When he called me, he told me two things: his budget was from $1,300 to $2,000 and he was only going to be here for twenty-four hours, he was ready to make a decision right away.

He asked me, “Do you think I can find something in that price range?” and I kind of laughed – hell, yeah, I thought, especially since he was only looking for a studio or one-bedroom.

Well, the joke was on me.

We found only six properties (SIX!) in that price range of which four were dumps. The two nice places included a top-floor (seven-stories) studio apartment on Commonwealth Ave for $2,000 and a cute, somewhat spacious studio on the “sunny side” of Beacon Street for $1,650.

I was as surprised as he that we couldn’t find more of a selection in the mid-range.

Now the Boston Globe is out with an article stating what I just found out – rents in Boston are expensive.

While Boston housing values have dropped in the double digits over the last five years, rents have only dipped and now appear to be rebounding. As a result, prospective tenants looking to sign leases on apartments before the city’s traditional Sept. 1 rush will find high prices and few incentives, real estate brokers and property managers say.

According to an analysis by a rental research firm, Boston is the fourth-most expensive apartment market in the United States.

While vacancy rates have increased during the past several years, inventory is still tight, especially in the Back Bay. Renters have options in several of the new high-rise, “luxury” buildings including Archstone Boston Common and Avenir and NorthPoint but prices there begin at about $2,000 for a studio and over $2,200 for a one-bedroom.

Try swinging that on a young executive’s salary. Doesn’t leave much room for drinks at the Rattlesnake.

Related posts:

1. Tishman Speyer returns massive NYC apartment complex back to creditors
2. Once and future Boston apartment king returns
3. NYC apartment building gets creative: includes safes & drug cabinets

It is available June 1, 2010. The rent is $2,250 per month.

Details:

Beautiful condo-quality two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for rent. Convenient to JFK-UMASS Red Line T-stop and comes with one off-street parking space. Open floor plan with 1,300+/- square feet of space. South/East exposure in living room with row of windows and access to private front deck. Kitchen stocked with high-end appliances including Fisher and Paykel dishwasher. Master bedroom has master bath with high-end finishes. Full-sized second bedroom w/ access to private back deck.

Photos – click to enlarge images:

More information: Dorchester apartment for rent

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A New York City apartment complex has come up some creative marketing to sell its units, which start at $1,950 for a studio and $3,590 for a two-bedroom.

According to the New York Times:

Douglaston Development recently began leasing apartments at Ohm, a 288-unit tower at 312 11th Avenue and 30th Street, just north of the heart of West Chelsea’s nightlife. In a marketing approach called “untested” by other property marketers, Douglaston is using the area’s nightclubs as inspiration for building amenities.

The common room includes a soundstage where bands from the nearby Knitting Factory Entertainment complex will perform, two nights per month.

Other nights, Douglaston plans to have a D.J. spinning tunes or hosting karaoke, or even open mic performances for residents. Equipped with two huge video screens, the lobby may also be used for televised sporting events.

And, in addition to the “traditional” amenities such as gym and common room, there is a safe in each apartment.

“You may trust your friends and roommates, but you don’t have to,” said Jeffrey E. Levine, the chairman of Douglaston Development and its construction arm, Levine Builders. “And every medicine cabinet has a keyed lockbox for pharmaceuticals. Viagra, Vioxx, Vicodin — nobody needs to know but you.”

They should pre-stock the medicine cabinets with Advil for the morning afters and Ambien to quiet down annoyed neighbors.

Photo courtesy the developer

Related posts:

1. Tishman Speyer returns massive NYC apartment complex back to creditors
2. Boston apartment rentals don’t get any cheaper, unfortunately
3. New apartment complex proposed for 319 A Street in Fort Point Channel

According to today’s New York Times:

The owners of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, the iconic middle-class housing complexes overlooking the East River in Manhattan, have decided to turn over the properties to creditors, officials said Monday morning.

The decision by Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty comes four years after the $5.4 billion purchase of the complexes’ 110 buildings and 11,227 apartments in what was the most expensive real estate deal of its kind in American history.

There are a lot of lessons here, as well as a couple questions. The first lessons I can think of are:

* Never use debt to make purchases (or, at least, trust your revenue / expense estimates);
* Understand that when you buy something, it may be at the top of the market, not the bottom;

Questions:

* What is the future of similar apartment complexes? These were first built post-World War II by (or for) the government. In return for promising to keep rents low (or, below market-rate), the developers were either given money from the government and/or tax breaks. The apartment complexes were different from “housing projects” in that they were geared toward the middle class – at first, returning veterans.

Thing is, after a certain point (90 years for some), the rent restrictions expired, allowing the properties’ owners to increase rents.

So, the properties were very appealing to investors. Trouble is, obviously, the rising rents would mean many people (no longer veterans, but “regular” folk) wouldn’t qualify, or would have to pay more in rent.

What’s happened here is the worst for everyone. The families that lived there can’t afford higher rents. Meanhwile, the owner, even after investing millions of dollars in upgrades, has been unable to bring in enough in higher rents to cover its loan payments.

There are many similar apartment complexes across the US. What will happen to them?

I like the idea of allowing developers to buy these properties. Doing so keeps them in private hands (my preference) and allows the properties to be given the resources needed to upgrade the apartment units, something (I expect) wasn’t done in the past.

The property owners have fulfilled the terms of their contracts. They should be able to do whatever they want with the buildings. However, the government can get involved and persuade them to continue to offer lower rents in exchange for some other perks.

Meanwhile, the NYC property sits on the books of the complex’s creditors. Bad situation.

Related posts:

1. Once and future Boston apartment king returns
2. New apartment complex proposed for 319 A Street in Fort Point Channel
3. Boston apartment rentals don’t get any cheaper, unfortunately