BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly four-fifths (79%) of rentals that are currently listed in Boston will not be available until September 1st, according to data from the inaugural RentJuice Rent Index in Boston. The quarterly analysis was today launched by RentJuice, the online platform developed by real estate insiders that connects prospective renters, brokers and property managers to each other in real-time. The RentJuice Rent Index will enable neighborhood comparisons by asking rents, availability date, unit configuration and more in Beantown.

School Rules Rentals in Boston

Consumers looking to rent immediately may face slim pickings, as only 12 percent of rentals on the market are currently available (11% available as of July 1-14 and 1% as of July 15-31). August availability carries another eight percent of units currently listed.

With the majority of leases dictated by the calendars of Boston’s numerous college campuses, September 1st is the magic date for prospective renters, when these typically year-long leases will expire. But consumers should begin looking now and brokerages must be prepared for the equivalent of the retail industry’s holiday season. Even at the end of March 2011, 77 percent of rentals in Boston were listed as being available as of July 1, 2011, or beyond.

Due to student housing turnover, Boston’s rental market is like a game of musical chairs: consumers should plan ahead to ensure they are not left standing.

Less (Space) Is More (Money Saved)

Seven out of 10 rentals currently on the market in Boston are either one-bedroom units (36%) or two-bedroom units (35%), and only 14 percent of listings are categorized as studios. With many financially-wary consumers preferring not to pay for unnecessary space, brokers may find that these studios won’t last long. Sharing a multi-bedroom unit with several roommates may also be a commonly-sought money-saving strategy in Boston. For units listed as of the beginning of this quarter, only 15 percent qualify as having three or more bedrooms. There was also a slight increase in asking price for five-, six- and seven-bedroom rentals from the first quarter of 2011 ($3644, $4197, and $4710, respectively) to the second ($3646, $4262, and $4735, respectively).

What’s Hot (or Not) for Rentals

Along with the Seaport, Charlestown is now often mentioned as one of Boston’s most desired neighborhoods – and the cost of rent reﬂects this. But there’s another thriving neighborhood in Town: Kendall Square in Cambridge.

Cambridge’s Kendall Square is home to a number of startups, pharmaceutical companies, and tech giant Microsoft. With the tech market sure to continue driving our economy, this is one trend not likely to go away. Consumers looking to call Kendall Square home should move fast, as rental costs are expected to continue rising.

As part of this quarter’s RentJuice Rent Index, the top five most expensive rental neighborhoods in Boston have been identified.

Top Five Most Expensive Rental Neighborhoods in Boston, 2Q11 Priciest Neighborhoods in Boston Average Asking Price Kendall Square $2760 East Cambridge $2732 Seaport District $2711 Seaport $2709 Charlestown $2515

“The RentJuice team’s longstanding immersion in the rental industry and our deep relationships with our customers have cultivated an appreciation for the value of thoroughly understanding the dynamics of one’s local market,” said RentJuice CEO David Vivero. “Through an analysis of our extensive rental database, we are excited to be able to give our customers in Boston an advantageous look under the hood and consumers an idea of what they can expect to encounter with the current market.”

RentJuice’s core product is RentJuice Free, a free online platform that allows property managers and landlords to instantly share their availabilities with partner agencies to shorten vacancies, as well as save time and effort. The Company also offers RentJuice Pro, a paid upgrade that provides agents, brokers and leasing offices a “virtual rental office” that facilitates efficiency in every step of the rental process, including automatic ad syndication to more than 20 consumer websites such as Zillow and Trulia.

The RentJuice Rent Index is included as a benefit to all RentJuice users and is also available for download at: www.RentJuice.com/Boston-2Q11

About RentJuice

RentJuice was founded in 2009 by CEO David Vivero and CTO Kunal Shah and is led by a team that helped grow companies like Salesforce.com, Market Leader, Vimeo and CollegeHumor. The Company pioneered the online software category Rental Relationship Management (RRM) and currently serves the Boston, Chicago, Miami and New York markets.