For Boston Workforce, Housing Is Low-Quality, Far Away, or Expensive

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For Boston Workforce, Housing Is Low-Quality, Far Away, or Expensive
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Despite the recent economic downturn, housing in the Boston metro area remains unaffordable to the majority of workforce households. According to this 2010 Priced Out report, there is a current shortage of approximately 25,000 housing units accessible to the region's employment centers, and the shortage is expected to grow over the next decade. The only affordable housing in the Boston metro area is on the periphery, far from jobs.

Major findings:

  • Between 2014 and 2020, the Boston area will experience an additional shortage of 11,000 units of workforce.
  • Housing stock near employment centers is low-quality or unaffordable.
  • The amount of Boston housing rated moderately or severely inadequate by the American Housing Survey is 2 to 4 times that in comparable metro areas, and is more likely to be workforce rental housing.
  • Workforce households with 3 or more people have a particularly hard time finding affordable rental housing.
  • In Boston, public financing solutions are needed to create affordable rentals due to the high costs of land, entitlement, and construction.