Beacon Hill’s apartment rental market has arguably been the most steady and reliable in Boston over the past 2 years.  The apartment supply cycle since 2023 has illustrated near perfect symmetry in terms of apartment availability.  Rental supply figures are up slightly in Beacon Hill year-over-year, but overall the market has been quite predictable since the historic supply shortage we recorded in 2022.  As a result, rent prices have been very stable in Beacon Hill over the last 12 months. Here are the trends shaping Beacon Hill’s apartment rental market in 2025.

Beacon Hill Apartment Supply Figures

The current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for Beacon Hill apartments is 5.41%.  That figure is up +2.85% year-over-year and up +30.36% compared to May 2023.  This year, RTAR peaked on April 21 at 6.91%.  That is just five hundredths of a percentage point off from last year’s peak RTAR of 6.96% recorded on April 15, 2024 and very close to 2023’s peak of 6.74% recorded in mid-April.  Last year’s low point in seasonal availability hit 0.68% which was also very close to 2023’s seasonal trough of 0.62%.

The current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in Beacon Hill is 0.53%, up +12.77% year-over-year and up +278.57% over a two year period.  That figure spiked above 1% at the beginning of June and September last year, marking the first time Beacon Hill’s RTVR went above 1% since September of 2021. Low vacancies are the norm in Beacon Hill, being one of Boston’s core rental markets, but it looks like the historically low vacancy figures we saw following the pandemic are behind us.  Put simply,  there simply isn’t enough new construction in the Beacon Hill Area that could significantly drive the rental prices downward.  Beacon Hill is one of the toughest areas to add supply for more reasons than we feel obligated to write about.

Demand for rental units in Beacon Hill remains among the strongest in Boston.  According to our real-time Beacon Hill apartment data, the median days on market for a rental unit is 7 days, which is significantly lower than the median days on market for Boston apartments (28 days).  So for renters looking to lock down an apartment in Beacon Hill, timing is crucial as good apartments don’t stay on the market for long. The bottom line; if you are looking in Beacon Hill, have your checkbook ready to go.

Average Rent Prices in Beacon Hill

The current average rent price in Beacon Hill is $3,129.  That figure is up slightly (+0.68%) compared to May 2024 and up +8.80% compared to two years ago.  Studio apartments in Beacon Hill have gone up by +2.35% year-over-year while 1 bedroom apartments are actually down slightly (-0.39%).  Beacon Hill 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom apartments are up +1.98% and +2.01% respectively. Landlords and property managers have been indicating that they have had great tenants the last couple of years and low turnover has been the norm lately.  Generally speaking, when landlords have great tenants they tend to mitigate or moderate any price increases because they want their tenants to stay.  Perhaps more inventory will open up next year– we will have to wait and see.

Beacon Hill Rental Market Forecast 2025

Based on the last few years of data, it is safe to assume that Beacon Hill’s apartment rental market will stay its course this year. Expect rent prices to remain level here for the most part in 2025.  We foresee rent growth somewhere in the 1-2% in Beacon Hill this year.  That being said, inventory is moving fast so the organized renter will be the most successful in locking down an apartment in this highly competitive area.  Overall, the rental market appears to be very healthy in one of Boston's most historic neighborhoods.  We will continue to cover these trends right here on bostonpads.com.