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Boston rents drop slightly: Proof city's housing expansion efforts working, harbinger of cooling economy or just some random blip?
By adamg on Wed, 11/13/2019 - 10:57pm
Bloomberg reports Boston-area rents dropped 0.2% from September to October, which, when coupled with an even smaller decrease in New York rents, was apparently enough to cause an unexpected bit of a slowdown in national inflation numbers.
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Comments
AirBnB regulations affecting
AirBnB regulations affecting the rental market.
Where do they get the numbers from?
Just curious, because it wasn't outlined in the article really, that I could tell. But if it is based on what is on the market in October vs September, as opposed to counting all rented units as well, then there you go. Everyone knows that if you don't fall into the September - August renter cycle, so common in Boston, that landlords will aim slightly lower. And that would not be any kind of sign of anything.
Now compare Septembers between years and you get a better picture. In the article they say: "The median price of rents in Manhattan climbed just 0.5% in September from a year earlier."
That seems to be indicative of raising rents, not falling.
hmmm
What is the vacancy rate like in all these incredibly overpriced units being put up all over the city? And what is the vacancy rate in the micro units that the Walsh administration is advocating? Those are the future slums of our city.
Future slums?
Okay, boomer. Have any information/links to back this assertion up?
Bingo!
Yup, this is a very good question. I know many of these luxury apartments are being rented out as hotel suites as found here...
https://www.globalluxurysuites.com/location/massachusetts/boston-massach...
Boy that seems fishy
Are they trying to work around the Air BnB rules? The one in the Fenway states, in the fine print:
"Servicing Boston hospital patients including Boston Children’s Hospital. Lessee certifies that either Lessee or a family member is being treated for trauma, injury, or disease."
It seems like our housing
It seems like our housing stock has basically become a high end place for rich people have affairs.
More supply helps bring down
More supply helps bring down prices. Pretty simple. True in every area of the economy, except for housing according to some advocates who like to perform mental gymnastics to convince themselves otherwise. People love to rag on Marty Walsh but if he wasn't pushing building so aggressively, Boston would be in a much worse situation rent and price-wise. Now time to force suburban communities to actually permit some housing too.
Remember, economics don't apply to housing
Just ask some of the fine city councilors in Cambridge, and their supporters.
Like this. Or this.
If the price goes down, it simply means that landlords have gotten soft, or something. Or that no one wants to live in the city because commuting from the suburbs is such a breeze (and environmentally-friendly, too). It has nothing to do with building more housing. Supply and demand do NOT apply to housing. And building more housing will certainly not help, especially if it is anywhere near rich people. Supply and demand do not apply! Remember, ignore common sense!
Simple supply and demand is always the answer!
All this Luxury housing no real people are asking for is totally lowering prices! You're right! I think the market is just ever so slightly more nuanced that the simple supply and demand theory your small brain is capable of understanding.
And what
"Cooling Economy" are you talking about?
Sounds stagnant, not dropping to me
They need to report the confidence bounds for their calculations. 0.2% = $2 per thousand.
But I have a stats degree so what do I know?
Sonder taking over rentals hotel style
Sonder is now doing hotel style Airbnb in Fenway and Brookline. Rules don’t seem to be enforced when it comes to “tech”
read the article
It includes a graph of monthly positive growth going back a few years. Last month was a small dip, which contrasts to 36 months of growth.
Reading the story won't answer the question in the headline, but would help everyone making wild guesses at least see where the start-point is.
Harbinger
Who's the liar telling everybody that building more luxury units would lower housing costs for everybody?
Wake me...
when rents drop 30 - 40%. The city will never build its way to a sizable affordable housing stock. It will take a collapse of the local economy, or an exodus to other locales.
Prices staying flat for nine
Prices staying flat for nine years with 3% income growth would do the trick in nine years