BUYING A HOME in Mattapan is hard. Prices are high and inventory is low. The same is true throughout the greater Boston area. And if you are a person of […]
Housing
Posted inUncategorized
Unpaid $3,056 tax bill may cost Oxford man his $254,000 home
JOHN SMITH in 1977 bought his home in Oxford, a town just west of Worcester. He worked at a Sakrete Concrete manufacturing facility in his hometown, raised a family there, and by all accounts was a responsible homeowner. He […]
Posted inEconomy
The silent majority in support of housing action
RECENT HIGH-PROFILE opposition to new housing has many wondering whether Massachusetts has lost its appetite for ramping up housing production. Last year, we saw the bipartisan passage of the Baker […]
Posted inEconomy
Report urges action on addressing inequities post-COVIDÂ
DESPITE A NATIONWIDE reckoning on race, Massachusetts society post-COVID could see even worsening inequities in society based on class and race, if policymakers do not make a conscious effort to […]
Posted inUncategorized
Evictions happening less today than pre-COVID
WHEN STATE and federal COVID-related moratoriums on evictions ended, advocates worried that there would be a tsunami of people losing their homes. But, state officials said Friday, an increase in rental […]
Posted inOpinion
6 myths about emergency rental assistance
RONALD REAGAN once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” That statement was wrong then, and those […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Boston issues temporary eviction moratorium
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LANDLORDS AND PROPERTY owners will be barred from seeking to evict tenants in Boston under a new city-level moratorium acting Mayor Kim Janey announced Tuesday afternoon. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Cape Cod’s housing Catch-22
MELANIE SMALL has been out of a home for about a month. She was living in a rental in Orleans with her 8-year-old daughter until her landlord sold the unit […]
Posted inOpinion
Veterans facing homelessness deserve more
WHILE CONTINUING TO contend with the evolving challenges of the pandemic, we must return attention to a crisis that long predated COVID-19 – homelessness in our region. This crisis is […]
Posted inUncategorized
Biden urges states to adopt eviction moratoriums
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION on Monday called on states without bans, such as Massachusetts, to put in place eviction moratoriums for at the least August and September. The state law blocking […]
Posted inEconomy
End of eviction moratorium brings worry
ANXIETY IS HIGH among tenants, landlords, and housing advocates as the midnight Saturday expiration date for the federal eviction moratorium looms, but what the end of the tenant protection will […]
Posted inUncategorized
Housing affordability becoming ‘existential crisis’ for Cape Cod
SOARING HOUSING COSTS have become an alarming problem across the state, but on Cape Cod the crisis is even more urgent. While the area’s natural beauty and beaches make it […]
Posted inEconomy
Baker official pitches housing plan to close racial homeownership gapÂ
NEARLY 70 PERCENT of White households in Massachusetts own a home. Only 37.4 percent of non-White households own a home. That gives Massachusetts the seventh highest racial homeownership gap in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Single-family home prices continue to soar
MASSACHUSETTS’ SOARING HOUSING market remains red-hot, and continues to demand record-high prices, especially for single-family homes, according to data released Wednesday by The Warren Group. The monthly data from June, […]
Posted inPolitics
Most mayoral candidates pan the Seaport
THE FIVE CANDIDATES for mayor of Boston all have a problem with the city’s shiniest bauble – the Seaport District. At an in-person forum on development sponsored by the Responsible […]
Posted inOpinion
Rent control is not the answer for Boston
BOSTON FACES a major choice in this fall’s election: will we commit to making housing in our city truly affordable for all, or will we embrace an outdated housing strategy […]
Posted inOpinion
In praise of downtowns, Main Streets
COMING FROM NEWTON Â I should have known that Greater Boston has hundreds of wonderful little downtowns and village centers, the hearts of walkable neighborhoods. Newton itself has 13 villages. I […]
Posted inThe Download
Mass Reboot: Home
The coronavirus pandemic has often served as a magnifying glass, accentuating and amplifying existing trends in our society. With housing, for example, COVID-19 showed us what we already suspected – […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass Reboot: Home
THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic has often served as a magnifying glass, accentuating and amplifying existing trends in our society. With housing, for example, COVID-19 showed us what we already suspected – […]
Posted inOpinion
Real estate key driver of economy
WITHOUT A DOUBT, this last year has been hard on every industry, and the real estate market was not immune to the economic hardships and the uncertainty brought on by […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Unless you’re selling, hot housing market is concerning
Many publications have written a version of the same story. The Cape Cod Times reports that home sales on the Cape keep breaking records, making it the “best time ever […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Unless you’re selling, hot housing market is concerning
MANY PUBLICATIONS have written a version of the same story. The Cape Cod Times reports that home sales on the Cape keep breaking records, making it the “best time ever […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting the details right on transit oriented development law
PASSING AMBITIOUS LEGISLATION matters for obvious reasons, but so too does the rule-making process that follows a law’s passage. Final language often leaves state agencies with tremendous leeway, and real-world […]
Posted inOpinion
Building a city center serving six cities
QUICK QUIZ: What is the biggest growth district in Massachusetts outside of the city of Boston right now? Did you guess Kendall Square? Cambridge Crossing? Somerville’s Union Square? Watertown’s Arsenal […]