Boston Rental Market Timing
Know when to Start Looking
Know when to Start Looking
Fortunately for you, the Boston Rental Market is a heart with a regular beat. The same set of folks come in and out every single year, to the beat of the same drums. This regularity makes it easy for you to know when to start looking for a new place to live.Below is a list of months in the year, organized in order of popular moving date, along with the dates the apartments first go on the market.
#1 September 1st
Busiest moving day of the year. All year long, starting in December, you can find listings for September first. If you are an undergraduate student looking for off-campus housing you will want to start looking in December/January to rent a three bedroom or larger apartment. If you wait to February or March, you will be rummaging through left overs, the turkey carcass may even be picked so clean by then that you'll have to break up your groups in pairs and go looking for smaller units.For undergraduate housing in the studio, ones and twos category, you can wait for February or
March to role in before looking. For graduate students and professionals, you should start looking in May and June for decent September 1st housing opportunities.
#2 June 1st
#2 June 1st
Second busiest move-in day of the year. Its the month that hosts the start of summer, which mean many undergraduates leave and sublet or lease break. Its also the month that most medical residents prefer to start their tenancy.
New medical residents are annually "matched" to their hospital systems on Match Day, middle of March. From mid-March through June 1st, they come knocking on Boston apartment doors starting. They come in droves. They are super-qualified clientele, with perfect or near-perfect credit scores, good annual income, and there is an unspoken understanding that they will hardly ever be at the apartment, because they typically work 'round the clock during their residency. Medical Residents are the ideal tenants.
If you are considering moving in June 1st, know that this lease start date was practically invented to cater to medical residents and that they are your main competition. As I said, they come in droves for three months preceding June 1st and when they come they mean business. They typically sign a lease the same day they arrive and go back to wherever they came from until move -inday. There' s no beating around the bush with them, no "I have to think about it, I'll call you later", and no second thoughts.
So to the non-medical resident shopper, I say, start looking when they do, Mid-March, and don't be lackadaisical about it either. Bring your checkbooks! Real Estate Brokers and Landlords both will have their hands too full to give you the time of day if you want to view apartments empty-handed.
#3 January 1st
New medical residents are annually "matched" to their hospital systems on Match Day, middle of March. From mid-March through June 1st, they come knocking on Boston apartment doors starting. They come in droves. They are super-qualified clientele, with perfect or near-perfect credit scores, good annual income, and there is an unspoken understanding that they will hardly ever be at the apartment, because they typically work 'round the clock during their residency. Medical Residents are the ideal tenants.
If you are considering moving in June 1st, know that this lease start date was practically invented to cater to medical residents and that they are your main competition. As I said, they come in droves for three months preceding June 1st and when they come they mean business. They typically sign a lease the same day they arrive and go back to wherever they came from until move -inday. There' s no beating around the bush with them, no "I have to think about it, I'll call you later", and no second thoughts.
So to the non-medical resident shopper, I say, start looking when they do, Mid-March, and don't be lackadaisical about it either. Bring your checkbooks! Real Estate Brokers and Landlords both will have their hands too full to give you the time of day if you want to view apartments empty-handed.
#3 January 1st
Most people do not realize this, but January 1st is the third most popular move date in Boston. This market was created by international researchers and college students coming to town for the first time to start Spring semester, or returning to town after Co-Op, Internship or Abroad Programs.
Berklee students account for a huge number of January 1st shoppers as well as Northeastern University Co-op students. The January 1st housing lists in a real estate office start filling up in the first or second week of November. Don't wait until Mid-December, you'll be left out in the cold!!
#4 August 1st
Berklee students account for a huge number of January 1st shoppers as well as Northeastern University Co-op students. The January 1st housing lists in a real estate office start filling up in the first or second week of November. Don't wait until Mid-December, you'll be left out in the cold!!
#4 August 1st
August is a weird month for housing, but not to say a bad one. Its actually gaining popularity. and could someday move up the list. The market for August caters almost exclusively now to graduate students.
Most graduate programs, especially law school programs, begin in the third or final week of the month. Since these programs force their students to hit the ground running, with super heavy lecture schedules and reading lists, graduate students do not want to worry about setting up their new apartments on September 1st. So they take a seat in August 1st. August 1st housing hits the market usually by the second week of June, in some cases earlier.
Because the type of housing available on August 1st has historically been rented only by graduate students, whereby graduate students are typically cleaner than undergraduate students, the quality of this housing is improved.
If you are moving on September 1st, you may consider forfeiting your last month's rent and nabbing one of the August 1st apartments. Getting off the September 1st cycle will help you in three ways:
Most graduate programs, especially law school programs, begin in the third or final week of the month. Since these programs force their students to hit the ground running, with super heavy lecture schedules and reading lists, graduate students do not want to worry about setting up their new apartments on September 1st. So they take a seat in August 1st. August 1st housing hits the market usually by the second week of June, in some cases earlier.
Because the type of housing available on August 1st has historically been rented only by graduate students, whereby graduate students are typically cleaner than undergraduate students, the quality of this housing is improved.
