
North End’s apartment supply has been incrementally getting tighter each year since the pandemic. Peak apartment availability has declined in each of the last four years in the North End, illustrating that supply is struggling to keep pace with rising demand in one of Boston’s most famous and sought after rental markets. As a result, North End’s average rent price has grown by 25-30% for all unit sizes since 2021. Here are the trends moving North End’s apartment rental market in 2025.
North End’s Slow and Stead Apartment Supply Shrinkage
The current real-time availability rate for North End apartments is 4.43%. That figure is down slightly from last May (-1.12%) and up +9.11% compared to May 2023. North End’s RTAR peaked early this year in late February at 5.25%. That is the lowest seasonal peak on record and has decreased every year since the pandemic. Long gone are the days when North End’s availability rate would reach as high as 8-10% in the spring, which was the norm before COVID. There could be reasons associated with this lower turn over including but not limited to students looking in other less pricy areas for housing. Generally speaking, students tend to move more frequently which creates a higher RTAR than those areas without students.
The current real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) in the North End is 0.46%. That figure is up +48.39% year-over-year and down -2.13% since May 2023. It’s important to note that in early 2024, North End was in the midst of a historic low in vacancies with RTVR hovering between 0.05% to 0.2% from February to April. Conditions have since improved and North End’s vacancy rate spiked to 2.38% in September which is what we were accustomed to seeing in the years prior to the pandemic. Still, 0.46% RTVR is still a very tight supply and a signal that new inventory is needed badly in the North End.
According to our most recent North End apartment data, the median days on market for an apartment is only 4 days. This is among the lowest in Boston and indicates that demand for apartments in the North End is very strong. So renters looking to lock down an apartment here must act swiftly as they are up against stiff competition. Renters should be fully prepared to put down a deposit if they like an apartment.
Average Rent Prices in the North End
The current average rent price in the North End is $3,641. That figure is up +4.66% compared to a year ago and up +9.60% over a 2-year span. Rent price growth has been steadier this year in the North End compared to other neighborhoods where price growth decelerated. This is another indicator that supply is struggling to keep pace with demand in the North End. The North End is arguably one of the most difficult areas to add supply because of numerous factors that would be better to fully discuss in a separate report.
Rent prices for studio apartments in the North End grew the most over the last year (+9.28%). Rent prices for North End 2 bedrooms grew by the smallest margin year-over-year (+2.98%). Prices for 1 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and 4 bedroom apartments in the North End grew by similar margins (+4.09%, +4.25%, and +4.10% respectively) over that time span.
North End Apartment Rental Market Forecast 2025
Look for rental supply scarcity to persist in 2025 in the North End. All trends point to an inability for the current inventory to keep up with demand here. Boston’s North End is an old and historic neighborhood with little space for new housing development, so we don’t expect any significant injection of new inventory to offset growing demand.
The North End is a great example of how important zoning reform is to the Greater Boston area. If landlords and property owners were unshackled through zoning code relief, it would be far easier for them to renovate and/or redevelop their current properties to create additional height and space for new units. This would effectively add to North End’s rental supply within the current inventory and offset rising rent prices. Our legislators will eventually have to address this issue if they are serious about tackling rising housing costs. We will continue to monitor these trends as they develop here on bostonpads.com.

Demetrios Salpoglou
Published May 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.