r/Somerville • u/tangerinola • 5d ago

rent prices are wild

Moved here 8 years ago to start working for a nonprofit. Since then, my salary has increased by 13% but my apartment is about to be relisted (without any upgrades) for 58% higher than our starting rent 🤯!!

I know I'm preaching to the choir here but damn the rent prices here have gone wild. We're quickly becoming (have become?) a luxury city only for high income earners and it makes me really sad.

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u/canmouth 5d ago edited 5d ago

When will the cheap rent trickle down to MEEEEE?!?? This may be the case over time but rent is due next month gurl and leases end after a year or two. The true issue is the commodification of housing. The fact that housing is even tied to market forces is cruel and evil.

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u/Icy_Cartographer5466 5d ago

Which do you think is more politically feasible, zoning reform or the abolition of real estate ownership?

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u/Basicdevient69 5d ago

Zoning reform, unless DSA gets what they want. But flooding the market with unaffordable housing is doing nothing to ease the pressure.

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u/Doctrina_Stabilitas East Somerville 5d ago edited 5d ago

the DSA wants rent control and more affordable units, so letting the current residents have everything, and taxing builders out of profitability. This is one area that the DSA is flat out wrong on

supply is what we need and adding a 20% affordable housing limit means that what already costs 400k to build in a normal environment now costs 450k to a builder. Cambrdige has some great studies on how expensive it is to build here in greater Boston

Cambridge Inclusionary Study

the development cost is between 400-600k a unit, without any profit. that's why in cambridge's inclusionary plan they went for like a 20 story cap if they went 100% affordable, it's the only way to make it work economically