The apartment rental market in Arlington, MA has deviated from the standard seasonal market behavior that most Boston metro neighborhoods experience. While most of Boston sees apartment availability swell in the spring and contract during the fall months, Arlington has demonstrated an inverse cycle over the past 2 years. In both 2023 and 2024, Arlington saw an increase in apartment availability during the summer and fall months and a drop in inventory during the spring. Arlington has become an interesting case study in rental market behavior in Greater Boston. Here are the trends driving Arlington’s apartment rental market in 2025.
Arlington MA Rental Supply Figures
The current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for Arlington apartments is 1.78%. That figure is up +14.10% year-over-year and down -11.44% compared to two years ago. Arlington’s RTAR has diverged from Boston’s availability cycle over the last few years, showing an inverse pattern in RTAR. We recorded increases in availability at the end of July in both 2023 and 2024, with last year showing a large spike of several percentage points. This year’s data has illustrated that we are on a similar trajectory as we head towards the summer months.
The current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in Arlington is 0.63%. That figure is up +142.31% year-over-year and down -41.12% compared to June 2023. It’s important to point out that a year ago Arlington’s vacancy rate was exceptionally low during mid-June (0.26%). So while a 2.5x jump in vacancies would normally be a concern in most markets, it is not so in Arlington as the current vacancy rate is still far below any break out pattern that could signal meaningful price reductions in rent. Both in 2023 and 2024 we saw RTVR trend upwards during the summer months and we expect that to be the case again in 2025. The bottom line is that there is still great demand to live in this fantastic suburb of Greater Boston.
Average Rent Prices in Arlington, MA
The average rent price for apartments in Arlington, MA is $2,358. That figure is down -1.87% over a 6 month span, down -7.53% compared to last June and +1.99% compared to June 2023. Arlington is the only rental market in Greater Boston where rent prices have trended downwards by any significant margin over the last 12 months. We feel this is more of an anomaly and also older less renovated units came to market than in years past. Apartment turnovers can vary in quality and that can cause slight gyrations in pricing some years. Arlington still remains one of the most affordable places to rent an apartment in Boston, with the average rent price 28.2% less in Arlington than in Boston. It will be interesting to see if in future years prices start to climb more towards Cambridge, Somerville and surrounding pricing.
Rent prices are down across all unit sizes in Arlington except 3 bedrooms. Studios and 1 bedroom units saw the biggest drop year over year, falling by -5.36% and -5.74% respectively. Arlington 2 bedroom and 4 bedroom apartments recorded drops of -1.54% and -3.79% respectively. Three bedroom units in Arlington actually jumped by +11.81% since last June.
2025 Arlington Apartment Rental Market Forecast
Based on our real-time Arlington apartment data, it would appear that the neighborhood has become a favorite for affordable renting in Greater Boston. The market itself is further away from the typical student leasing cycle found closer to the core areas of Boston and thus marches to the beat of its own drum. The fact that rent prices for smaller units have dropped by bigger margins yet larger units had prices increase illustrates that those looking for more square footage in a fantastic suburban setting are still finding value in Arlington.
We don’t put too much stock in rent prices staying down in Arlington for the remainder of 2025. Arlington’s apartment supply figures have remained below those of Boston over the past few years. The year-over-year price drops we’re seeing is also partly due to last year’s spike in RTAR in July and June last season. We’ve seen demand pick up in Arlington during the fall months over the last few years, and based on current supply trends we expect that to occur again in 2025. Look for rent prices to finish the year up +.05-2.5% by the end of 2025. We will continue to monitor these trends as they develop.
Demetrios Salpoglou
Published June 19, 2025
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.
