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Average Boston rent down for first time in years — but still over $3K

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4 months ago

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Average Boston rent down for first time in years — but still over K


Real Estate

Vacancies are the highest they’ve been since the COVID-19 pandemic, but the city’s average asking rent still clocked in at $3,043 in October, according to Bloomberg.

A sign advertising for Marc Roos Realty in the Fenway. Nathan Klima/The Boston Globe, File

By Abby Patkin

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Boston’s rental market has tipped ever-so-slightly in renters’ favor, partially owing to out-of-state migration, a cooling biotech industry, and tighter student visa restrictions, according to a recent Bloomberg report. 

On the one hand, vacancies are the highest they’ve been since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the average rent in Boston has dipped for the first time since 2021, Bloomberg reported. 

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On the other, the city’s average asking rent still clocked in at $3,043 in October, and reporting from The Boston Globe indicates that rents in Boston’s urban core have risen sharply between 2022 and 2025, despite the recent slowing.

Still, decreasing demand has left landlords dangling price cuts and other concessions in a bid to lure tenants.

Over in Cambridge, according to Bloomberg, a three-bedroom unit near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been sitting vacant for more than five months — even with a price cut from about $4,200 a month to $3,550. Landlords elsewhere are going into bargaining mode: new tenants at Luka on the Common in the Theater District can get one month free and a $500 gift card, while renters who sign a 17-month lease at The Indie in Allston can get up to three months free. 

Desperately needed additions to the region’s housing supply have helped ease demand; Boston’s metro area added 8,600 units over the past year, about 20% higher than its 10-year average, Bloomberg reported, citing RealPage Chief Economist Carl Whitaker.

But according to the news outlet, it’s “economic jitters” driving down rents — not an oversupply of new developments.

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The recent reversal follows years of growth fueled by the region’s biotech industry, now beset by plunging valuations, layoffs, and cuts to federal research funding. Separately, as Bloomberg noted, immigration raids and student visa restrictions have taken their toll on international student enrollment, leaving some of Boston’s college-heavy neighborhoods emptier than usual. 

“I’ve been doing real estate and technology for 30 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Demetrios Salpoglou, CEO of Boston Pads, told Boston.com in August. “It’s very acute. It’s not impacting all neighborhoods … it’s really proximity to a lot of universities that have a heavy reliance on foreign money or foreign enrollment.”

Adding to the uncertainty, Massachusetts was one of just two states that saw negative employment growth for the 12 months ending in August, according to Bloomberg. And while it remains unclear how long tenants will have the upper hand, there’s a push underway for a 2026 ballot question that would tie annual rent growth to cost of living increases, with a 5% annual cap. 

In the meantime, according to Bloomberg, landlords and agents are hoping to see leasing activity bounce back in the new year. 

“Everyone’s anxiously waiting to see what happens in the spring,” Damian Szary, an executive at the real estate firm Redgate, told the news outlet.

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Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.





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Boston, MA

Boston police searching for gunman after ‘juvenile’ shot in Allston – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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8 hours ago

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March 27, 2026

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Boston police searching for gunman after ‘juvenile’ shot in Allston – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


ALLSTON, MASS. (WHDH) – Boston police are searching for a gunman who opened fire in Allston Thursday and left one person hurt.

Police responded to a radio call for a person shot in the area of Brighton Avenue at approximately 6:46 p.m. When officers arrived, they said they found a male “juvenile” suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim’s age has not been released.

Boston police said the shooter fled the scene and remains at large. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston police.

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This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Boston, MA

Your 2026 Red Sox season primer

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20 hours ago

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March 26, 2026

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Your 2026 Red Sox season primer


Stay up to date with everything Boston. Receive the latest news and breaking updates, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.





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Boston, MA

Massachusetts State Police trooper ‘relieved of duty’ after drunken driving arrest in Boston

Published

1 day ago

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March 25, 2026

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Massachusetts State Police trooper ‘relieved of duty’ after drunken driving arrest in Boston


A State Police trooper who was allegedly found “slumped over” in his car at around 5 a.m. in the South End with an open container of High Noon vodka has been “relieved of duty.”

Mass State Police confirmed to the Herald Wednesday night that Trooper Donovan Preston, 31, arrested for alleged drunken driving in Boston this past weekend, “has been relieved of duty.” Preston’s base pay is listed as $80,213.

A Boston Police report states that police arrived at Herald Street on Saturday to see Preston “stopped in lane 2 of the road” with his brake lights on. The suspect was slumped over “with his eyes closed,” the report adds.

“The officer observed that the car was on and in drive. The officer observed an open container of alcohol (High Noon) in the cupholder,” according to the report. The BPD officer then knocked on the window “for approximately 10 seconds before the suspect lifted his head up.”

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Once he picked his head up, police said he appeared “confused and he looked around. The suspect’s vehicle began to roll to which the officer announced, ‘Boston Police. Open the Door.’ ”

Preston stopped on the three-lane, outbound road with his black BMW in the middle of two lanes.

A State Police spokesman said in an email: “Trooper Donovan Preston was relieved of duty and will be subject to a department discipline process.” All other comments were directed toward the police report.

That report, provided to the Herald Wednesday night, added that State Police were notified after Preston’s arrest.

The can of High Noon was logged into the evidence book.

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This latest OUI case comes as State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley is being investigated in an alleged drunken driving fatal crash in Woburn in 2023 that killed a disabled passenger in a van.

In the Quigley case, his blood alcohol level reportedly tested at a .114 at the hospital following the crash (the legal limit is .08). That detail came out in a wrongful death suit filed by the victim Angelo Schettino’s family.

‘Unless he’s s###-faced, I’m not worried’: Mass State Police dash cam catches aftermath of deadly cruiser crash [+video]

The smashed van at the Woburn crash scene. (MSP body camera video screengrab)

 

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