u/Bitter-Elk-2093

Hey everyone, I have been trying to better understand what kind of rent information is actually useful when people are searching for housing around Boston.

A few weeks ago, I started collecting anonymous rent reports from local renters as a small community data project. It has grown from around 7 reports to 74 so far, and the feedback has been really helpful.

So far, the most useful things seem to be:

• Average rent by bedroom count
• Neighborhood-level rent ranges
• Map-based rent comparisons
• Better mobile map experience
• Broader neighborhood coverage, now around 70 neighborhoods
• Absolutely no login needed

I am also thinking about whether neighborhood context should be included, like nearby grocery stores, transit, or other daily-life factors. I am not sure if that would genuinely help renters or just clutter the experience.

For people who have searched for housing in Boston:

What information do you wish you had before signing a lease?

Would rent-by-bedroom and neighborhood comparisons actually help?

Would nearby grocery stores be useful on a rent map, or is that unnecessary?

I can share what I have been working on in the comments if that is allowed, but mainly looking for feedback.

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a quick update and say thank you. (Previous post)

Last week, I posted here about BostonHome, a small project I built to make Boston rent prices more transparent using anonymous rent reports from local renters.

The response from this community has been genuinely helpful. Because of the feedback, shares, and people submitting reports, BostonHome has grown from around 7 rent reports to 74 rent reports so far.

That may still be early, but it is a huge jump and it already makes the data much more useful than when I first shared it.

Since the original post, I have also made a few updates based on feedback:

• Added average rent statistics per bedroom
• Improved the mobile map UX
• Expanded neighborhood coverage from around 30 neighborhoods to 70 neighborhoods
• Continued improving neighborhood-level rent insights
• Added a recent rent report live feed
• Started incorporating feature requests from people who reached out

I am still working on the tenant/roommate matching feature for people looking for rooms, sublets, lease takeovers, or roommates around Boston. I want to keep that useful and simple rather than rushing out something messy.

One feature I am also considering is an optional map filter to show nearby grocery stores. I am debating whether that would actually be useful for renters or whether it would clutter the map too much. Curious what people think.

Thanks again to everyone who gave feedback, submitted rent reports, or reached out with ideas. Please keep the feedback and feature requests coming. The more people contribute, the more useful this becomes for everyone trying to understand what rent is actually like in Boston.

If you are comfortable sharing your rent anonymously, you can report it here:

https://bostonhome.app

No login required. Still not trying to sell anything, just trying to build something useful for Boston renters.

Hey fellow huskies, I recently built a small project called BostonHome to help make Boston rent prices more transparent.

The idea is simple: instead of only relying on landlord-listed prices from Zillow, Apartments dot com, or broker listings, renters can anonymously report what they actually pay. The site then shows neighborhood-level rent insights, comparisons, and a map of real reported rents.

Right now, it is still very early. There are about 37 rent reports and around 500 visitors in the past few days, so the data is not perfect yet. But that is exactly why I am sharing it here. The more people contribute, the more useful it becomes for everyone trying to understand what rent is actually like in Boston.

The site currently includes:

• Real rent reports from local renters
• Neighborhood rent insights
• Map-based rent exploration (I love this feature)
• Neighborhood comparison tools
• Market trend summaries
• No login required

I am also working on a tenant/roommate matching feature for people looking for rooms, sublets, lease takeovers, or roommates around Boston. This would be huge for students!

Would love feedback from my fellow huskies. Also, if you are comfortable sharing your rent anonymously, it would help make the data much more useful for other renters.

Site: https://bostonhome.app

Not trying to sell anything. Just trying to build something useful for Boston renters (specially students).

Hey everyone, I recently built a small project called BostonHome to help make Boston rent prices more transparent.

The idea is simple: instead of only relying on landlord-listed prices from Zillow, Apartments dot com, or broker listings, renters can anonymously report what they actually pay. The site then shows neighborhood-level rent insights, comparisons, and a map of real reported rents.

Right now, it is still very early. There are about 15 rent reports and around 200 visitors in the past few days, so the data is not perfect yet. But that is exactly why I am sharing it here. The more people contribute, the more useful it becomes for everyone trying to understand what rent is actually like in Boston.

The site currently includes:

• Real rent reports from local renters
• Neighborhood rent insights
• Map-based rent exploration (I love this feature)
• Neighborhood comparison tools
• Market trend summaries
• No login required

I am also working on a tenant/roommate matching feature for people looking for rooms, sublets, lease takeovers, or roommates around Boston.

Would love feedback from this community. Also, if you are comfortable sharing your rent anonymously, it would help make the data much more useful for other renters.

Site: https://bostonhome.app

Not trying to sell anything. Just trying to build something useful for Boston renters.

Hey everyone, I recently built a small project called BostonHome to help make Boston rent prices more transparent.

The idea is simple: instead of only relying on landlord-listed prices from Zillow, Apartments dot com, or broker listings, renters can anonymously report what they actually pay. The site then shows neighborhood-level rent insights, comparisons, and a map of real reported rents.

Right now, it is still very early. There are about 15 rent reports and around 200 visitors in the past few days, so the data is not perfect yet. But that is exactly why I am sharing it here. The more people contribute, the more useful it becomes for everyone trying to understand what rent is actually like in Boston.

The site currently includes:

• Real rent reports from local renters
• Neighborhood rent insights
• Map-based rent exploration (I love this feature)
• Neighborhood comparison tools
• Market trend summaries
• No login required

I am also working on a tenant/roommate matching feature for people looking for rooms, sublets, lease takeovers, or roommates around Boston.

Would love feedback from this community. Also, if you are comfortable sharing your rent anonymously, it would help make the data much more useful for other renters.

Site: https://bostonhome.app

Not trying to sell anything. Just trying to build something useful for Boston renters.