By Anwar Faisal, Boston, MA
The Question Nobody Asks Until It’s Too Late
Every semester, thousands of students arrive in Boston looking for a place to live near their university. The same week, local residents often ask why the city keeps growing, why neighborhoods keep changing, and why the housing market feels so tight.
What rarely gets discussed is how these two observations are connected, and what happens when a city decides to ignore one side of the equation.
Boston has built its reputation on its universities. They bring world-class faculty, cutting-edge research, and students from every corner of the globe. But universities do not exist in a vacuum. Students need places to live, places to eat, places to study outside the classroom. When housing supply does not keep pace with enrollment, the pressure ripples through the entire rental market.
What Happens When Housing Lags Behind Enrollment
I have watched this dynamic play out over decades. When there is not enough housing near campuses, students do not simply disappear. They move farther out, competing for units in neighborhoods that were not designed with student populations in mind. Rents rise across the board. Families who have lived in these areas for years find themselves priced out, not because of deliberate displacement, but because supply has not caught up with demand.
The real issue is not whether students should live near universities. Of course they should. The question is whether the city plans for it or pretends it is not happening.
Universities Are Economic Engines, But Only If the Infrastructure Exists
Boston’s universities contribute billions to the local economy. Students spend money at restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, and transit systems. They work part-time jobs, support local services, and many stay in the area after graduation, becoming the next generation of professionals and entrepreneurs.
But that economic benefit depends on infrastructure. If students cannot find housing near their schools, if landlords are reluctant to rent to them, if the city treats student housing as an afterthought rather than a necessity, the entire system strains.
I have seen landlords hesitate to rent to students, and I understand why. Short lease cycles, turnover, and the perception of risk all factor in. But when private housing providers step in to meet that need, when we create units designed with students in mind, we relieve pressure on the broader market. We make it possible for universities to grow without destabilizing the neighborhoods around them.
Planning for Growth Means Planning for Housing
Cities that ignore housing while celebrating their universities are setting themselves up for failure. Boston cannot have it both ways. It cannot market itself as a global education hub and then act surprised when students need places to live.
The solution is not complicated. It requires long-term thinking, collaboration between private providers and city planners, and a willingness to see student housing as part of the city’s economic infrastructure, not a niche problem. Why invest in universities and not their students?
When I first started in real estate, I saw an opportunity that others overlooked. Students needed housing near their schools, and the market was not providing it. Decades later, that need has only grown. Boston’s universities are stronger than ever, enrollments are rising, and international students continue to choose this city for their education.
The question is whether the housing market will keep up.
What This Means for the Next Decade
Boston has a choice. It can continue to treat student housing as someone else’s problem, or it can recognize that housing is necessary to make a university city work. When students have stable, accessible housing near campus, they perform better academically, they contribute more to the local economy, and they integrate into the community. Investing in student housing directly improves their educational experiences and performances.
When housing is scarce, expensive, or poorly managed, the opposite happens. Students struggle, neighborhoods strain, graduates leave, and the economic benefits of having world-class universities start to erode.
I have spent over thirty years working in this space, and the lesson is clear: cities that plan for student housing thrive. Cities that ignore it do not.
Boston’s universities are not going anywhere. The students will keep coming. The only question is whether the city will build the infrastructure to support them, or whether it will keep reacting to a problem it should have solved years ago.
Why This Matters Beyond Housing
This is not just about real estate. It is about whether Boston remains a competitive, livable city for the next generation. Universities drive innovation, attract talent, and fuel economic growth. But none of that happens in isolation. It requires housing, transit, services, and a commitment to long-term planning.
Student housing is part of Boston’s economic future because students are part of Boston’s economic future. The sooner the city treats it that way, the better off everyone will be.