A Home for Everyone: Executive Summary

The housing crisis profoundly affects everyone who calls Massachusetts home. Increasingly high rents and sale prices burden household budgets, undermine the stability of communities, exacerbate homelessness, cause health problems, weaken the economy, and widen gaps between privilege and disadvantage. Safe, appropriate housing is a fundamental human need. The Healey-Driscoll Administration will use every available lever of public policy and persuasion to end this crisis. This plan will show the way.

----

We all know this: Housing costs are too high. Sales and rent prices are at record levels, having risen faster than incomes and faster than almost any other state. In many communities, homes sell for well over the asking price and low-cost rentals are vanishing. It is difficult for households at almost any income level to find housing they can afford in the communities where they want to live. Too many households spend more than half of their modest income on housing. The high costs strain many household budgets, depleting funds for other fundamental needs, like food and clothing. Some households are doubling up in crowded living situations. Others are finding themselves in unsafe or inadequate housing settings. Left with no other options, some residents rely on shelters or hotels. Many older adults and individuals with disabilities are staying in home settings that don’t meet their needs or are ending up in nursing homes for a lack of suitable community-based alternatives. Despite all that Massachusetts has to offer, young people are leaving the state at an alarming rate, with many reporting that housing costs are the main reason.

All residents of the Commonwealth – even those who are comfortably housed – are affected by the housing crisis. Lack of housing makes it hard for small business owners to find workers and discourages larger employers from locating or expanding in Massachusetts. When renters are forced to move frequently due to rent hikes and young households can’t find a home to purchase, it’s hard to build the community cohesion that comes from long-term housing stability. The search for affordable housing pushes people far from their jobs, worsening traffic congestion.

Lack of access to safe and suitable housing undermines people’s mental and physical health. Housing instability makes it harder for children to learn in school, affecting all students’ educational outcomes and long-term prospects. The housing crisis drives up the cost of healthcare and puts our most vulnerable residents in dangerous living situations. The shortage of homes accessible to individuals with disabilities and homes suitable for older adults means that they often stay in homes that no longer meet their needs. Others end up in institutional settings such as nursing homes, with higher medical costs and generally worse health outcomes than independent living. And almost all these consequences are worse for people of color, female-headed households, and other marginalized populations.

The housing shortage also exacerbates inequality and amplifies disparities in wealth. While rising sale prices produce corresponding gains in wealth for most homeowners, those same rising prices make it hard—if not impossible—for first-generation homebuyers to buy a home. Unaffordable rents also make it harder for renters to save up for education, retirement, or homeownership. All this contributes to the racial wealth gap, as Black and Latino people own homes at a much lower rate than the population as a whole. Lack of affordable homes in many communities perpetuates economic and racial segregation in the region, limiting access to economic and educational opportunity.

------

The primary factor contributing to the state’s housing crisis is that there are not enough homes to meet the needs of people living here. For more than two decades, Massachusetts’ growth in housing demand has outpaced additional supply, resulting in low vacancies and intense demand for the homes that are available. Bidding wars often drive sale prices well above asking price and landlords can dictate prices since renters have few options. When not enough new construction exists to meet high-income demand, investors purchase and upgrade “naturally affordable” rentals and starter homes, which then become unavailable to the income levels they formerly served. Aging adults looking to downsize can’t find suitable and affordable options in their community, so they stay in place, rather than freeing up their homes for younger families. Young adults who can’t find reasonably priced one- or two-bedroom apartments form larger roommate households that can easily outbid families for 3+ bedroom units.

While a shortage of units is the principal cause of our housing crisis, other factors also play a role. Increasing wage polarization and income inequality have swelled the number of households that cannot afford modestly priced housing, even with multiple wage earners. People are working double shifts and still coming up short for rent. Growth in substance use disorder and mental health challenges means that more people need supportive services to remain stably housed. The increasing risk of natural disasters has caused property insurance rates to skyrocket. New algorithms setting rent and sale prices drive up costs as landlords and sellers ask for the maximum amount the market will bear. With online platforms for short-term rentals, owners of homes in seasonal communities who may have previously made unoccupied units available for year-round rentals now prioritize short-term higher-revenue vacation stays. The age of the housing stock means that many units need significant upgrades to be accessible, energy efficient, and healthy for their occupants. All of these factors drive up the cost of housing, now and in the future.

