Latest news with #AbundantHousingMassachusetts
Boston Globe
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Most Mass. voters want more housing, poll finds
A new poll this week from MassINC, commissioned by the pro-housing group Abundant Housing Massachusetts, found that the majority of the state's voters More than 90 percent of the 803 voters MassINC surveyed in March identified the cost of housing here as a problem, and 71 percent said they would prioritize building more homes that people can afford over preserving the character of neighborhoods. Some 57 percent of respondents said the cost of homeownership and renting in their own communities is 'a big problem,' and 75 percent said there are not enough homes in Massachusetts that the average person can buy or rent. 'This survey shows that the loud opposition that often show up at local planning meetings are actually a minority,' said Richard Parr, senior research director at The MassINC Polling Group. 'Most people, when presented with practical solutions, seem ready to say yes to more housing.' Related : Advertisement The poll, said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director of Abundant Housing, indicates that the extreme cost of housing in the state — the median-priced single-family home in Greater Boston Advertisement An apartment building under construction in Lynn in 2023. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Its a welcome sign for housing advocates, who argue the state needs to compel cities and towns to build more. Massachusetts has not built enough housing over the last couple of decades to keep up with the state's growing population, and the Healey Administration earlier this year established The majority of people surveyed by MassINC said they would support efforts to increase new development near public transit, as well as allowing homes to be built on smaller patches of land. Most also said they would support allowing smaller multifamily buildings like triple-deckers in their neighborhoods. The results of the poll may sound contradictory because opposition to new housing is loud in many communities. But it aligns with homeowners. Those opponents may not necessarily be representative of the community at large, the BU research found. And even so, the majority of the voters surveyed by MassINC said they lived in a single-family home. Support for new housing development was highest among renters, non-white voters, parents, and people under the age of 45. Advertisement The poll, said Kanson-Benanav, should serve as evidence for the Legislature to pass more policies that encourage development. Several legislators have recently introduced bills that would reduce the scope of the MBTA Communities Act, the law that requires towns to zone for more housing. And two recently announced Republican candidates who plan to run against Governor Maura Healey have criticized the administration for its approach to enforcing the law, with one, former MBTA executive Brian Shortsleeve, saying he would push the Legislature to repeal it. 'Across the Commonwealth, voters want more housing solutions that create an abundance of housing opportunities for families, renters, and longtime homeowners alike,' said Kanson-Benanav. 'They're telling lawmakers: say yes to homes — and yes to the future of Massachusetts by passing reforms that will build more homes for everyday residents.' Andrew Brinker can be reached at
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why is it so hard to find an affordable single-family home in Massachusetts?
A single-family home with a white picket fence has always been a hallmark of the American Dream. Now it's turning into something of a nightmare for some would-be home buyers. Low inventory and sky-high prices have many people wondering if owning that type of home is still in the cards for them. 'I would love to be able to afford a single-family home. Like all millennials, have a nice yard for a dog,' said 37-year-old Tina Shukar who's been looking for a home in the greater Norwood area. The sales executive is frustrated by the situation she's faced over the last two years. 'The problem is that I'm competing against companies that do home flips, and they have cash to buy properties, and can skip inspections, and all that stuff.' Although more homebuyers are having trouble finding an affordable single-family house, this problem didn't emerge overnight. 'We're facing an extreme housing shortage in Massachusetts,' explained Jesse Kanson-Benanav, executive director of Abundant Housing Massachusetts, an advocacy group focused on increasing the supply of housing. 'In the 30 years prior to 1990, we built 900,000 homes in Massachusetts,' said Kanson-Benanav. 'In the 35 years or so since 1990, we've actually built about half as many, or 450,000 homes. And that's at a time when our population has been growing steadily, our economy has been growing, and we've added thousands of jobs.' As a result, demand continues to exceed supply, so prices keep going up. The median price of a single-family home in the Boston area was $930,000 in March 2025. That's up from 900,000 a year ago, according to the Greater Boston Association of Realtors., 'No one is doing enough to meet that demand, and it's staring to impact people from all walks of life,' added Kanson-Benanav. One of the big problems, according to Realtor Marie Presti of the Presti Group in Newton and Stoneham, is 'we have very little land available for developers to buy to build big developments.' Developers are left to tear down an old house and then replace it with a bigger house. 'They have to build a big house to make the profit they're looking for,' explained Presti. 'It's out of the first-time homebuyer's price range. Architect Mike Chavez of the Social Impact Collective says overall, houses have been getting much bigger. 'In the 1960s, the average home size was about 1,500 square feet. Now it's about 2,500 square feet . . . and the interesting thing is household size has actually gotten smaller.' In fact, many single-family homes only have one or two Baby Boomers inside. Presti says more people in this demographic were expected to downsize, but they haven't moved. 'They're concerned about a couple of things. Number one, where are they going to go?' Number two is capital gains taxes. Many couples have seen appreciation beyond $500,000 on their house. That means if they sold their house, they would owe the government money. 'They'd rather just stay put so they don't have to pay those taxes,' said Presti. The Healey administration recently released a report indicating the state needs 222,000 units of new housing in the next ten years. Kanson-Benanav believes a mix of housing will be needed and that new approaches will be needed to meet that aggressive goal. He said single-family homes will always be part of that mix but 'what we're saying is that we need different tools. . .and one strategy to address that is to say perhaps you can build 2, 3, or 4 homes on a lot that previously was only allowed to have a single-family house on it.' Changes like that take time and often face stiff opposition. In the meantime, Shuker is losing her optimism that owning a single-family home will ever be in her future. 'It seems like something that I could have easily afforded just a few years ago. I can't anymore.' Presti says more of her clients are willing to accept longer commutes to get the type of home they want. She says it's also helpful if a buyer is flexible about their 'must-haves' and doesn't shy away from a property that needs some work. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
