I bought my house in Dorchester (Boston) in 1979 when they were being given away. Today, Boston is unaffordable for anyone without a foothold or household income of $120,000 to rent or $190,000 to buy, with the exception of income-restricted housing. Reforms described in “Saying ‘Yes’ to Housing” (February issue) are helpful but have marginal effects on the cost to build housing. A modest two-bedroom apartment in Boston costs at least $700,000 to build, primarily because of the cost of land, materials, and labor. Major subsidies are required for affordability to the middle and working class. Boston cobbles together federal, state, and city subsidy sources, but the main subsidy is the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Most subsidies are only for rental housing. Income-restricted owner-occupied housing, critical for generational wealth building, has fewer avenues for success.
Moreover, in a prosperous city with a tiny footprint, like Boston or San Francisco (roughly 45 square miles each), most of the surrounding cities and towns vigorously oppose most attempts at multifamily housing at all, let alone income-restricted housing. Many of the wealthy suburbs of Boston see themselves as the country villages they were in the 18th and early 19th century, rather than the bedrooms for the wealthy who depend upon the Boston economy for the generation of that wealth. The answer is money, lots of it. Without subsidies to build, the middle class and working class in economically successful major cities will be priced out. It’s already happening here.
I bought my house in Dorchester (Boston) in 1979 when they were being given away. Today, Boston is unaffordable for anyone without a foothold or household income of $120,000 to rent or $190,000 to buy, with the exception of income-restricted housing. Reforms described in “Saying ‘Yes’ to Housing” (February issue) are helpful but have marginal effects on the cost to build housing. A modest two-bedroom apartment in Boston costs at least $700,000 to build, primarily because of the cost of land, materials, and labor. Major subsidies are required for affordability to the middle and working class. Boston cobbles together federal, state, and city subsidy sources, but the main subsidy is the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits. Most subsidies are only for rental housing. Income-restricted owner-occupied housing, critical for generational wealth building, has fewer avenues for success.
Moreover, in a prosperous city with a tiny footprint, like Boston or San Francisco (roughly 45 square miles each), most of the surrounding cities and towns vigorously oppose most attempts at multifamily housing at all, let alone income-restricted housing. Many of the wealthy suburbs of Boston see themselves as the country villages they were in the 18th and early 19th century, rather than the bedrooms for the wealthy who depend upon the Boston economy for the generation of that wealth. The answer is money, lots of it. Without subsidies to build, the middle class and working class in economically successful major cities will be priced out. It’s already happening here.