New data shows the spread between the typical monthly mortgage and the typical monthly rent payment in the Boston area dropped 62 percent in March. iStock photo illustration
Buying your first home in Massachusetts right now is the most affordable it’s been in a while. But what sounds like a miracle hides grim news: Homebuying is still out of reach for most renters.
And the loosest rental market Greater Boston’s seen since the pandemic suggests many renters won’t have any incentive to become first-time homebuyers next year.
A combination of factors, including lower mortgage rates, has been helping narrow the gap between what it costs to rent and what it costs to buy statewide.
In Greater Boston, the gap between the typical monthly mortgage payment and the typical monthly rent dropped by $412 or 62.2 percent year-over-year in March, the most recent data available from economists at Realtor.com.
And the number of homes on the market statewide has been tracking well ahead of every year since 2020 into April, according to MLS PIN data published by Lamacchia Realty, keeping price increases in check.
Rent-Own Gap Smallest in Western Mass.
But even as the cost difference between renting and owning narrows, renters are largely unable to afford making the leap into owning a home, raising questions about how many potential buyers might be helped by a more affordable Massachusetts housing market.
The median rent in the Boston market in March 2026 was $2,918 while the median mortgage was $4,733, according to Realtor.com.
The share of renter households able to afford an entry level home has been cut in half in just four years according to The Boston Foundation’s Greater Boston Housing Report Card. Only 15 percent of renter households could have afforded to purchase an entry-level home last year, down from about 30 percent in 2021 according to the foundation.
Statewide, the closest gaps between rents and mortgages existed in Hampshire County, a $99 gap according to mortgage data from Redfin and rents observed by the listings portal Zillow. The largest gap is in Middlesex County where the gap between rents and mortgages is $1,632 per month. In Suffolk County – home to the city of Boston – the gap is $1,323.
The mortgage payment calculated by Redfin is the estimated monthly mortgage for a buyer purchasing the median-priced home in the county with a 5 percent down payment on a 30-year fixed loan, using the average 30-year fixed rate from Freddie Mac in March.
‘You Are Stuck Renting’
These barriers cause prospective buyers to put off home purchases. The National Association of Realtors reported in November 2025 that the median first-time American homebuyer last spring was 40 years old. Additionally, the share of first-time homebuyers nationwide dropped to a record low of 21 percent, NAR said.
“You are stuck renting and then you don’t have additional funds to save, to help you purchase that first home,” Massachusetts Association of Realtors President Kristen Keegan said. “People have their student loans that they are paying into their 40s. That affects how much they can afford to purchase and how much they can afford to save. It’s just a tough situation that a lot of buyers are in.”
Data from The Warren Group, the publisher of Banker & Tradesman shows that through the first three months of 2026, there were 6,937 single-family home sales. This represents a 4.2 percent decline year-over-year and a nearly 29 percent drop from the first quarter of 2019, in part reflecting buyers who have been pushed out of the market, said Elliot Schmiedl, director of home ownership at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership.
The lack of single-family inventory has also caused steady price increases, making it harder for first-time homebuyers to stay in the market.
“When we have low inventory, the prices increase,” said Keegan, who’s also the Broker-Owner at Silver Key Homes in Dracut. “We keep seeing gradual increase in that median price. As we start seeing more inventory come available, it should help with that pricing and keep it from increasing as severely as it has since COVID but we’ve definitely seen significant increases in home sale values over the last five to six years, and it’s really just pricing people out.”
This issue adds a cycle of inventory strain to the rental market, too. Each person who can’t afford to move out of a rental and purchase their first home means an apartment that can’t be leased to someone else looking to rent, making the state’s shortage of apartments worse.
“If those folks are not turning over those rental units, it’s creating stagnation on the home ownership side because they’re not buying places, and then it’s creating a log jam on the rental front, driving rental prices up because vacancy rates are lower,” RE/MAX Andrew Realty Services broker John Veneziano said. “It just compounds the problem that already exist. It’s a metric that sort of exemplifies how we’re locked in this vicious cycle.”
Experts say a major obstacle to transforming Massachusetts renters into first-time homebuyers is the ability to put together a down payment. iStock photo illustration
Homebuying Triggers Pushed Later
Whether because of a societal shift or because of the rising costs of homebuying, the typical milestones associated with homebuying are also changing.
Individuals are waiting longer to start families and settle down, said Veneziano, whose brokerage is based in Medford.
According to census data, the estimated median age at first marriage increased to 30.8 for men and 28.4 for women last year, up from ages 23.5 and 21.1, respectively, in 1975. The average age of first-time mothers has also increased from 26.6 years in 2016 to 27.5 years in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“People that are settling down, are settling down more in their 30s than they are in their 20s, like I did,” Veneziano said, “People having children in their 30s, because the medical field allows people to have children at a later age. I think with that adjustment and people wanting careers, everything has moved up, in my opinion, 10 years.”
Renters See Best Market in Years
Additionally, the rental market is seeing inventory increases that are making it more affordable.
According to apartment listings portal Boston Pads, the current real-time availability in Boston is 8.07 percent. In April 2025, it sat at 5.43 percent.
That’s the highest rate since July 2020, when demand for apartments was at a low ebb after colleges and universities sent students home to learn remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inventory typically peaks in April but inventory remained high as May approached, said Boston Pads CEO Demetrios Salpoglou. Rents had already plateaued in Boston over the last 12 months, and the jump in availability suggests some landlords might cut their rents.
With landlords now paying broker fees, the up-front cost of moving to a new apartment is also improving. Salpoglou said that about 73 percent of landlords are paying some form of brokerage commission compared to 7 percent a year ago.
“I think that the consumer this year is going to benefit,” he said. “There’re many more landlords that are paying various forms of brokerage commission, which adds to affordability. Some landlords will pay quarter-month’s rent, half-month’s fee, three quarters fee, a full month’s fee, more than that, bonuses. So even if the rents were exactly even, they’re actually more affordable to the consumer. The landlord’s taking the hit.”
Some households may prefer to rent due to the amenities and not having to pay for landscaping or other areas of upkeep.
“If you want to own, you have to maintain, and if you don’t have the money to maintain your property, then you want to rent,” Veneziano said.
Sam Lattof
1K Homebuyers Get Boost
While a seemingly difficult task, there are some hopes that efforts can be made to help people make the jump from renting to buying.
MassHousing announced last week it’s making $25 million worth of first-time homebuyer assistance available in the form of 0 percent-interest loans of up to $25,000 each between April 27 and July 31. The loans are available to first-time buyers making up to 135 percent of area median income. The money could help at least 1,000 households buy their first home, Gov. Maura Healey’s office said.
Keegan, the MAR president, believes that helping with the up-front costs such as down-payments can be crucial for first-time homebuyers. This is especially the case as down payments and the required payments to rent a home are becoming closer aligned.
“I think it’s really about just trying to save enough for that down payment,” she said. “Especially compared to renting, if you are looking for a new rental, a lot of landlords are looking for first [month’s rent], last [month’s rent] and security [deposit]. If you can save some additional funds and have a few percent to put down on a property, then you’re definitely better off investing in yourself and using those funds towards the purchase.”
