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4h ago

Greater Boston Housing Report Finds Starter-Home Access Collapsing as Permits Plunge

Despite 98,000 homes added since 2020, the region remains far from the state’s 2035 production goal.

Houses line the street in Milton, MA.
Ranch houses in Randolph. New Housing along the south shore. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald) .
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Overview

  • Only one in seven renter households can afford a starter home, down from nearly one in three in 2021.
  • The income needed for an entry-level mortgage jumped from about $98,000 in 2021 to over $162,000 in 2025.
  • Building permits fell from nearly 20,000 statewide in 2021 to just over 14,000 in 2024, with 2025 pacing even lower and under 9,000 in Greater Boston last year.
  • MBTA Communities zoning created capacity for up to 487,000 multifamily units, yet production varies widely with Lexington seeing new building and little in Wellesley and Needham.
  • State leaders highlighted a need for 222,000 additional homes by 2035, pointing to recent investments as Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll called housing the administration’s top challenge.