more apartment inventory in a rapid manner. That is especially true in neighborhoods like Mission Hill, where rental demand is highest due to its proximity to local schools and hospitals. If the BDPA can ease zoning restrictions to make it easier for property owners to create additional bedrooms in their units, it would also help create additional inventory. Doing so would especially help landlords in Mission Hill start producing an even better housing stock. This could be a great priority for the city over the next few months. We’ll continue to monitor these trends and develop.