The median rent for one- and two-bedroom apartments in Boston, Massachusetts, amounted to about 2,302 U.S. dollars by the end of 2023. Rents decreased slightly after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic,this trend reversed in 2021 and as of December 2023, the annual rental growth stood at 3.32 percent. Among the different states in the U.S., Massachusetts ranks as one of the most expensive rental markets.

Graph and download economic data for Housing Inventory: Median Days on Market in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (CBSA) (MEDDAYONMAR14460) from Jul 2016 to Feb 2025 about Boston, NH, MA, median, and USA.

The S&P Case Shiller Boston Home Price Index has risen steadily since February 2020. The index measures changes in the prices of existing single-family homes. The index value was equal to 100 as of January 2000, so if the index value is equal to 130 in a given month, for example, it means that the house prices have increased by 30 percent since 2000. The value of the S&P Case Shiller Boston Home Price Index amounted to nearly 335.36 in August 2024. That was above the national average.

The Back Bay district was the most expensive real estate market for office space in Boston in the third quarter of 2024. On average, the average asking rent was about 69 U.S. dollars per square foot of office space. Downtown Boston, the market with the largest inventory of office space among Boston districts, had the second highest rent, at about 68 U.S. dollars. The gross rental rate usually includes costs for utilities and other general maintenance expenses.

The monthly median asking rent for unfurnished apartments in the United States declined by about 74 U.S. dollars between in 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the median rent amounted to 1,751 U.S. dollars, down from 1,825 U.S. dollars in 2022. This decrease followed a decade of steady growth, interrupted only in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. rental market As rental apartment vacancy rates fall, rents are on the rise. This makes it more difficult for Americans to, first, find an apartment to rent, and second, find an apartment which they can afford. Nevertheless, renting has become much more common in recent years, with the number of renter households having substantially increased in the past two decades. In 2023, there were approximately 45 million renter households in the U.S. Rents in different states Of course, rents vary from state to state. The most expensive rents are found in Hawaii, California, District of Colombia, New Jersey, and Florida. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, growth was the strongest in the Sun Belt states, and especially in states with lower costs of living, such as Texas. In Austin, TX, the average rent soared by nearly 26 percent in 2021, and remained elevated, despite a slight decline in 2023.

Rental rates in the United States increased steadily since 2008. In 2023, the producer price index for gross rent in office buildings reached 132.9 index points. This means that between 2008 when the index value was set to 100 and 2023, gross office rents grew by about 33 percent. Manhattan, San Francisco, and Boston are among the biggest and most expensive markets for office space in the United States.

There are many factors that make a city a "science city": human capital, flow of capital investment into health and R&D, openness to business, good lifestyle indicators, and property market. According to the source, London, New York, and Boston are the three leading cities for life sciences worldwide as of 2020. These cities have the highest rental costs per square foot of life science space. In London, a square foot of lab space cost 113 U.S. dollars as of 2020. In 2021, life sciences is one of the sectors with highest investment properties in Europe according to industry experts.

Graph and download economic data for Total Real Gross Domestic Product for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH (MSA) (RGMP14460) from 2001 to 2023 about Boston, NH, MA, real, industry, GDP, and USA.

The U.S. housing market has slowed, after 13 consecutive years of rising home prices. In 2021, house prices surged by an unprecedented 18 percent, marking the highest increase on record. However, the market has since cooled, with the Freddie Mac House Price Index showing more modest growth between 2022 and 2024. In 2024, home prices increased by 4.2 percent. That was lower than the long-term average of 4.4 percent since 1990. Impact of mortgage rates on homebuying The recent cooling in the housing market can be partly attributed to rising mortgage rates. After reaching a record low of 2.96 percent in 2021, the average annual rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage more than doubled in 2023. This significant increase has made homeownership less affordable for many potential buyers, contributing to a substantial decline in home sales. Despite these challenges, forecasts suggest a potential recovery in the coming years. How much does it cost to buy a house in the U.S.? In 2023, the median sales price of an existing single-family home reached a record high of over 389,000 U.S. dollars. Newly built homes were even pricier, despite a slight decline in the median sales price in 2023. Naturally, home prices continue to vary significantly across the country, with West Virginia being the most affordable state for homebuyers.

Washington DC was the most expensive major city for office space, among those being considered for Amazon’s second headquarters, in the United States in 2017. Tenants paid, on average, 595 U.S. dollars per square foot for office space in that city, compared with 550 U.S. dollars and 486 U.S. dollars per square foot in Boston and Austin respectively.   Why is Washington DC so expensive? The GDP of the Washington metro area has steadily risen since 2001, which indicates that the economy is growing. This is not surprising, because it is the capital of the United States and, consequently, its political epicenter. All three branches of government, nearly 200 foreign embassies and several international organizations - such as the IMF, the World Bank and the National Geographic Society - are located there, which also means that it’s the logical place for lobbying firms and many financial services companies to operate from.

Further growth expected in Washington DC The future of the office real estate market in Washington DC looks promising, due to its political importance and strong economy. Office rents are forecast to grow by almost six percent by 2021, which is impressive given how high they already are. However, vacancy rates are also set to rise in the area, which means that more available office units will be unoccupied.