The coming decade will bring more changes and challenges. The aging of the Baby Boomer generation will bring a dramatic increase in households headed by older adults, often on a fixed income and with limited mobility.  A changing climate may put even more homes at risk of loss due to floods, intense storms, fires, and other natural disasters. Escalating construction costs and higher interest rates are already making it hard to finance new construction, whether market-rate or subsidized. The Commonwealth’s public housing stock has a large and growing capital maintenance repair backlog and needs substantial modernization. Massachusetts must attract and retain young workers who are essential to a strong economy and opportunities for all residents.   

----

The Healey-Driscoll administration believes we can solve these problems through bold, collaborative action with partners in every agency, sector, and community. Massachusetts is a caring, innovative, and forward-looking state with the capacity to overcome any challenge when all the members of our housing ecosystem are aligned in a shared vision. This plan envisions a future in which housing is abundant, affordable, and safe for all Massachusetts residents, from all backgrounds, throughout their life cycles. Whether you’re a young person starting out on your own, a couple looking to settle down and raise a family, or an older adult who wants to enjoy your golden years in the community you love, there should be a home for you that you can afford.

This plan seeks to create a future in which the homes of Massachusetts are resilient, energy efficient, and free of hazards so that residents can be healthy and safe in the face of extreme weather conditions and rising energy prices. Low-income residents should have the support and protection they need to avoid eviction, foreclosure, displacement, and homelessness. All residents should be free from discrimination in the housing market. People of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, and disadvantaged groups should have equitable access to stable housing and opportunities to build wealth. Housing development should be well-planned and coordinated with infrastructure investments. Most of all, Massachusetts needs all communities across the Commonwealth to do their part to achieve a more equitable, affordable, and accessible housing market.

To make this vision a reality, we need a plan. This housing plan – the first ever comprehensive and statewide plan for housing and livable communities – seeks to outline what is known about the housing challenges facing Massachusetts; identify our needs moving forward; and set bold, achievable goals for housing production, preservation, and resilience. It is intended to provide a shared body of knowledge, an examination of areas of uncertainty and disagreement, and an exploration of our changing demographics and possible futures.  The plan identifies five broad strategies for achieving a brighter housing future:

----

Achieve a state of housing abundance

Lack of supply is the root cause of our housing cost crisis. In order to meet existing needs and anticipated growth in demand, Massachusetts needs to add 222,000 year-round homes to the available housing stock over the next decade. This includes homes of all types, from mid-rise apartments to accessory dwelling units, triple-deckers, senior housing, single family homes, and everything in between.  Achieving this level of production won’t be easy. EOHLC and its partners will play a key role in funding new affordable housing, and the Affordable Homes Act makes historic investments in this portfolio. Other strategies to achieve housing abundance includes actions that will open up development opportunities in the right places; drive down the cost and timeline of production; increase availability of capital, labor, and expertise; advance new approaches to housing production; and provide the infrastructure needed to support growth.

Protect existing homes and affordability

Every home lost to natural hazards, seasonal use, short term rental, or disrepair further depletes our supply and worsens the shortage. The loss of existing homes – especially affordable ones – is disruptive to communities. Protecting existing homes and affordability requires acting well in advance of natural disasters, speculative acquisition, rent hikes, expiration of deed restrictions, or demolition by neglect. Preserving homes will take more than just money. It also requires innovative approaches to resilient retrofits of existing homes, speedier and less expensive pathways for public housing improvements, public private partnerships for refinancing and repositioning our public and affordable housing stock. Difficult decisions about rebuilding and shoreline retreat will have to be made in the not-too-distant future.

