Boston, MA rental market report

The investor's view of Boston: official FY2025 rents for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area, and what a standard 3-bedroom rental actually pencils at across price points — every figure computed by the same deterministic engine behind the analyzer.

FY2025 rent benchmarks (HUD Fair Market Rents)

Studio1 BR2 BR3 BR4 BR
$2,263/mo$2,394/mo$2,837/mo$3,418/mo$3,761/mo

Source: U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, FY2025. FMRs sit at the 40th percentile — treat them as floor benchmarks; renovated or well-located units often rent above.

What pencils in Boston: 3BR buy-and-hold scenarios

Underwritten at the metro's $3,418/mo 3BR benchmark with 20% down, 7% interest, and a full operating-expense load (taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance, management):

Purchase priceMonthly cash flowDSCRCash-on-cashVerdict
$445,000-$676/mo0.71-7.9%NEGOTIATE
$515,000-$1,122/mo0.59-11.4%PASS
$580,000-$1,535/mo0.5-13.8%PASS

Read: at FY2025 benchmark rents, standard-financing buy-and-hold is challenging at these price points in Boston — deals here need discounts, higher-rent units, or a different strategy (rent-by-room often changes the math entirely). Illustrative scenarios, not offers of advice — every real deal needs its own underwriting.

Run a real Boston address

These are benchmark scenarios. The analyzer underwrites an actual property — records, live listing status, market rent estimate, all six strategies — in 30 seconds.

Analyze a Boston deal free