Worcester housing market surges, leaving one man with nowhere to go

Dave Vespucci fears he’s on the verge of homelessness.

For 22 years, Vespucci has lived in a sky-blue duplex in a quiet residential neighborhood in Worcester. He says he’s been a good tenant, never missing rent and caring for the house like he owns it.

But with property values and rents across Worcester surging, Vespucci’s landlord is forcing him out as part of a plan to renovate the house and sell it for a profit. Vespucci, who has diabetes and a bad back after working decades in the construction industry, lives off $850 monthly disability payments. He’s unsure whether he’ll be able to find a new apartment he can afford.

“The stress is killing me,” Vespucci said, noting he’s lost about 20 pounds over the last several months since learning he must move. “[Rental] prices are outrageous.”

Vespucci’s plight has become common in Worcester where housing values are up 117% since 2021 and experts say the market is squeezing out more than 20,000 residents struggling to afford rent. The problem stems from Central Massachusetts’ population growth over the last decade. Worcester’s supply of affordable housing isn’t keeping up with increasing demand.

Just 13.5% of Worcester’s housing stock is affordable for low- to moderate-income households. For comparison, that number is higher in Massachusetts’ two other largest cities: 21% in Boston and 16% in Springfield.

According to the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, about half of all Worcester residents are cost-burdened, meaning they pay at least 30% of their income on rent and utilities.

While the Boston area has long been one of the most expensive places to live in the country, Worcester remained affordable until around 2016. That’s when Boston-based developers began migrating to Worcester where land was cheaper.

Worcester city officials welcomed the developers because, until then, the city had struggled to attract private development. Since then, developers have built thousands of new units across Worcester.

Worcester officials say they’re trying to address the city’s housing shortage. Last year, the city created an affordable housing trust fund, a pot of money that can be used to fund affordable housing, rehab existing units and assist low-income homebuyers.

Now, the city is considering forcing developers to include a minimum percentage of affordable units in the new housing developments via an inclusionary zoning ordinance.

Worcester’s city council recently voted unanimously to hold a public hearing to further discuss inclusionary zoning. City officials say the city manager could submit an inclusionary zoning ordinance for council to review as soon as this summer.

Vespucci said those changes probably won’t take effect soon enough to help with his housing search. But he hopes they still happen, so more people don’t have to experience what he’s going through.

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

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