bostonbubble.com

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

Apartments were raising rents aggressively last summer, which backfired in the winter as they had to drop rents. It is looking like rents are staying low. My complex tried increasing them a little bit in Jan but I think it didn't work because now they are even lower than before. Check this out - a 2br + den (ie 3br) in a new luxury complex for $1825/mo (including heat/AC)! Rents actually rose a little bit for 2008 as a whole but I think 2009 will be different. This will put extra pressure on housing.

john p · Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 1820

Here's another scenario for 09:

Say the person bought a new place without selling their old place and it didn't sell so they rented. They're not going to have to try to sell their place while they have a tenant. I wonder how that works...

GenXer · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 703

Where does it say that it includes heat and AC? I'm almost certain that heat and AC is not included. Thats typical for this price. It would cost probably $100-$150 a month to heat a 1400 sq ft. apartment, and about the same to cool it down in the summer. I know this area. It is pretty crappy, and all the wrong kinds of people live there. There is a commuter rail, and trains sometimes pass through the area (quite loudly). I wouldn't want to be out walking at night in that area, so thats a big minus. It is right on the river, and it may be possible to get a nice view, though looking at what is available, that is not assured. I'd expect rents to fall and people to move out as jobs are lost. Maybe in a year and a half when my lease expires I'd check again.

StallionMang · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 54

I saw a house for rent in North Cambridge... 3 floors, 2000 SF, for $1800 (no utils). The rental guy said there were other properties available... when I asked whether they were for sale or rent, his answer was "whatever, they'll take what they can get."

GenXer · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 703

We are nowhere near where we could be in a year or two. These are individual owners, however - luxury rental apartments are not there yet. You are right, there are good deals to be found, but I do not believe anybody who's sane is going to include heat and electricity into the rental price (especially NOT those old houses which leak heat through uninsulated walls and old windows). You may get lucky though.

Would you want to buy one of those? The answer is unequivocally not. People haven't realized that the price in their head does not exist anymore, so it is still much cheaper to rent than to buy.

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

There is a train which runs by but it is a commuter rail so not that frequently and not in the middle of the night. Only a very small percentage of the units can hear it loudly and a only small percentage can even hear it at all. There are 3 buildings and only one of them is adjacent to the tracks. Fortunately, there aren't any ambulances from the hospital either. Complex has door man / security along with a good security system. No one's going to steal your car without a camera catching it. Gym is also far above anything that Avalon offers. For these prices (now its down to ~$1600 for ~1200 sq ft!) this apartment is a steal!

GenXer · Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 703

In this case, yes, it seems that this may be a good deal. I'm looking for other complexes in Waltham which are less urbanized, closer to Lexington, but you are right - it could be worth a look.

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

Yes it is a more urban area. For what you're looking for you'd be better with Windsor Village or one of those in that area. My original point, though, remains true even if you look at Windsor Village. You can get a 3br place there for as little as $1700 - $1800/mo and those places are a lot nicer on the inside than most of the housing stock in Waltham. I think many people will choose to just stay put there rather than buy since the rents are so low. The rents have been falling for a few reasons I think. First, there aren't a lot of new people moving into town thanks to dropping job postings. Second, people are probably downsizing their apartments to save money. Eventually this will put pressure on the low end places which will have to raise their rents but I suspect we have enough houses going up for rent to make up for the demand for the moment. Eventually the market will solve the problem with the rents increasing and housing prices decreasing but in the short term it looks like low rents are just putting further pressure on housing prices.

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

By the way, if you are interested in moving in here let me know and I'll split the referral fee ($1k right now). I'd have to give them your name before you come to the office though. I would have PMed you but this board doesn't support it.