Virtue Signaling by CEOs but Rent Still Rising
Whose to blame?
Tenants in Easthampton are fed up with the rising prices in rent from landlords who allegedly mishandle the properties & neglect the blaring issues & concerns the tenants of these properties bring forward. Rent is high all over the country, but Massachusetts is higher than the national average by a decent amount. Let’s deep dive into cost of living in Easthampton & the issues from the Hurricane Properties LLC.
If we want to understand the root of the issue about rising rent, we have to first look at the cost of living in Easthampton & how it compares to the rest of the state & country. A simple google search reveals Easthampton, MA is approximately 10% higher than the national average, but is 16% lower than the average city in Massachusetts. Let’s talk numbers, the median home value in Easthampton is sitting around $357,568. The median price for homes sold in June 2025 is approximately $425,000 with homes sitting on the market for on average 30 days. According to Google’s Ai, the average home sale price has been steadily increasing over the past year by 8%. But I thought this issue revolves around the rent prices? It does.
Right now, the average rent in Easthampton is approximately $1,715 per month for a 2-bedroom apartment with rent increasing 2.4%. If you have a family & need the space for a 2-bedroom apartment, you’re looking at $20,580 for 12 months. With that being said, Easthampton is a beautiful town with a rich history in historic mill buildings, active community, & a buzzing arts community. Looking at the national average for bigger cities in Massachusetts like Boston & Worcester, a 2-bedroom apartment is going to cost anywhere from $2,324 to $3,400 per month. Now I’m not mathematician, but that’s higher than Easthampton by a few hundred bucks.
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Now, I can see the point in not allowing rent to increase anymore, but to be fair, rent in Easthampton is lower than quite a few cities in the same part of the state. I saw an article on wwlp.com & it stated that residents of Easthampton were calling on city officials to put more restrictions on corporate landlords from out of state. Totally reasonable & thoughtful protest. They took to City Hall & did their best to bring attention to the cost of living in this area. I’m not going to go into full detail about their arguments, if you want to read more, check it out here
It’s important to note that their argument is that out-of-state landlords don’t care about their tenants & neighborhoods. They let the properties get messed up & don’t focus on taking care of the investment they took the responsibility for. The reason for this article is because landlords who apparently don’t have a dog in the race, decided to put out statements to cover their asses, but it almost feels like a call for pity.
The CEO of Hurricane Properties LLC put out a statement yesterday, 7/21/2025, & claimed to rebuke all of the claims of the upset tenants. In the statement released by the CEO they raise awareness to the fact they are from Amherst, MA & only have a staff of 5 employees. They claim their employees are mostly immigrants from Latin America just trying to make a living.
My issue with the statement comes from the fact they aren’t from out-of-state & they are trying to get sympathy from the fact their workers are immigrants. It’s almost a cry for pity saying “Our company would never do such a thing because we love immigrants”. Of course your company should love immigrants, they are the fuel & lifeline behind a lot of great companies. But the issue I have is that they could have stayed silent. If someone is protesting McDonalds, I at Burger King wouldn’t try to throw my name in the race & claim to be a saint. I would shut the hell up & not get in their way. My mom used to always say, “If the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t force it”.
If tenants are at City Hall protesting out-of-state landlords & I know my company doesn’t have those type of landlords, why would I get in the middle? Wouldn’t it be better to stay quiet & in the corner so you can let your accomplishments & achievements speak for themselves. Are your tenants the ones outside on the City Hall steps? Are people protesting your company specifically? I think there are too many people in this world who are trying to appease others & make themselves out to look like a saint amongst sinners.
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So what your company has 5 staff members from another country?? Is that information pertinent to the topic at hand? I would argue no, it’s not important to the issue. I think it’s mainly landlords who don’t want to lose the opportunity to raise the rent if they so choose.
The CEO writes, “We are not the cause of the housing crisis; that is a much larger issue related to inflation and low housing supply. We are simply doing our best, just like everyone else, to survive in these challenging economic times”
Not only did the CEO of Hurricane Properties LLC respond, but so did the Pleasantview Residences LLC, claiming
“Pleasantview is well-maintained and professionally managed. Many tenants are quite happy. Management has generously offered any unhappy tenant that they may break their lease at any time and leave to another apartment complex they like better. So far, no one has taken management up on the offer, which speaks for itself”
I find a lot of the property owners are virtue signaling to others to signify they are “one of the good ones”. The residents who protested claimed their property owners weren’t handling the necessary repairs in a timely manner, but I had trouble searching for which properties those were. They never said a specific company was taking advantage of them.
Are the citizens & residents just making up stories to tell the public so they can get a lower rent? Are there serious issues that landlords aren’t fixing? How can the average citizen deal with the rise in rent? These are just questions I find myself asking the ether when discussing the topics in the news. I understand the need for landlords to raise the rent in small chunks to combat the rise of inflation & the cost of living, but are they taking advantage? I too am a renter of an apartment, I don’t live in an apartment complex, but I have & I know the struggles of dealing with nonsense like broken plumbing, annoying ass neighbors, & non-responsive landlords. I don’t think either side is wrong, I just find the whole thing outrageous that we are talking about rent when there are serious issues happening in the world today.
Genocide is still currently happening in multiple countries, America is funding wars around the world to launder & distribute money to corporations who are already wealthy enough to end world hunger twice-over, & the forced displacement of sovereign citizens in their own countries. We have real issues concerning food insecurities in states due to inflation & the cost of living. According to CBS News, Massachusetts has 36% of households with children are unable to access enough food. Benefits from the Pandemic-era are slowly being stripped away & the rise in food prices are crippling many Americans.
I’m just trying to survive in this cold world.
Here’s all the pictures for today’s post
First time seeing Herzog freight trains! Here’s freebies for some bigger paintings
Peace & Love from the 413