Home sales up in August; lawmakers pushing for more housing stock
With fresh numbers showing housing sales up in August for the third straight month, lawmakers on Tuesday morning were set to hear a presentation on how the housing supply in Massachusetts compares to other parts of the country that are competing for workers with the Bay State.
Massachusetts Housing Partnership Executive Director Clark Ziegler and Metropolitan Area Planning Council Assistant Data Director Tim Reardon plan to testify before the legislature's Housing Committee on a bill to increase the housing stock that is sponsored by the panel's co-chairs, Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry and Rep. Kevin Honan, both Democrats from Boston.
A.D. Makepeace CEO Michael Hogan, who also chairs the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, and Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone also plan to press for the bill's passage, according to Citizens' Housing and Planning Association.
While the housing stock for low- and moderate-income residents continues to be a cause of concern, housing production legislation has not been identified as a top priority among Beacon Hill leaders, who appear focused on a short-term agenda that includes a spending bill and legislation to address energy production policies, ways to slow down the opiate abuse crisis in Massachusetts, and efforts to make public records more easily accessible.
The Warren Group Tuesday morning reported on a continued "housing boom" in Massachusetts. At 6,284, single-family home sales in August surpassed the 6,000 mark for the first time since August 2005 and were up 16 percent over August 2014. The median home sale price in August was $359,000 and the year-to-date median price of $345,000 is up 3 percent compared to the same period in 2014.
The median price of single family homes has risen in 12 of the last 14 months, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, which said Tuesday that new listings added to the market were up almost 12 percent over last year, the biggest increase since June 2014.
"This summer has seen some of the highest year-over-year closed sales increases in recent years due to a very active buyers market this spring," association president Corinne Fitzgerald, broker-owner of Fitzgerald Real Estate in Greenfield, said in a statement. "Additionally, with all these new listings added to the market this month, it suggests to me that we can keep this momentum going into the fall."
In addition to promoting cluster development, the bill requires the Baker administration to create a small-scale housing development demonstration program to create at least 1,000 units within four years with the use of low-income housing tax credits.
The housing production bill would also require the Baker administration to report to the Legislature on the fiscal impacts of new housing needed to support existing employment levels through 2040 and mechanisms to mitigate negative fiscal impacts of new housing on cities and towns, including development impact fees, one-time incentive payments, recurring mitigation payments, or changes to the formula used to distribute local aid to cities and towns.
The committee has six bills on its agenda, including legislation expediting construction of multi-family housing and calling for a special commission to investigate the need for accessible homes for the elderly, returning veterans and individuals with disabilities.
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