Scott Alexander

Fred writes, quote,

I don't actually buy that city rents haven't gone crazy.

We were renting in the inner, inner not quite suburbs of Boston for $1,700 in 2021.

When we last checked back in 2024, it was at $2,800.

Pretty sure that's roughly in line with overall Boston rental price movement.

Is New York City maybe not the best to look at because all that rent control I always hear about?

This sounds so simplistic that it has to be wrong, and I know nothing about New York City, but I have to throw it out there.

End quote.

Scott writes, Good point.

The chart I gave to show relatively stable rents in New York City was 2010 to 2023.

Jeff Kaufman has 2013 to 2023 for Boston.

Here is the inflation-adjusted version.

Here's a chart showing Boston two-bedroom rental listings in June 2022 dollars.

It shows a relatively flat line.

Scott writes, basically no change during that time.

Weird.

But De Most writes, quote, It may not just be rent-controlled apartments.

If you look into the rents in Germany and Switzerland, the ones I know about, there are two very different measures of rents, even after adjusting for flat sizes, etc.

1.

The median rent of a person who lives in the city, and 2.