What Happened To Massachusetts' Affordable Neighborhoods?

Finding a decent place to live near Boston without breaking the bank has long been a challenge, but renters - and even home buyers - often found success by expanding their search.

Strike out in Medford? Consider moving next door to Malden. Or head south to Quincy. Or maybe west, to Framingham or Natick.

But increasingly, experts say, even communities that used to be considered affordable are no longer viable options for those on the lower rungs of the income ladder. Around the state, there’s a large swath of people struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

“If you are a lower or a lower middle-income family, it’s well-nigh impossible for you to find a home you can afford in Greater Boston,” said Marc Draisen, executive director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).

The numbers bear out this trend — the median home price in Massachusettss has climbed from $285,000 in 2011 to $510,000 in 2021, according to the Warren Group.

Throughout the region, it’s not tony suburbs, but communities once considered affordable that have seen some of the most dramatic gains in home values.

East Boston, long a first stop for new immigrants, has become ground zero in the city’s red-hot real estate market. Between 2011 and 2021 the value of a single-family home in the neighborhood shot up 226% - the sharpest hike of any Boston neighborhood, according to U.S. Census data.

Census data indicate home values are up more than 200% in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury. Outside the city - in Everett, Revere, Brockton, Lynn and Lawrence - single-family home values have increased 147% or more in that same time period. In Worcester, over the last decade, the value of a single-family home rose 117%.

“Communities that have been traditionally and historically more affordable and are largely communities of color, these are the communities where the pressures are even more significant right now,” said Rachel Heller, CEO of Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA).

Competition for housing has drive up home prices to record levels across Massachusetts. Some of the biggest gains have happened in communities where residents can least afford to pay more. GBH News is exploring the impact in the series Priced Out: The fight for housing in Massachusetts. https://www.wgbh.org/news/pricedout

GBH News is a premier source for in-depth local news and original story telling based in Boston, Massachusetts.
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