My older son that just graduated had his apartment lined up before they handed him his diploma. He’s never coming back to the Boston area to live.
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@kiddie Boston and Cambridge $2600 studios are definitely not in luxury buildings 
My son is shopping for houses in CA. He sees prices going down significantly but not as fast as he wants. He plans to buy by the end of the year or beginning of next year. I think we should expect interest rate to be around 8% by then. Unfortunately he will be selling his current condo while prices be lower but he doesn’t want to sell and live in apartment in between.
My DD and her boyfriend in early 20th try to put few thousand a month into saving account for down payment since they plan to buy in HCOL place in the next few years
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Maybe they work their “dream job” in a Midwest city for a few years where rent has increased but is likely less than the popular coasts. Save some $, enjoy the great Midwest and then relocate in 5 or less years to your “dream city”.
And remember that the Midwest is more than Chicago.
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Very commonplace here. People who bought in nicer areas of the city don’t want to move even if they can (like our big kid). Digging out basements works quite well because bumping up with a second story may not always get permitted - height restrictions. I’m not in the city, but our daylight basement is great. Temperature controlled naturally, no AC needed.
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How do you dig out the basement without compromising the foundation?
My kid was lucky in rent in Manhattan. They moved a year ago when the rent was still depressed. They stayed put although the space was tight and the rent stayed the same.
S is living in a shared 1400 sqft house (3 of them) in a really nice part of Austin. Rent is 1400 each or 4200/m. Much better than the 2 bedroom apartment he had his first yr there (was a dump).
D is living in Brooklyn with two others in a 4th floor walkup. 3/2 (two bathrooms is huge in NY). She pays 1400 as well. Not bad.
I don’t know how any of these kids do it without roommates / housemates. Not really sure why they’d want to either. In a new place, it would be way to easy to just go home and be insular without roommates. At least this way they have someone to go do things with.
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That was lucky! Every NYC/Brooklyn resident I know who secured reduced rents via free months saw their rents increase at renewal to the pre-pandemic level or higher. The landlords never lowered the rents but instead offered x# of months of free rent. Not faulting the landlords as their costs have increased also.
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When I was out of college, I wanted to be on my own for a change. My kid on the other hand lived in a dorm with her own bedroom most of the time. Moving out of campus was enough change and saw no need to be rid of roommates.
How do you dig up a basement? You hire a pro specializing in this stuff.
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Many landlords in NYC jacked up rents on lease renewals this year by crazy amounts (like 35%) your kid got lucky
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I heard that the Seaport area of Boston has some posh/pricey apartment… oh my, tis true - Seaport Apartments for Rent - Boston, MA - 658 Rentals | Apartments.com
Yep these are all new and therefore branded as “Luxury” Almost all of the managed buildings in Boston are labelling themselves as luxury (far from luxury by my standard - we have a gym in the building - that’s makes us luxury).
The free months was a great gimmick to get people in during the pandemic. All the kids I know who did that, subsequently moved out when the lease renewed. They could not afford the old rent without the free months, and they increased the rent also (so they definitely could not afford that).
Another negative trend in the Boston market is the new buildings that are part hotel-part apartments. Places like Raffles going up in Back Bay. They are offering small studios for ridiculous rents that they are labelling as pied-a-terre. So come pay this huge rent for a place the size of a small hotel room that you don’t even plan on living in.
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The Seaport is an EXTREMELY popular section of the city right now. They really screwed up when they developed the actual waterfront area, but that hasn’t had any effect on the popularity.
If you budget well…
Charlotte, NC my son currently pays $1600/mo for a 596 sq ft studio apartment, <10 min walk to downtown in a building full of amenities in an area full of restaurants, bars and many other recent grads in similar apartment buildings. Not sure how long the prices will stay. He first rented in summer 2021 (supply was larger than demand because of Covid and wfh) and his rent went up $400 for same apartment when he renewed his lease this summer.
S lived in an apartment very close to Seaport last year. Older building/apartment, but had a doorman etc. Great location. Had a roommate since that was the only way they could afford that place. Fast forward to this year - roommate didn’t want to resign the lease (the price was jacked up by several hundred dollars). S was willing to but was forced to move out. He talked of coming home for a few months - we live a commuter rail ride away. Doable, but would have been painful - for both of us ! Luckily he did find a studio in the North End that he moved to - but he’s paying quite a bit more.
And yes, the “broker” fees! Where are these new grads supposed to get their hands on several thousand dollars to shell out at one time? First month’s rent, last month’s rent and broker fees that’s effectively a month’s rent? Argh.
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Suburban Iowa, my daughters are in nice 2bed/2bath apts about $1100/month or $550/roommate. 1 beds in their complexes are $900-$1000.
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My newest grad (health professions grad school grad, May 2022) is sharing a 3rd floor 2 bed, 1 bath, outdoor patio non-complex (beautiful older building with lots of charm) in a very desirable spot in “downtown” Columbus. They are paying $1500 month. $750/each.
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I’m really, really hoping my D chooses to live at home for a year post-grad to save money. We live on a train line with an easy commute to downtown Chicago, so she should have no problem finding a place to work for a decent salary. Hopefully she’ll save up a good amount and can then move into a condo wherever she hopes to launch the next phase of her life!
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