Rental market around Boston

[curcur]

So we’re moving to Boston in April and I’d like to know more about how the rental market works. Are the websites Zillow and trulia similar to Rigjtmove where literally any decent rental will be on here? Or will other local agents have more properties?

We are looking outside Boston but there seems so few properties that actually come available. We have a healthy budget of $6.5k and looking for a 4 bed. For example there are only 3 available in Wellesley of which none are particularly nice (all around £3k). Some properties seem perfect until I realise that they’re right next to the turnpike. I also notice that some properties have been on the market for months - so assume the market isn’t as fast as the UK? I’m looking in quite a wide area so not really restricted only by good schools.

Can anyone enlighten me about how it works? We will have a property search agent closer to the time but i’m getting concerned as I don’t seem to find a property on Zillow that really suits.

Thanks

Good properties will fly off as soon as they become available - so I'd be very wary of any that have been sitting for months

Agents may have properties that don't make the listings, mostly because the good stuff will go so quickly that it never makes it onto the website

Zillow, Craigslist and Trulia are the main sites to check to get an idea of what is out there. Remember that the academic year is a big influencing factor in property availability, so there genuinely may not be much on the market right now

Are you wedded to Wellesley, or would you look further afield?

Thanks. No looking Newton, Lexington, Belmont, needham, concord, Arlington, Sudbury (although not sure of this area). Basically any area with good schools so certainly not restricting the search area. Good to know that there will be others that don’t make it onto the search sites.

Hopefully our property search agent will have lots more as there have been few that seem to fit our requirements (not overly fussy).

What stage schools? Elementary / middle / high schools?

Elementary and middle. Ages 5 and 8 now so looking at both.

Just had a look at individual estate agents and there’s a lot more available and they look much better too. So thanks for the great advice that they don’t appear on Zillow as they fly off!

Where will you/partner be working? Are you driving or taking public transport?

Those areas are all really different in feel? What type of neighborhood lifestyle are you looking for?

We rented a great house in Brookline a few years ago. I saw it online, my husband went to see it the next day and immediately offered the full asking price, and we still ended up in a bidding war with another family.

So to reiterate, be ready to move fast when you see a house you think will work for you. Most places tend to be advertised close to becoming available so it’s a bit early to be looking seriously just yet.

Boston suburbs can have horrible traffic so do think carefully about where you live and your commute. If you’ll be driving I’d suggest doing a google maps journey time search at 8am and 6pm Boston time from each possible location.

Thanks. Husband is working in Waltham so driving to work. Good tip about journey time search. I haven’t visited yet so am really just going on how good the schools are and from reading other threads.

Have you tried Realtor.com? They show rentals as well as sales and you can filter by property type, etc.