Long-term renters say homeownership in Greater Boston is out of reach. Here’s why.
“The housing market is just a barren wasteland with only 800 square foot, million dollar condos in the mirage of hope.”
Being a renter in Boston is a double-edged sword of sorts: Renters make up the majority (65%) of the city’s population and have the option of 23 different and diverse neighborhoods to live in. But they are also faced with severe unaffordability brought on by a housing crisis that has caused home and apartment prices to soar.
As a result, many renters who once hoped to own their own homes are often left with a dream deferred. They could spend years — decades, even — renting before coming close to homeownership in Greater Boston.
When we asked these long-term renters to weigh in on what factors have kept them renting rather than owning, most pointed to financial barriers such as sky-high home prices and mortgage rates, and the inability to save for a downpayment as some of the reasons they continue to rent as opposed to buy.
Of the nearly 50 respondents to our poll, 51% said they have been renting for between 10 and 20 years.
Many tenants, like Lauren from the South End, said they didn’t choose to rent long-term, but have been unable to save for a down payment on a house because they pay a steep price for rent in Boston (as of March 2024, the average rent in the city was $3,327 per month).
“I am on the rental hamster wheel,” Lauren, who has rented for 10-20 years, said. “I don’t plan to rent long-term, but even with a decent income (and minimal expenses) I am paying almost 50% of my income on rent to live in Downtown Boston and therefore can’t save up for a down payment.”
Millie O. from Jamaica Plain, a renter for 30-40 years, has found herself in a similar financial limbo. She’s a long-term renter dreaming of, but ultimately excluded from, homeownership: “I make too much money to qualify for special programs, but not enough to afford [a house] on my own.”
Other readers said they prefer renting over homeownership for its flexibility and to not have to worry about maintenance or property taxes. Take it from A.B. from Chelsea, who has been a happy renter for 10-20 years.
“What I like is not having the responsibility of paying extra fees that come with a condo and also I feel more stable renting than buying a home since I haven’t been able to find a job that works around my son’s schedule,” she said, adding “(single parent problems).”
Below, see what has kept long-term renters in Greater Boston renting, rather than owning a home.
What keeps you renting, rather than owning?
‘Owning a home in this day-and-age is an unattainable dream for anyone with a single income.’
“I have been looking for a house for 5 years, it’s just unaffordable. On a single income, I can’t put down what I would like and have enough of an emergency fund leftover in case something happens.” – Colleen, Boston (has been renting for 10-20 years)
– Colleen, Boston (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“I live in a nice town that I also work in. As a single person, there is no way I could ever afford a house in the same town. Owning a home in this day-and-age is an unattainable dream for anyone with a single income. I would love to own a home, but it is not possible.”
– Katie, Beverly (has been renting for 5-10 years)
“In my 20s and 30s, I lived in other cities and came back to Boston in my early 40s. I’m a self employed yoga teacher who had a toddler then and had spent thousands of dollars on moving into a new apartment. In the years that followed, raising a child did not get cheaper and buying a house in Boston became more unattainable. My daughter is now 15 and we have lived in a great apartment that is affordable for me, which is so below the inflated market in Roslindale for 8 years. I live in a house (2 family) and my landlord is so great. I’d love to buy a house but how would someone do that as a single parent who makes less than $50k a year? One doesn’t do that here. Renting is the only option for my little family and I constantly worry about what would happen if I lost our apartment.”
– Andrea F., Roslindale (has been renting for 30-40 years)
“Originally, I rented out of necessity when I was younger. I moved to Acton when my daughter was born in 2015 with the plan of renting for a year or two before buying. After her mother and I separated, it made it close to impossible to afford a house on a single income. Couple that with the low inventory, astronomical interest rates, and the general outrageous cost of living in Massachusetts that we have today, there’s no path to home ownership for a single parent.”
– Ryan, Acton (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“I hate renting…it’s literally like throwing money out the window every month. But anything east of Worcester is completely unattainable to purchase on a single person’s salary, not to mention the insane down payment required. Even a house that needs to be completely flipped is pushing half a million.”
