Housing

This edition of The House Call compares Massachusetts home construction data to the state's 10-year housing production goal and the construction pace in other states. It also tracks the accelerating pace of accessory dwelling unit permitting in Massachusetts since the beginning of 2025.

Despite recent statewide reform efforts, residential permitting in Massachusetts remains slow and unpredictable. As housing costs push families and employers toward lower-cost states like New Hampshire and Rhode Island, cities and towns don't have to wait for Beacon Hill to act. Much of the delay and added cost happens out of public view, in the back-office interactions between applicants, staff, and volunteer board members that occur long before any public hearing.

This month's edition of The House Call breaks down results from the Census Bureau's 2025 Characteristics of New Housing Survey, including affordability, amenities, and production. It also describes the Massachusetts court case that stopped a rent control petition from appearing before voters this fall.

Boston – A new Pioneer Institute report finds that a mismatch between who lives in Massachusetts and the housing being built is squeezing two generations at once: young families who cannot get into a house, and seniors who cannot downsize. Local land use rules often make it difficult to build small, reasonably priced, and low-maintenance homes, despite a growing need for them as the population ages and average household sizes continue to shrink.

This edition of The House Call explores new Census Bureau data showing how building permit activity declined in Massachusetts between 2024 and 2025. It also highlights a court case in Somerville over whether, in at least some contexts, prevailing wage standards should apply to off-site modular construction.

Welcome to the May edition of The House Call. This edition breaks down results from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Young Residents Survey, including the appetite for legislative action on housing costs, and previews our new AI-enabled local land use regulation...

This April edition of The House Call discusses a federal bill that, if passed, would be the most comprehensive supply-focused federal housing legislation enacted in decades. It also explains Massachusetts’ starter home zoning district program and its potential implementation challenges.

This month’s edition of The House Call discusses results from a state survey of municipalities on accessory dwelling unit permitting activity. It also describes the debate over whether building codes should be reformed to allow some apartment buildings to contain only one staircase.

This edition of The House Call describes a legal complaint alleging that Cambridge’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, which requires set-asides for below-market-rate housing in new development, is a regulatory taking under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. It also describes a number of actions the Commonwealth...

This edition of The House Call explores the 2025 update to Massachusetts’ Subsidized Housing Inventory, showing a spike in the number of communities that have at least 10% of their housing stocks in the Inventory. It also explains the housing-related ballot questions that could...