Boston, MA Apartment Real-Time Vacancy Rate of 3.4% August 25th, 2013

    BOSTON, MA, August 28, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With less than one week until the huge migration of apartment renters on the September 1st move in date, the real time apartment vacancy rate in the Greater Boston Massachusetts area is 3.4% according to the BostonPads database. There are a total over 2,840 available apartment units in their industry leading real estate database that covers Massachusetts and the Greater Boston footprint. The BostonPads database continuously gathers data through its network of sites and is the largest real time apartment database in New England. The 3.4% is based on analyzing the data of over 69,000 apartment listings. This number includes apartments that are currently on the market and available for rent. The real time vacancy rate does not include data gathered from large luxury buildings, as they were purposely omitted to ensure the highest accuracy of data.

For the past two years, the Greater Boston apartment market has been tightening and driving down the vacancy rate. The 3.4% apartment vacancy rate was slightly higher than the projected 2.5-3.0% at this time. In previous years, the apartment vacancy rate has been closer to the 2.5-3.0% range towards the end of August. When BostonPads did its last study, it found that the availability rate at the beginning of August 2013 was 3.8%. 3.4% rises slightly above the expected range and there are multiple conflicting theories for this greater than expected average. It will be interesting to note if this trend continues upwards. For people who have not found a place to live on 9/1/13 yet, there are still a surprisingly good amount of viable options. September will most likely be a very strong month for rentals due to the fact that many quality apartments will be available throughout the Greater Boston Area.

What does this mean for deal seeking apartment seekers?

What this means for apartment seekers in Boston is that while the market is fairly tight and rents have risen 20% in the past two years, there is more inventory this year than last year at this time. Boston apartment seekers may have more negotiating power than they normally would going into the fall. Numerous Greater Boston landlords are getting nervous because they do not want to go vacant and thus may be willing to negotiate on price or terms of the lease. Customers should seek reputable real estate companies that provide them with the most possible viewings of different apartments so that the best choices can be made in the shortest period of time possible. If one is still looking for a Boston apartment, it would be prudent to find a qualified real estate professional that can provide them with the best information possible and show them the most apartments in one large showing to help facilitate the best decision making process.

Real estate agents at Boardwalk Properties (located at 1518 Tremont Street and 183 Harvard Ave), NextGen Realty (located at 1243 Commonwealth Avenue) and Jacob Realty (located at 279 Newbury Street Suite 200) specialize in all areas throughout the Greater Boston Area as well as MA. Real Estate Agents found on the Bostonpads.com utilize its industry leading database and are able to provide landlords and customers with the widest range of information on pricing real estate and providing housing options throughout MA. If a customer visits the Bostonpads.com website today, they will notice that prices are significantly lower than they were a few weeks ago. This is primarily because landlords do not want vacancies going into the fall and winter. It is also important to work with licensed real estate agent that will familiarize you with the nuances and subtle differences of surrounding areas of Boston. Qualified licensed agents have a vast understanding of the different areas of Massachusetts and will help guide clients in the right direction to match their needs. To find a qualified real estate agent at one of the companies listed above, visit www.bostonpads.com

What does this mean for landlords?

For landlords that have an apartment still available for Sept 1st, it is time to work with qualified real estate professionals to get the best feedback and pricing options. It may be time to readjust thinking about how strong the rental market has been this year. It might be time to be realistic and acknowledge that there is a reason a property did not rent. Maybe now is the perfect time for upgrades and renovations. It is important to talk with licensed real estate agents to see what is trending out there in terms of top rents and what other landlords have created in their properties that are getting them rented. Whatever the reason is, it may be a good time to drop last month's rent until the time comes or start offering other incentives. Many groups are still looking for high quality units, and a new kitchen and bathroom with newly sanded hardwood floors could be very appealing for those looking to live in a more updated apartment. If one is looking to work with experienced professionals on how to refresh their unit to best position it for the highest rent possible, www.renovateboston.com offers expertise on upgrading your apartment and return on investment!

It is late August, the available pool of people looking to move in Boston dramatically dwindles going into the Fall and Winter. Is a landlord serious about getting his place rented? If so, they should listen to feedback from real estate professionals and potential tenants. If a landlord notices both real estate professionals and groups viewing his place recommend certain improvements, they should take note. Landlords should also consider stopping by leading real estate offices that have lots of pictures, videos and virtual tours of apartments in their database so that they can compare their product to others in the marketplace. Professional apartment leasing offices should be able to provide you with rental comparative market rates.

Obviously the last thing a landlord wants is to go vacant. Right now, a Boston Area Landlord needs to come to terms with the fact that his property isn't going to rent at what they may think it's worth. With less than a week left until the largest move-in day of the year, there probably is a variety of reasons why a property hasn't rented. Maybe the current tenants are messy or make showings difficult for real estate agents, causing many showings but not any results. Whatever the reason is, a landlord needs to adapt quickly and make moves within the next week if they expect to rent their property. Negotiate. Take offers. Get on the phone with a real estate professional DAILY to see what's going on. What price range are real estate agent's clients working with? Next year landlords can list their property on the market sooner to get the maximum rent potential. Learn what time to strategically list your property in order to get the maximum rent potential.

BostonPads is the largest real time apartment database in MA with over 115,000 apartment listings and more than 14,000 landlords in the Greater Boston Area. BostonPads works with the most number of landlords in the Boston Massachusetts area. To learn more about the Boston real estate market, explore investment opportunities, check available listings, or get in touch with a qualified agent, visit www.bostonpads.com.

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