“Frustrated in the ‘burbs,” Stoneham (has been renting for 20-30 years)
‘It’s absurdly expensive to buy a house in Greater Boston’
“Home prices are too high, mortgage rates are too high. To afford a house I would need to move an hour or more away from where I work and currently live. It is not worth it to me. I spend on rent what I would for a mortgage payment. I cannot save up enough for even a 5% down payment, let alone enough of a down payment to not have to pay private mortgage insurance. I plan on renting for as long as I can, and maybe one day when prices come down, I will own.”
– Elsa, Maynard (has been renting for 5-10 years)
“There are several factors that keep me renting rather than owning. The exorbitant cost of living in Boston, and the ever-rising rental rates definitely tops the list. Predatory and/or discriminatory lending practices by banks is another. Another factor is my mistrust as a Millennial, having now lived through (survived) two recessions in 2008 and 2020, and exorbitant interest rates on home loans, mortgages, and even building credit with a secured credit card. I am reminded of my mother quoting Polonius from ‘Hamlet:’ ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be.’ I do not, however, plan to rent for life, and I will be exploring options to purchase property in countries like Trinidad and Tobago, France, Italy, and Denmark.”
– Mink S., Dorchester (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“Lack of affordable home ownership options. Renting long term, at least in Greater Boston, is terrible. Even for an average 1br unit in Greater Boston you are looking at between $2500-$3000 a month (not including utilities or charge for parking space which can range between $100-$300 monthly just to park your car where you live), which increase every year. Even if you insist on putting your foot down by threatening not to renew you are looking at first, last, security, broker fee, moving costs just to relocate which can cost up to $6k just to move! Plus you live under the constant fear that a landlord will increase rents significantly or choose not to renew the lease because they decide to sell the property. Good luck trying to save to buy with this market! I imagine there are some folks who enjoy renting long term as they don’t have to deal with upkeep/maintenance of owning their own home, but I feel the majority of renters my age (mid-late 30s) are renting simply because they can’t afford to save to buy with how high the rents are! I work two jobs earning roughly $80k annually and I just don’t see home ownership as a real possibility for me in my lifetime unfortunately (at least in MA).”
– Ryan, Stoneham (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“Renting started out as a choice in my mid-20s through mid-30s. I wanted to experience new neighborhoods, cultures, and scenery all around Boston and renting gave me the freedom to move around and do that. In the past couple of years, however, renting feels like a forced choice. Housing prices far exceed income/cost-of-living expenses in Boston, unless you want to be ‘house poor’ and dedicate over 50% of your monthly income to a mortgage. And even then, most people can’t afford to do that (nor would any financial advisor suggest doing so)! Renting is currently no walk in the park either (a couple years ago our landlord raised our rent an additional $2,000 a month) but there is always a diamond in the rough. The housing market is just a barren wasteland with only 800 square foot million dollar condos in the mirage of hope.”
– Karen, Somerville (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“Reasons for long-term renting (14 years & counting): 1.) Cost – It’s absurdly expensive to buy a house in Greater Boston. Even with fairly consistent rent hikes over the years, it’s still cheaper to rent and I don’t have to take out any loans (though on the other hand, no equity, so there’s that). 2.) Location – It happens that my apartment is quite conveniently located & has a dedicated parking space. While I’d prefer to buy and have a place to call my own with which to play anchor to visiting friends & family, the reality appears to be that this is beyond the reach of mid-spectrum earners like myself, at least in the metro region. So the remaining choices are to look in rural/remote locations, non-coastal cities and in other countries (while not-so-secretly wishing for a catastrophic collapse of the real estate market so we non-rich-people can have a chance).”
