The apartment rental market near Boston College will prove challenging for the renter in 2024. Based on our most recent data, apartment availability is 33.5% lower in the Boston College markets than it is in the city of Boston. Average rent prices are slightly below the city-wide average at the moment, but can vary greatly depending on what neighborhood you are looking. In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the rental data trends for apartments near Boston College.
Apartment Availability Tight Near Boston College
The current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for the rental markets near BC is 3.34%. That’s more than a third lower than Boston’s current RTAR of 5.07%. The neighborhoods of Newtonville (1.91%), Oak Square (2.00%), Brighton Center (2.00%), and Washington St./Allston St. (2.06%) are showing the lowest RTAR in the BC area. Renters will find more availability in the neighborhoods of Cleveland Circle (4.53%), Chestnut Hill – Newton (5.43%), and Brighton – Boston College (6.74%).
| Neighorhood | Total Apartments | Total Apartments Available | Real-time Availability Rate (RTAR) |
| City of Boston | 48,312 | 2,449 | 5.07% |
| BC Markets | 10,897 | 364 | 3.34% |
| Newton – Newtonville | 418 | 8 | 1.91% |
| Brighton – Oak Square | 1,502 | 30 | 2.00% |
| Brighton – Brighton Center | 1,647 | 33 | 2.00% |
| Brighton – Washington St./Allston St. | 1,846 | 38 | 2.06% |
| Brookline – Washington Sq. | 793 | 30 | 3.78% |
| Newton – Newton Corner | 387 | 15 | 3.88% |
| Brookline – Beaconsfield | 100 | 4 | 4.00% |
| Brookline – Chestnut Hill | 836 | 34 | 4.07% |
| Brighton – Cleveland Circle | 1,999 | 88 | 4.40% |
| Brookline – Cleveland Circle | 265 | 12 | 4.53% |
| Newton – Chestnut Hill | 184 | 10 | 5.43% |
| Brighton – Boston College | 920 | 62 | 6.74% |
Average Rent Prices Near Boston College
The average rent price for apartments near Boston College is $3,554, which is $35 lower than the average rent price for all Boston apartments. Rent prices can vary greatly in the Boston College markets depending on which neighborhood you focus your apartment search on. The neighborhoods of Washington/Allston St. ($3,012), Oak Square ($3,051), Newtonville ($3,053), and Brighton Center ($3,115) have the lowest average rent price close to Boston College. The neighborhoods of Washington Square ($3,908), Boston College – Brighton ($3,773), Cleveland Circle – Brookline ($3,761), and Chestnut Hill – Newton ($3,736) have the highest rent prices near BC.
| Neighorhood | Studio Avg. Rent | 1BR Avg. Rent | 2BR Avg. Rent | 3BR Avg. Rent | 4BR Avg. Rent | 5BR Avg. Rent | Avg. Rent |
| City of Boston | $2,250 | $2,637 | $3,259 | $3,839 | $4,621 | $5,895 | $3,589 |
| BC Markets | $2,502 | $2,412 | $3,091 | $3,895 | $4,820 | $5,572 | $3,554 |
| Brookline – Chestnut Hill | $3,333 | $3,127 | $3,882 | $4,951 | $5,160 | $5,000 | $4,280 |
| Brookline – Beaconsfield | $2,425 | $2,763 | $3,500 | $4,150 | $6,433 | $5,000 | $4,212 |
| Brookline – Washington Square | $2,189 | $2,360 | $3,122 | $4,332 | $5,819 | $5,640 | $3,908 |
| Brighton – Boston College | $2,438 | $2,270 | $3,173 | $4,239 | $5,410 | $7,447 | $3,773 |
| Brookline – Cleveland Circle | $2,569 | $3,536 | $3,896 | $5,042 | $3,761 | ||
| Newton – Chestnut Hill | $2,117 | $3,408 | $4,100 | $5,317 | $6,250 | $3,736 | |
| Newton – Newton Corner | $2,150 | $2,536 | $2,800 | $3,650 | $5,165 | $3,538 | |
| Brighton – Cleveland Circle | $2,045 | $2,398 | $2,920 | $3,767 | $3,768 | $4,814 | $3,213 |
| Brighton – Brighton Center | $1,600 | $2,117 | $3,008 | $3,279 | $4,056 | $5,983 | $3,115 |
| Newton – Newtonville | $2,200 | $2,400 | $3,867 | $3,746 | $3,053 | ||
| Brighton – Oak Square | $2,000 | $2,157 | $2,647 | $3,124 | $4,276 | $5,375 | $3,051 |
| Brighton – Washington St./Allston St. | $2,010 | $2,326 | $2,693 | $3,382 | $3,646 | $4,637 | $3,012 |
Boston College Average Time on Market
The average time on market for apartments near Boston College depends largely on which neighborhood you look at. Brookline (28 days) and Brighton (27 days) both have longer median days on market than that of the City of Boston (23 days). However, aside from very high end and expensive units, Newton apartments are flying off the shelves with a median days on market of just 16 days.
2024 Boston College Rental Market Predictions
A close look at Boston College apartment data shows an interesting trend. The BC neighborhoods with the highest average rent prices are also showing the highest availability rates, while in general, the more affordable neighborhoods are showing much lower availability. Some renters are gravitating towards the more affordable neighborhoods while the areas with higher rents are showing higher RTAR than they have historically.
This could be an indication that rent prices have hit a level where demand is tailing off in the more expensive areas. It could also be an early sign that rent prices will level off and perhaps even decrease in these neighborhoods in 2024. RTAR for both Brighton apartments and Newton apartments have increased year-over-year, and both are close to their pre-pandemic levels of March 2019. This could be evidence that the supply shortages that were prevalent over the last two years have eased.
As a result, we do not predict that rent prices will rise by the same margins they did in 2023 near Boston College. Look for rent price growth to decelerate as we get closer to September 1. Rent prices will likely level off during Q4 2024 but are unlikely to go down. As always, job growth or layoffs have significant impacts on both the RTAR and the RTVR. We will continue to monitor these trends as they develop.
Demetrios Salpoglou
Published March 18, 2024
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.
