(NECN) - Boston is a city known for its pricey real estate. But as the housing market looks to recover from the crisis, the Hub could face some major stumbling blocks.
A new study shows that while housing prices are dropping and foreclosures are up, rents in the city are rising.
It's not just ousted homeowners looking for rentals. They're competing with thousands of college students and things could be getting worse.
Barry Bluestone, author of the New Greater Boston Housing Report Card, says that rents have only fallen 2% from their 2008 peak while home prices have fallen by 15%. He says more people facing foreclosure were forced to move back into the housing market, and more young people are prolonging buying houses.
Boston faces a different landscape than other cities because of its 336,000 students who put tremendous pressure on the rental market.
The fastest-growing section is grad students, as only 8% of them live on campus. Bluestone says universities and cities need to work together to provide more on-campus housing opportunities to Boston's graduate students.
