Worcester apartment rents up 16%

Photo/Grant Welker The 145 Front apartments in downtown Worcester

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By Zachary Comeau

The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Worcester has increased about $200 since December 2017, and that rate of increase is tied with Waltham for the highest in the Greater Boston area, according to online home and apartment website Zumper.

The website said Worcester’s median rent of $1,330 increased by 16 percent. Of the 16 Boston Metro cities, Worcester has the fourth lowest rent, but with the increase over the past year, Wocester has leapfrogged Brockton and Lawrence in terms of rental price.

Last December, Zumper said Worcester’s medan rent of $1,150 actually decreased 5 percent over the year. The city’s median rent was the second lowest out of 16 Boston Metro cities.

For two bedrooms, expect to pay around $1,480, about 16 percent more than December 2017.

It looks like the city’s rent has been increasing in the last few months, as Zumper said in March the median one-bedroom apartment rented for $1,180, a 4-percent year-over-year increase.

In July, Zumper said Worcester’s median rent was $1,280, an 11-percent increase.

The rent prices appear to be increasing at a sharper rate than home prices.

According to November data from Boston real estate data firm The Warren Group, the median price of a single-family home in Worcester has increased 5 percent since the new year, and 2 percent year over year.