Innovate, Educate, Elevate

Nationally, Massachusetts has among the highest housing prices, with a median sale price of $667,628 for all homes compared to the national average of $398,771. Between October 2016-2025, Massachusetts single-family home prices went up 80.5%, mirroring the climb of housing prices across New England following the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2026, Massachusetts has the nation’s third highest average rent at $2,259 a month. House prices nationally surged in 2021. This was mainly attributed to increased housing demand resulting from remote work, federal stimulus payments, and low interest rates coupled with increased supply chain disruptions that raised the cost of building and limited construction of new homes.

This edition of The House Call describes a proposed zoning reform that would make it easier to add housing to existing properties in Hyde Park, Roslindale, and West Roxbury. It also provides an update about pending state legislation related to housing.

Massachusetts remains a venture capital powerhouse amid cost-driven declines in business formation and private sector jobs AT A GLANCE: BOSTON – Massachusetts remains one of the nation’s leading innovation economies, attracting significant venture capital and ranking third nationally in business research and…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly expanding and has already entered K-12 schools nationwide. November 2025 data from the Rand Institute show that the majority of teachers and students alike use AI to complete educational tasks. Yet, 80 percent of students do not believe they are adequately trained to use these emerging technologies (Figure 1).