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While rents are dropping and vacancy rates are inching upwards, Greater Boston’s rent and construction trends make it one of only six landlord-friendly markets in the United States, according to a new Realtor.com analysis.
The median asking rent in the Boston metro is $2,851, a 2.6 percent drop year-over-year following a period of substantial housing deliveries and lower demand from international college students. The rental vacancy rate across Greater Boston also increased from 3 percent to 3.2 percent.
The average rental vacancy rate across the nation’s 50 largest metros increased to 7.6 percent in 2025, an increase from 7.2 percent in 2024. Also, January marked the 29th consecutive month of year-over-year rent declines, with the national median asking rent dropping 1.5 percent year-over-year to $1,672.
“After years of being squeezed by limited inventory, renters are finally seeing the supply wave work in their favor,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “This shift doesn’t just mean lower prices; it means that renters today have more options and more bargaining power. While the market isn’t uniform everywhere, the broader trend is a move toward a much needed equilibrium that allows for more flexibility and choice in the housing search.”
One and two-bedroom apartments are seeing even greater rent declines. Rents for these units have been on the decline nationally for 32 straight months. Two-bedroom units saw the greatest drop year-over year, with a 1.7 percent drop since 2024. The median rent for a two-bedroom unit is $1,847 across the country’s 50 largest metros.
Ordinarily, rental market stats like these would make a market attractive to developers. But the Realtor.com report comes as campaigns gear up for and against a ballot question that would impose a harsh rent control regime statewide. The petition, which is widely expected to make it to the ballot in some form for this fall’s election, would ban landlords from raising rents faster than inflation.
Opponents are heavily lobbying legislators to try and prevent its passage, and have sued to stop it, claiming that it’s illegal. However, early polling suggests over 60 percent of voters look favorably on the general concept of rent control after years of rising housing costs. Gov. Maura Healey and many statewide leaders have condemned the proposal, but it has high-profile progressive backers like Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. And real estate industry leaders say at least some developers and investors have hit “pause” on their activity in Massachusetts until the election’s outcome is clear.
