Introduction
In order to address high housing costs and meet expected demand, Massachusetts needs to add at least 222,000 year-round homes over the next decade, starting in 2025. By building more homes, we can address supply constraints, give families more options, and make housing more affordable for all.
Since taking office, the Healey-Driscoll Administration has made building more housing and lowering costs a top priority. There are a lot of different ways to measure all of the housing activity that has resulted: new projects proposed, funding distributed, building permits issued, ribbon-cuttings. In August 2025, HLC estimated that approximately 90,400 homes had passed one of those milestones since the Administration took office in January 2023. The most important milestone is when the first occupants put their keys in the door and walk into a new home for the first time. That is the metric that will demonstrate progress toward our goal of adding 222,000 new homes to the housing stock over the ten years from 2025 – 2035.
Using the best data now available, HLC is now tracking progress toward that goal, starting in January 2025. This reporting offers a detailed and current picture of where the housing stock is growing, so the state can make smart investments and policy decisions. 222,000 new homes is the floor, not the ceiling. With a more affordable housing market, more people can choose to live in Massachusetts, and we'll need to make sure we have enough homes to accommodate them.
Net new units is only one measure of housing progress. Regardless of projected need or progress, every region has a shortage of affordable and accessible housing, as well as unique regional conditions. HLC will continue to provide support and investments across the Commonwealth.
Statewide Progress in 2025
Massachusetts made major progress toward its production target in 2025. Using Census Bureau data, HLC found that the number of residential addresses increased from 3,073,303 in November 2024 to 3,107,864 in November 2025, a net gain of more than 34,500 homes.
One year into the decade, Massachusetts is already 15.6% of the way toward the goal. Driven by state and local efforts to unlock housing production, historic levels of investments, and a backlog of Covid-era projects, new homes were delivered at a rate well above that seen in recent decades.
While the progress so far is encouraging, we still have a long road ahead. The state still needs to add at least 187,000 homes over the next nine years. This is doable if we continue to work intentionally with local partners and public and private sector homebuilders. Increasing material costs, federal tariffs, labor shortages, high interest rates, and economic instability could make it harder to build. These macroeconomic factors are impacting the pace of housing starts in Massachusetts and nationwide. The Healey-Driscoll Administration will continue to make targeted investments and take bold action to build more homes, faster.
Regional Progress in 2025
Housing needs vary substantially across the Commonwealth's thirteen regions and each is making progress toward its production goal. The Greater Boston Region needs the most units overall and gained over 19,000 addresses in the past year. Seven other regions added between 1,500 and 2,700 homes over that period, led by Central Massachusetts with 2,630 new addresses.
Net Production by Municipality in 2025
Municipalities play a key role in housing production, from zoning for multifamily housing to permit processes for ADUs to local housing production funding and initiatives. 341 of the Commonwealth's 351 cities and towns (97%) have seen a net increase in residential addresses since November 2024, with only 5 seeing no change and 5 seeing small net decreases. The dashboard below aggregates Census Bureau block-level address count data to municipalities and tracks net changes between November 2024 and November 2025.
The visualization below shows the role that each municipality has played in the Commonwealth's overall progress to the A Home For Everyone goal, and is filterable by RPA.
Project Spotlights
The 34,561 new homes added to the supply in 2025 ranged from small accessory dwelling units or single family homes to duplexes, and large multifamily buildings. This section spotlights a small sample of new residential developments that illustrate how housing development is taking place across Massachusetts. Mouse over any icon to learn more about a project.
How does this new data fit into the broader context?
While progress to the 222,000-unit goal is an important benchmark, it is just one indicator. That's why A Home for Everyone plan includes five core strategy areas: we need to achieve a state of housing abundance to reach any of our goals, but it is just as important that we preserve homes and affordability, support households directly, build a stronger safety net, and strengthen partnerships for shared planning and action across sectors. The plan provides a ten-year roadmap for ending every aspect of the housing crisis across every region, and HLC will continue to make bold efforts and track progress toward these goals until we meet them.
| Date published: | June 25, 2026 |
|---|