The latest rental market data for Metro Boston has recorded a decline in demand for rental properties in Watertown MA over the last year. Apartment vacancies are up by 124.24% compared to November 2020, but the current vacancy rate in Watertown (1.48%) is still lower than the average for all suburbs in Boston at the moment (1.49%). Watertown has also recorded a marginal rise in average rent during that same time span (+1.48%), indicating that despite the rise in vacancies, landlords have not lost confidence in their ability to rent their Watertown apartments.
The vacancy rate (RTVR) of a town is calculated by dividing the number of apartments that are vacant by the cumulative supply of apartments. The availability rate (RTAR) is calculated by adding the number of apartments lying vacant and the units which are available for rent but have not been vacated yet, then dividing by the total supply of apartments.
Watertown, which is a suburb of Greater Boston, has seen a rise in its vacancy rate. That serves as the biggest indicator of the drop in demand for apartment rentals in Watertown. The current vacancy rate stands at 1.48% at moment. As compared to the previous year, this has increased by a startling +124.24%. This is the 3rd highest increase in vacancy rate out of all the suburbs in Boston. The two other suburbs that have recorded a higher jump in percentage as far as the YOY change in vacancy rate are Melrose and Belmont at +233.33% and +221.25% respectively.
There is not much of a difference in the real-time vacancy rate of Watertown and Chelsea. While the real-time vacancy rate of Watertown stands at 1.48%, it is 1.35% in Chelsea. The current vacancy rate of Revere is not quite far-off either. At the moment, it stands at 1.32%. The real-time vacancy rate is currently the highest in Everett at 2.88% followed by Melrose at 2.70%. The average vacancy rate of towns outside Boston stands at 1.49%, which is almost the same as Watertown’s vacancy rate.
The availability rate in Watertown MA is currently at 1.71%. There has been an increase of +87.91% in RTAR YOY. Compared to the availability rate in Melrose, which stands at 2.70%, the availability rate is quite low in Watertown. However, it’s much much higher than Waltham’s availability rate which stands at 0.95%.
With that taken into account, Watertown’s rental market outlook is looking cautiously optimistic. The lower availability percentage in comparison to the Metro area indicates that demand will return to Watertown in 2022 as apartment supply numbers level. We will continue to monitor this data and provide you more Boston real estate market updates.