Support households

As efforts are underway to create an abundant and affordable housing supply over the long term, many households need assistance today just to get by, much less get ahead. Households burdened by housing cost may cut back on healthy food and healthcare to maintain their housing; many are one emergency expense from losing their housing and reliant on costly emergency systems of care. Even households with multiple wage earners often need assistance and are eligible for support such as housing vouchers, heating assistance, homeownership subsidies, and other housing related assistance.

Additional funding, improved application processes, and a broader suite of supports can make an immediate benefit for households struggling today.  With better access to mobile vouchers and improved availability of rental housing, households would have more options to stay in their community or move to a new one for work, school, or other reasons.

Build a stronger safety net

Many Massachusetts residents have unique challenges that make it hard for them to use conventional housing, even with financial support. Chronically homeless individuals, people with substance use disorder, individuals with cognitive disabilities or severe medical conditions, and families fleeing unsafe conditions all require special assistance to achieve a stable housing situation. Individuals and families experiencing housing instability or homelessness are not a monolithic population. Massachusetts has an ecosystem of programs and providers serving these residents, but more is needed to meet the scale and urgency of the need.

Emergency interventions are costly, and unfortunately necessary, for households that lose their housing or find themselves residing in unsafe settings. Households finding themselves in these situations require a safety net in which flexible funding ensures access to varying wrap-around supportive services in a manner reflective of the intensity of the household’s underlying need. However, this is not achievable without better data collection to help identify those most at risk, coordinate supportive services, and track program outcomes. This is not a one-size-fits all approach, but an approach inclusive of an array of appropriate targeted housing, health, socio-economic, and tenancy supports to maximize limited resources.

Work together for the Commonwealth

Tackling our housing crisis isn’t just an ‘all of government’ task—it’s ‘all of Massachusetts.’  Every community, stakeholder, and sector has a role to play. This plan documents the crisis in every dimension and lays out strategies for addressing it. Many of those strategies are underway and have broad support. Others are more complex and controversial, involving many stakeholders with different interests.

Solving the state’s housing crisis requires collective efforts across municipalities and entities that encompass our housing ecosystem. To implement this plan, EOHLC will work to strengthen partnerships with municipalities to create an environment that welcomes new housing while mitigating local impacts that may occur. This may entail joint planning, research, evaluation, and engagement to develop a shared understanding of problems and solutions. Offices across the Administration will work together to ensure that Massachusetts’ housing stock and production goals are aligned with state transportation, climate and land use goals. 

----

Within each strategy may be found actions and policies at various levels of specificity. Some are already underway; some can be implemented in the short term with broad support; others will require further study and consensus building to find the best path forward. EOHLC intends to use this plan to guide our policy direction, legislative action, and budgetary and funding decisions in the coming years. This all-digital format also means that EOHLC can continue to add, refine, and expand this plan as the agency and its partners learn new things, measure progress, and define new actions to take.

One thing is clear: The Healey-Driscoll Administration cannot solve this problem on its own. The Massachusetts housing ecosystem has a wide array of actors and each of them has a role to play. Across the executive branch, EOHLC will work with other state agencies, utilities, and quasi-public offices to align their programs, regulations, and spending to ensure win-win outcomes for our shared priorities. The Healey-Driscoll Administration looks forward to collaborating with the legislature to advance legislation that would unlock production, regulate unfair housing practices, and provide funding for essential programs. Here in the Commonwealth, we value the partnership and shared vision between the State and the 351 cities and towns within it. The entire Administration is committed to finding ways to support municipalities in planning for and investing in the housing they need to support all residents. This crisis shows itself across every single community and EOHLC depends on municipal partners to take seriously their responsibility to all their neighbors when it comes to creating housing opportunities. The development community—developers, lenders, labor, and landlords—must find innovative ways to deliver the homes that Massachusetts needs, even if that doesn’t maximize the bottom line.

By working together, Massachusetts can solve its housing crisis. We can build the homes we need today and for the future; we can preserve the homes and neighborhoods that make our communities special; we can support the households struggling to make ends meet; and we can provide a strong safety net so that no one falls through the cracks. It won’t be easy, but now we have a plan. Let’s put it into action.