BOSTON — For once, Boston renters are catching a break — and it’s not thanks to City Hall.

A wave of empty apartments is sweeping Mission Hill, Fort Hill, and Northeastern’s backyard after years of being packed to the brim by international students with deep pockets. According to NBC10, vacancy rates near Northeastern are up 154 percent, turning Boston’s notorious September 1 move-in circus into a ghost town.

With fewer foreign students arriving, units that once disappeared in minutes are suddenly available. Brokers are reporting price cuts, waived fees, and rare incentives as owners look to fill space quickly before the fall semester begins.

The driver is President Trump’s student visa crackdown, which has throttled foreign enrollment and cooled the steady flow of overseas demand that shaped Boston’s housing market. For the first time in years, locals — not international students — hold the advantage.

Mission Hill and Fort Hill, usually jammed with U-Hauls and student chaos this week, are unusually quiet. Boston Pads reports vacancies citywide are up just 5 percent, but near campuses the surge is dramatic — 93 percent in Mission Hill, 74 percent in Fort Hill, and 154 percent around Northeastern.

Meanwhile, Mayor Michelle Wu’s much-hyped affordable housing push and climate mandates have left new development at a 14-year low. While City Hall makes speeches, Washington’s crackdown is delivering real relief to renters searching for apartments right now.

For families long priced out of the so-called student city, this September feels like a turning point. Boston’s housing market is finally opening doors to the people who actually live here.