Report: Mass. over 300,000 homes behind pace needed to meet demand

Image/Courtesy Massachusetts is among the furthest behind where new-home construction should be in order to keep up with demand and growth, according to a new report.

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By Grant Welker

Massachusetts is 329,000 homes behind the pace for construction growth needed to meet demand and keep prices from rising too high, according to a report from a pro-growth housing group.

If Massachusetts is able to meet that demand in the next 20 years, prices would be 7.7 percent lower than if it isn't able to, the report released Monday by Up For Growth said. That's the fifth-highest potential price savings in the country.

Massachusetts single-family home prices hit $340,000 in February, up 6.4 percent from a year ago, according to The Warren Group.

At that number -- more than 15 percent short of demand -- Massachusetts is the third-highest in the country, behind only California and Florida, two of the most populous states with far more people than Massachusetts.

The report looked at housing prices and demand from 2000 to 2015. In all, 23 states, mostly on the coasts, fell short of what the group said was necessary growth in order to keep prices affordable for most people.

Nationally, 7.3 million homes or 5 percent of the total housing stock would have needed to be built since 2000 in order to keep prices from rising too fast, Up For Growth said.

Each New England state is said to be behind on meeting housing demand, according to Up For Growth. Connecticut is second behind Massachusetts, at 126,000 new homes needed to keep up.