So far this year, Brookline’s apartment rental market has remained steadily in line with historical trends. Apartment supply figures are up slightly year-over-year while rent prices have remained steady over the same period of time. This is a welcome sight for renters in Brookline who have endured rent growth in the +20% range in the years that followed the pandemic, due in large part to runaway inflation mostly created by a self-inflicted horrific energy policy that drove up interest rates and created new construction shortages we experienced during that time span. Could the dropping energy costs help make development deals in Brookline pencil again? Perhaps there is some renewed optimism of new housing supply in Brookline for 2026? These are the trends driving the Brookline apartment rental market in 2025.
Apartment Rental Supply in Brookline
The current real-time availability rate (RTAR) for Brookline apartments is 3.28%. That figure is down -17.17% compared to a year ago and up +13.10% over a 2-year span. This illustrates that apartment availability has returned to its normal seasonal trends in Brookline. Interestingly, RTAR peaked at 5.05% in April last year and dropped to a seasonal low of 1.47% in December of 2024, both above pre-pandemic levels in 2019. This provides more evidence that Brookline’s rental market is recovering from the record supply shortages recorded in 2022 and 2023.
The current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in Brookline is 0.77%. That figure is down -17.20% year-over-year and up +75.00% compared to two years ago. Brookline’s RTVR peaked at 2.08% last September marking its highest level since September 2021, which offers more evidence that market conditions are returning to normal. In the years prior to COVID, RTVR typically peaked in the 1-3% range during September in Brookline. Regardless of this more favorable trends for renters – Brookline still has a long way to go in helping bring on more supply. We would still like to see a 4 percent RTVR so that rent prices could start to fall and have more landlords pay brokers commissions etc.
According to our proprietary Brookline rental market data, the median days on market for an apartment in Brookline is 19 days. This illustrates that demand for apartments is still strong in Brookline, one of Boston’s most sought after rental markets. As inventory has loosened slightly and demand remains steady, average rent prices in Brookline have flattened over the past 12 months.
Average Rent Prices in Brookline
The current average rent price in Brookline is $3,650. That figure is down -1.70% year-over-year and up +6.51% compared to two years ago. Brookline remains the most expensive suburb to rent an apartment in Boston, edging out Cambridge’s average rent price ($3,480) by $70.
Rent price growth for smaller apartments are outpacing those of larger apartments in Brookline over the last 12 months. Studios and 1 bedroom apartments in Brookline have risen by +2.80% and +5.45% respectively. Rent prices 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, 4 bedroom and 5 bedroom apartments in Brookline have all risen by a margin of 1.30%-1.60% year-over-year. The higher demand for smaller units is the reason that Brookline’s overall average rent price has dipped compared to 2024, as more smaller units have been factored into the mean equation.
2025 Brookline Rental Market Forecast
Renters in Brookline have good reason to be optimistic about the future of the rental market. As supply figures loosen, renters will have more options of higher quality housing stock to pick from in 2025. The additional inventory will allow rent prices to remain steady over the next 12 months. We expect RTAR to peak somewhere in the 5-6% range as we approach late April/early May and rent prices to remain on the same healthy trajectory of +1-3% growth.
Looking beyond 2025, we expect to see an influx of new construction in Brookline over the next 24 months. As energy prices fall and interest rates drop, developers will see a huge drop in construction costs and cheaper access to working capital, providing incentive to invest in new housing in Brookline. As we’ve learned over the past 4 years, tackling the housing shortage is the best way to combat soaring housing costs. We will continue to monitor these housing trends right here on Boston Pads.
Demetrios Salpoglou
Published March 31, 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.
