Multifamily Markets: Boston

National Real Estate Investor named Boston the Best Market for Multifamily Investment in 2017, citing its being the home to two of the world’s most prestigious universities (MIT and Harvard), world-class hospitals, and a young, highly-educated workforce. It also maintains a low volume of tenant turnover, making it attractive to institutional investors.

Boston boasts a 3.1% unemployment rate, 13th lowest in the nation among cities with a population of 1 million or more. It offers plenty to attract residents, including a thriving theater district, the third best public transit system in the country, and the nation’s thirteenth best urban park system. It’s also the eighth best city for millennials in the country and neighboring Cambridge tops that list as the #1 city for millennials. Cambridge is the most active submarket in the MSA for multifamily, with a total of 9,954 units in development.

Boston has seen a steady economic improvement since the end of the national recession in 2009. The strength of the Boston-area economy has led to soaring home prices and rents, with year-over-year increases greater than 10% in both Boston and Cambridge. Further growth in home prices will be boosted by increased spending on transportation—including the expansion of multiple subway lines—and the rezoning of the city’s urban core to better serve pedestrians and provide more affordable housing.

The best attraction Boston has to offer might be the ease of access it provides to the small towns and getaways scattered across New England. In the spring and summer Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and Maine’s Boothbay and Bar Harbor offer beaches, restaurants, and boating. For those who prefer mountains to the beach, the Berkshires offer trails for hiking in the summer and skiing and snowboarding in the winter. And, of course, for those who don’t want to leave the city, Boston has some 5000 acres of parks to explore.