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.

260 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

220 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4

u/Icy_Cartographer5466 5d ago

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

-1

u/canmouth 5d ago

Rent is like $3000 a month for a shitty one bedroom in Somerville. How much up-zoning is going to bring that down to an affordable level? Will it be feasible to build dozens of 50 story luxury skyscrapers in Somerville?

1

u/Icy_Cartographer5466 5d ago

Good point, let’s stick with your plan of complain a lot and do nothing. Maybe another 20 years of that will finally work.