Apartment supply figures have steadied themselves in Brighton over the past 24 months.  Apartment availability is down from a year ago while Brighton’s vacancy rate is up by a similar margin.  The data indicates that we’re seeing far less turnover in rental units in Brighton than we did in the years prior to the pandemic, possibly due to the sharp rise in rent prices that occurred during 2022 and 2023.  Many property owners in Brighton have decided on keeping the rents either the same or only small increases to cover the slowing inflation which is a welcome sign to renters in 2025.  Here are the trends driving the Brighton rental market.

Brighton Apartment Supply

The current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for Brighton apartments is 3.88%.  That figure is down -15.33% compared to a year ago and up +25.64% over a two-year span.  Brighton’s RTAR typically peaks in May to early June, so it’s highly unlikely we’ll see availability push to the 5-7% levels we were accustomed to in the years prior to COVID.  Still, it is an improvement to the record low inventory levels we recorded in late 2022 and early 2023.  Brighton apartment prices are lower than Boston proper across all bedroom sizes so this could also be influencing the lower turnover rate.  When landlords do not raise their pricing – tenants tend to stay longer in the same apartment.

The current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in Brighton, MA is 0.69%.  Brighton’s vacancy rate is up +18.97% year-over-year and up +283.33% compared to early June 2023.  Brighton’s RTVR spiked to 1.68% in September of last year after an unprecedented period of 35 months below the 1% level.  While these huge percentage increases might lead you to believe that we could see prices drops on vacant units- most of the time we do not see meaningful price reductions on vacant units until the RTVR shows 2% or greater.  There are obviously exceptions to the price reduction rule based on seasonality and conditions of apartments.  Suffice to say that we haven't seen 3 percent vacancy or greater since the pandemic which would move the needle towards downward pricing.   The new luxury building construction over the last several years in the Brighton and Allston areas have done remarkably well in lease ups.  There is new supply coming shortly in Brighton Landing and it will be interesting to see how quickly it is absorbed.

According to our real-time Brighton apartment data, the current median days on market is 27 days for a rental unit.  That figure seems in line with many other parts of the Greater Boston Area this year.

Average Rent Prices in Brighton

The current average rent price in Brighton, MA is $3,158.  That figure is up +3.92% year-over-year and up +12.99% compared to two years ago.  Rent price growth has slowed significantly over the last 12 months as supply levels have steadied, bringing much needed relief to the soaring rent prices we recorded in 2022 and 2023.

Rent price growth for larger units have outpaced those of smaller units in Brighton over the last 12 months.  Rent prices for studios, 1 bedrooms, and 2 bedroom apartments in Brighton, MA are up +0.38%, +0.84%, and +1.68% respectively.   For comparison, prices for 3 bedroom, 4 bedroom and 5 bedroom apartments in Brighton are up +3.66%, +5.28%, and +3.99% respectively.

2025 Brighton Rental Market Forecast

Based on our latest data, it does not appear that apartment availability will go much higher than the 4% level over the next few weeks. For meaningful rental price adjustments to the downside to occur we would want to see about a 6% RTAR. Based on the data and time of year – it is highly unlikely we will reach that magic 6% number. Considering that Brighton’s RTAR used to peak in the 5-7% range during May in the years prior to the pandemic, it looks like more renters are choosing to renew their leases rather than navigate the record high rent prices being recorded all over the city. Brighton will most likely stay an area that is cheaper than many other parts of Boston– will small or flat increases in rent in 2025.

The current real time market data in Brighton suggests that we will see rent price growth in a range of 0-3% in 2025 across various bedroom sizes. One of the major complaints of Brighton landlords has been the steep increases in insurance premiums as we as ridiculously high electricity costs. These two insidiously high new costs could eventually force landlords to take the chance and raise rents because they are left with no other option in the next couple of years. Let’s at least hope for better energy prices soon. We will continue to monitor and report on these trends here on bostonpads.com.