If you are moving on September 1st, you may consider forfeiting your last month's rent and nabbing one of the August 1st apartments. Getting off the September 1st cycle will help you in three ways:
- The same exact apartment could be probably $25-50/month cheaper since the demand is lighter
- The quality of the housing is improved, on account of a mature rental history
- You will experience less stress on a August 1st move day than you will on a September 1st. Moving trucks are easier to come by, so is on-street parking spaces near your building (where you'll have to park the moving truck), and since your landlord has fewer properties to turn over for 8/1 than on 9/1, your place will likely already be cleaned and painted by the time you move-in. (Something that rarely happens on time in a 9/1 apartment)
A full-on summer month. The second choice month for Medical Residents. Many working professionals, seasoned in Boston living, will decide to make their move on this month as well because they are looking to avoid the chaos of June 1st and September 1st markets. Your competition for this month is moderate, but so is the level of available apartments. Start looking for July 1st apartments in the first week of May.
#6 April/May 1st
#6 April/May 1st
These two months experience pretty much the same volume of rental transactions, though May is slightly more competitive since it includes undergrads trying to break or sublet out of their leases in an attempt to get something on their own, or with a significant other. For April, start looking mid February, for-May start looking mid-March.
#7 October, November, December
#7 October, November, December
The "Off-Season" in the Boston Market features leftovers from the September 1st market. The majority of what is listed has been picked over quite a bit for the past 2 to 6 months and is representative of stuff that was universally decided to be unfit for human habitation. This means you can get a great deal!!
Landlords with post-September vacancy are forced to realize the lowliness of their offering in one of two ways:
Landlords with post-September vacancy are forced to realize the lowliness of their offering in one of two ways:
- They drastically reduce the rent and/or offer incentives (i.e. Free Rent, Bonuses to RE Agents)
- They spend some money updating and remodeling. Easier to convince them for updates under these circumstances, especially in late September/early October because the cost of vacancy (not getting rent) over the next few months is equal or greater than the cost of improvement.
If November rolls around and the place is still available, a landlord is sure to enter a negotiation which includes updates---you run the table at this time of year! If you are a tenant-at-will or just coming to Boston for the first time, realize that the off-season does have some perks to off-set the lack of inventory and the rainy, snowy conditions of your move date
#8 February, December, March
#8 February, December, March
Like the post-September 1st housing market, the Dead of Winter housing market is slow and uninteresting. The majority of the inventory has been left over from September, the landlords are stubborn and do not update. A minority of places are decent and available only because of a sudden lease break, Tenant So-and-So loses his job and has to go home to live with his parents.
The prices now are often negotiable. Maybe the landlord will put in a dishwasher, maybe not. Perks are possible. But you still have to lug that couch from the moving truck up over a 3 foot mound of snow, balancing on ice sheets and into your 3rd floor walk-up. You DON'T want to move on these months if you can avoid it.
This article is From the How To Find An Apartment In Boston series.
Other Articles:
Size, Location, Price - The Three Principle Factors That Will Govern Your Apartment Search
Do it Yourself or Get a Real Estate Agent? - Where to Start Looking for Apartment
Super Agent Man or Super Waste of Your Time? - How to Tell if the RE Agent is Worth the Cost of a Phone Call
Real Estate Agent Fees Explained - An Explanation of No Fee, Half Fee and Full Fee Apartment
Looking for an Apartment With Roommates? - Get Your Ducks In a Row
Cats and Dogs and Snakes - Pet Friendly Apartment Searching
What to Do with Your Car - Off Street vs. On Street Parking in Boston
Boston Rental Market Timing - Know when to Start Looking
Preparing for an Appointment - What You Need on the Day of Showing
Upfront Costs and Lease Addenda - Make Sure Your Lease is Kosher
If you have any further questions about housing search matters that are not answered here, please feel free to contact me through my Housing Needs Analysis Form.
Have a great day!
The prices now are often negotiable. Maybe the landlord will put in a dishwasher, maybe not. Perks are possible. But you still have to lug that couch from the moving truck up over a 3 foot mound of snow, balancing on ice sheets and into your 3rd floor walk-up. You DON'T want to move on these months if you can avoid it.
This article is From the How To Find An Apartment In Boston series.
Other Articles:
Size, Location, Price - The Three Principle Factors That Will Govern Your Apartment Search
Do it Yourself or Get a Real Estate Agent? - Where to Start Looking for Apartment
Super Agent Man or Super Waste of Your Time? - How to Tell if the RE Agent is Worth the Cost of a Phone Call
Real Estate Agent Fees Explained - An Explanation of No Fee, Half Fee and Full Fee Apartment
Looking for an Apartment With Roommates? - Get Your Ducks In a Row
Cats and Dogs and Snakes - Pet Friendly Apartment Searching
What to Do with Your Car - Off Street vs. On Street Parking in Boston
Boston Rental Market Timing - Know when to Start Looking
Preparing for an Appointment - What You Need on the Day of Showing
Upfront Costs and Lease Addenda - Make Sure Your Lease is Kosher
If you have any further questions about housing search matters that are not answered here, please feel free to contact me through my Housing Needs Analysis Form.
Have a great day!
-Robert Ortiz
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