🏘️New Housing Units

Goal B: Homes for All

New housing units built 2010 to 2020: 104,000, 8% over total 2010 units

Greater Boston remains one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation for both owners and renters – to a large extent because production of new units has not kept up with the growth in demand.

The region enjoys a robust economy that has attracted many new residents, but we also suffer growing income disparities [see Economic Prosperity indicators] – disparities the housing shortage exacerbates. When demand outstrips the supply of units, those who can afford to do so bid up the cost of what’s available. This is as demonstrated by the proliferation of over-asking sale prices.

High bidders can be higher-income families, of course, but also roommate households composed of individuals deterred by the high cost of living on their own. Roommate households can easily outbid low- and even moderate-income families for the few family-sized units that are available.[1]

The initial results of the 2020 Decennial Census indicate the region added 104,000 new housing units since 2010. This seems like a lot of new housing, but during that period, the region also added 274,000 residents, representing 8.6 percent population growth, compared to only 7.9 percent housing unit growth. It’s no wonder there is intense competition for the units that do come available. Housing development in the 2010s was more evenly distributed between urban and suburban municipalities than it was during the rapid suburban growth the region experienced in the 1970s to early-1990s, but was too slow to keep up with demand and have a chance of moderating prices.

The production of new homes is curtailed by restrictive local regulations, high construction costs, insufficient public funding for subsidized units, concerns about the impacts of new housing on neighborhood affordability, and attitudes that perpetuate a history of exclusion and segregation. Overcoming these barriers will require multifaceted action from municipal leaders and state lawmakers. From undoing the exclusionary zoning practices of the mid-20th century to allow for denser “missing middle” housing types in single family districts, and actively enforcing recent legislation that requires allowances for multifamily development around transit stations, to bolstering existing funding programs and establishing new funding streams for deed-restricted Affordable Housing, MetroCommon proposes a suite of recommendations to increase housing production, with a focus on building multifamily units and units affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

The scale and urgency of this problem also means that we can’t wait until the next Census to see how the region is doing on its production goals. Municipalities can help by consistently reporting new building permits to the Census Bureau; maintaining accurate parcel and assessor records; and contributing to Massbuilds, MAPC’s collaborative inventory of development in the region.

MetroCommon Goal: Housing for All Goals B.1, B.2, B.3, and B.8

MetroCommon Recommendations: Accelerate the production of diverse housing types throughout the region, particularly deed-restricted Affordable Housing, with a focus on transit-oriented, climate resilient and other smart growth locations, all actions

Footnotes:

1. Link https://metrocommon.mapc.org/reports/10