A Boston real estate expert has sounded the alarm over the city’s deepening housing crisis.
Daniel J. O’Leary, founder of the 617 Living Team, told Daily Mail that while rising rent prices are pushing some tenants to consider homeownership, the reality is that many are financially stuck.
Boston recently ranked as the most expensive rental market in the United States – surpassing San Francisco and New York – and O’Leary says the gap between rent and mortgage payments is narrowing.
‘While we are seeing some renters look to buy for the overall long term equity through home ownership, we are still seeing that many are not in the financial position to do so when looking at the costs associated with down payments and carrying costs of properties due to current home prices and interest rates,’ O’Leary said.
‘Boston recently landed in the number one spot for the most expensive rental market in the country – and in many neighborhoods rent prices are still more affordable than the monthly mortgage payments of owning a home – especially when looking at full service/amenity driven properties with higher monthly association fees,’ he said.
He added that the affordability gap is especially glaring in high-demand neighborhoods filled with lifestyle perks and big employers.
‘While most of Boston is experiencing the affordability gap, this is most noticeable in some of the more saturated neighborhoods where lifestyle attractions, company headquarters, and education continue to draw residents to the area. Some for example are Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, West End and Seaport,’ O’Leary explained.
Even in areas where monthly mortgage payments rival rent prices, many residents are being priced out due to hefty upfront costs, interest rates, and steep fees – making ownership unattainable.
Boston has officially become the most expensive rental market in the US, beating out New York and San Francisco as rents soar past mortgage payments in some neighborhoods
The Back Bay neighborhood in Boston is seen above. It is one of the saturated neighborhoods
The result is a frustrating Catch-22: renting is unsustainable, but buying is out of reach.
The cost of housing in Greater Boston has become such an urgent issue for policymakers that it’s now often cheaper to buy real estate than rent it – at least on paper.
But despite soaring home prices – the median single-family home now exceeds $865,000 – renters are bearing the brunt of the affordability crisis.
New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, covering the years 2019 through 2023, show that renters in Greater Boston are far more likely to be ‘cost-burdened’ – defined as spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing – than homeowners.
In 172 out of 182 communities in the region with over 1,000 households, renters spent a higher percentage of their income on housing than those who owned their homes.
On average, 45.6 percent of renters in Greater Boston were cost-burdened, compared to just 26.7 percent of homeowners.
In Boston Proper, the numbers were similar: 46 percent of renters and just 2 percent of homeowners were cost-burdened. And for many, the burden is far heavier – with 24 percent of renters spending over half their income on housing.
As the squeeze tightens, thousands of residents are packing up and leaving.
Upscale neighborhoods like Back Bay, Beacon Hill, and the Seaport are seeing the most dramatic affordability gaps, according to local real estate experts
Daniel J. O’Leary, founder of the 617 Living Team spoke to Daily Mail about Boston’s housing market
A row of houses in a Boston neighborhood is seen above
In 2023 alone, around 35,000 people fled Greater Boston in search of more affordable places to live, according to Boston Indicators, the research arm of The Boston Foundation.
While homeownership can provide more stability and lower long-term housing costs, the upfront financial barriers are keeping many locked into expensive rentals.
In some towns, the disparity is even more shocking. In 58 out of 182 towns surveyed, more than half of renters were cost-burdened – compared to just one town, Nahant, where homeowners faced similar strain.
The divide is even starker in communities like Strafford, New Hampshire, where 80 percent of renters were cost-burdened versus fewer than 20 percent of homeowners. In Lynnfield, 59 percent of renters were stretched thin, compared to just 19 percent of homeowners.
And in Hingham, it was 56 percent of renters versus 19 percent of homeowners.
Adding to the strain, rents surged by 16 percent between 2019 and 2023 – with the average one-bedroom jumping from $1,545 to $1,794, according to Apartment List. Meanwhile, wages have struggled to keep pace.
Housing prices aren’t expected to cool anytime soon. According to a new forecast by Realtor.com, national home prices are projected to rise another 3.7 percent in 2025 – continuing a steady upward trend that’s been building since 2012.
Even sharper increases are expected in 16 major metropolitan areas, particularly in the Southwest. Phoenix is predicted to lead the pack with a 13.2 percent jump, followed by Colorado Springs (12.7 percent) and Tucson (12.4 percent).
The Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston is seen above
The skyline over Boston Common is seen above
As prices climb and affordability slips further out of reach, experts say the need for bold policy action has never been more urgent.
For now, Bostonians remain trapped in an unaffordable housing market – where owning may technically be cheaper than renting, but only for those who can afford the price of admission.