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Conditions and Risks

An examination of housing suitability and threats to safety and affordability.

The number of housing units and their cost doesn’t tell the whole story. Size, condition, accessibility, and location of homes also determine whether the housing stock meets the needs of the population. The challenge is not only to have more homes, but to have homes that meet diverse housing needs. Massachusetts must also contend with the growing threat of natural hazards, such as water, wind, and fire damaging or destroying a large number of homes. Other homes may be lost to long-term residents not because they are destroyed, but because they are converted to seasonal homes or short-term rent

Conditions and Risks -- Highlights

  • Over half of the homes in the state have three or more bedrooms, making them suitable for larger families who need more room than the average household. However, only 38% of these homes are occupied by families with children. The rest are occupied by groups of adults, couples, or even people living alone (14% of all 3+ bedroom homes.) This situation makes it hard for many families with children to find affordable three-bedroom homes, especially when they are in the rental market.
  • There is a profound shortage of homes accessible to people with disabilities, especially low-income households. There are an estimated 650,000 households in which at least one member has a disability. Meanwhile, the stock of affordable housing reserved for low-income households only includes an estimated 10,200 accessible homes.
  • While the state has identified financially feasible pathways for adoption of high efficiency standards in new construction, it will be more difficult and expensive to retrofit older homes for efficiency, resilience, and electrification. The scale of the problem is substantial: 73% of existing homes still use on-site fossil fuels (gas or oil) for heating.

Family-Sized Units 

Accessible Housing  

Energy Efficiency  
  • The Commonwealth’s state-aided public housing portfolio has a $4+ billion capital maintenance backlog and needs significant investments to remain habitable, healthy, accessible, resilient, and efficient.
  • Natural hazards, especially flooding, are damaging homes well outside previously mapped hazard areas. One recent analysis estimated that 193,000 properties in Massachusetts face a substantial risk of coastal flooding. The property damage from inland flooding is projected to rise by 44% over the next 25 years.
  • Cape Cod, the Islands, and Western Massachusetts lost an estimated 9,000 year-round homes to seasonal conversion from 2010 to 2020.  

Natural Hazards and Climate Threats 

Seasonal Housing Conversion 

Conditions and Risks -- Table of Contents

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