– Ian, Medford (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“I’ll be renting for the foreseeable future as owning a house or apartment feels out of reach. My partner and I love living on the Southwest Corridor because we have so many amenities nearby (community gardens, groceries, restaurants, etc.) and we don’t have to have a car. We have stable jobs in Boston and don’t have any desire to leave any time soon. Unfortunately the housing here is expensive to rent and feels unaffordable to buy, even on two good salaries. There’s very little on the market for less than $500,000. We’re saving to buy an apartment or part of a duplex or triple decker, but we don’t know if or when we’d be able to afford something in an area we’d like to live in. We don’t mind renting for now since we have a good relationship with our current landlord, but it can be frustrating not to be in control of repair timelines. We’ve had to deal with predatory property management companies in the past, and many Boston realtors seem like they barely know what they’re doing and still want a huge fee. Fortunately, we’ve started having more luck in finding new apartments by asking around the neighborhood and looking for owner-occupied buildings.”
– Lucas G., Roxbury (has been renting for 5-10 years)
‘The cost to rent is cheaper than mortgage and property tax’
“It’s been discussed ad nauseum, but it’s far too expensive to buy here. It also doesn’t make sense to. Other places, your mortgage would be cheaper than renting. Here it’s the opposite. It just makes more financial sense [to rent].”
– Katie, Arlington (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“Simple: renting is far cheaper than owning on a per month basis, and if I invest the difference in a market index fund I’ll actually accumulate wealth faster.I mean yes, it would be ideal to diversify my investments through real estate, but the math just doesn’t lie – trust me, I’ve run the numbers myself. Additionally, if something were to happen to the property from a moderate repair to major issue resulting in an assessment as in a condo association, I’m not on the hook for it! So yes, ultimately I foresee renting in perpetuity, or until such time that I know that I’ve built a comfortable enough nest egg. But that time is nowhere in the near future.”
– Alex, Cambridge (has been renting for 10-20 years)
“The cost to rent is cheaper than mortgage and property tax with 20 percent down. Don’t think it makes too much sense to buy when the cost is so high. The only benefit to homeownership is more space, and then having to deal with maintenance. The rate of appreciation takes 3 to 5 years to cover seller or buyer closing and real estate fees. By renting it is lower cost and better quality of life and ability to live freely.”
– John J., South Boston (has been renting 10-20 years)
‘I’ve never wanted to own a house’
“Unstable job situation (hard to buy/qualify), not ready to be tied down to one place. Renting gives me flexibility, especially if I change jobs. Owning would tie me down to one place, and I’m not ready for that. I am not sure if I will ever be ready, and if I am ready, I’m not sure I would ever have enough money for a down payment, property taxes, or maintenance.”
– Amanda, Stoneham (has been renting for 30-40 years)
“Welp, I am 67 years old, so I guess that makes me a renter for life. I’ve never wanted to own a house. I have been blessed to have an amazing landlord in an amazing city where I could never afford to buy, and I just call someone and they come and fix my stuff!”
– Jackie K., Jamaica Plain (has been renting for 40+ years)
“No yard work, no need to maintain a slush fund for repairs, and since I am the handy person, not a lot of inside maintenance either. People say ‘You can hire people to do all that,’ but then I ask ‘Then what is the point of owning?’ Tax breaks, OK. But not enough to give up the freedom to travel and the ability to pivot when the economy goes up or down. I don’t want to be beholden to the market (housing, stock etc.) when it is time to retire. We have also been able to save more knowing what our expenses are every month. No surprises. And lastly, in our experience, we have been able to rent nicer properties than we could afford to buy, and as I said, we would be lousy homeowners. We know we are a minority, and we do not judge, we just know our limits of what we can commit to.”
– Joy D., Greenfield (has been renting for 30-40 years)
“When it comes to renting, it’s nice to know that if there is an issue it isn’t on you to take care of it (provided you have a good landlord of course). It’s also great if you’re trying to figure out where you want to live and what kind of a space you want long- term. However, if you get a bad landlord it can really ruin the experience. I would love to not rent for the rest of my life, but with the economy/ rate hikes/ housing market, buying a house does not seem likely.”
– Jenny, Quincy (has been renting for 10-20 years)
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