Medford is a city that is located just outside of Boston. Like many of the town neighborhoods in the City of Boston and Greater Boston, Medford has been impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we are going to be taking a look mainly at the changes in average rent prices for Medford apartments.
Medford Apartment Prices Holding Steady Despite Rising Vacancies
Medford finds itself in the middle in terms of average rents, at an average rent of $2,271, it has the 9th highest rent in the external areas of Boston. This low asking price has allowed the neighborhood to record a year-over-year increase in rent of 0.14% which welcomed considering that 9 of the other town neighborhoods in the Outside Boston region experienced a drop in average rent from the previous year.
The suburbs of Medford was only able to sustain this slight increase in rent thanks to a +4.47% change in the prices for the 5 Bedroom Medford apartments and houses as well as a much larger 6.51% boost for the Studio homes. There were also two categories that experienced a drop, these were the 1 Bedrooms at -0.71% and the 4 Bedrooms at -0.35%. Additionally, healthy returns were registered for the 2 Bedroom properties at 0.99% and a 0.15% yearly increase for the 3 Bedrooms.
The performance Medford apartment rental market is also good when compared to that of other neighborhoods such as Chelsea which has a similar average rent of $2,252 yet saw a drop of -2.13% over the past 12 months. A likely reason for this big contrast is that Medford is home or close by to a number of medical educational institutions such as Tufts University which runs a number of medical programs. Unlike other subjects, medical undergraduate and postgraduate programs require a high proportion of practicals. Furthermore, Medford is a part of Boston that has a proud medical heritage, one example of this is that it is the location of the only amniotic stem cell cryobank in the United States.
In the section below we are going to compile a shortlist of neighborhoods in the suburbs of Boston that have a similar average rent to Medford in order to compare their performance over the past year:
1. Medford
Average Rent: $2,271
YOY %Change in Rent: 0.14%
RTAR Change YOY: 43.32%
RTVR Change YOY: 52.46%
2. Chelsea
Average Rent: $2,252
YOY %Change in Rent: -2.13%
RTAR Change YOY: -18.89%
RTVR Change YOY: -49.86%
3. Salem
Average Rent: $2,091
YOY %Change in Rent: 7.96%
RTAR Change YOY: 79.09%
RTVR Change YOY: -36.10%
4. Revere
Average Rent: $2,150
YOY %Change in Rent: -5.03%
RTAR Change YOY: 20.40%
RTVR Change YOY: 31.44%
5. Everett
Average Rent: $2,288
YOY %Change in Rent: -5.34%
RTAR Change YOY: -9.22%
RTVR Change YOY: 3.95%
6. Arlington
Average Rent: $2,316
YOY %Change in Rent: 4.55%
RTAR Change YOY: 397.22%
RTVR Change YOY: 231.17%
Medford Apartment Vacancies Are Up – But Outperforming Other Suburbs
For all Boston areas, the year-over-year increase in real-time availability rate (RTAR) was +78.89% while the yearly change in real-time vacancy rate (RTVR) was +121.05%. Naturally, the much more densely populated the City of Boston experienced higher increases in yearly RTAR and RTVR at 87.63% and 144.74% respectfully. While the suburbs of Boston where Medford finds itself saw an RTAR of +61.32% and an +RTVR of 88.74% compared to the year before.
Medford experienced abnormal yearly increases in RTAR and RTVR, at +42.32% and +52.46%. To put this in comparison with the other neighborhoods of the metropolitan area, Medford experienced the 8th largest increase in RTAR and the 9th largest in RTVR in terms of year-over-year change.