I would like to make two points: – interestingly, a lot of young families have been moving in to Farrar Pond village, to the extent that they have built a playground. It may be that young people don’t want to spend their weekends mowing a lawn or it may be that they just can’t afford a house, but at any rate, they seem to be happy to move into a condo.
– I think people are missing the point of the push for new housing. The theory is that if you build a lot more housing, the overall price of the existing housing stock will come down. So it doesn’t need to be moderate income housing to make houses more affordable overall. On Oct 19, 2023, at 10:42 AM, Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com> wrote:
I simply asked if we had asked them, rather than presume.
With little to no money we chose Lincoln ( the same $) as a very modest townhouse in Cambridge. Lincoln lodgings were much smaller, but single family and with open space. - just our choice. I don’t assume or presume what would be anyone else’s priority. Ours was a single family house. Sent from my iPhone On Oct 19, 2023, at 1:30 PM, Chris McCarthy <kb1...@gmail.com> wrote:
Sara,
I think many people would want to live in a townhouse in Lincoln. Not everyone wants a 2 acre compound and the environmental impact that goes along with it. That also doesn't speak to the fact that those who care for our children, prepare and supply our food, keep our water and electricity flowing can't even afford that if they wanted.
I'm unfortunately no longer surprised by the massive disconnect between multi million dollar land owners and the common person. A tale as old as time.
- Chris To me, it hits the point- get out of the way of developers!
Lincoln could change zoning to encourage townhouses. I wonder if any posting to advocate for HCA zoning would elect to convert their own property to a townhouse configuration or support their neighbors who chose to do so? Sent from my iPhone I think this misses the point.
The legacy of restrictive zoning has had a huge impact on housing prices in the region, thus making prices unaffordable locally across both single-family and multi-family options. Supply and demand. Which will only get worse and have broader repercussions for our regional economy in the near term unless we act.
I do also think there needs to be a cultural shift away from making single-family housing the ideal, rather than just one of many attractive housing types. If the Housing Choice Act and those in charge REALLY wanted to help “empty nesters” and “first time home buyers” they would have included affordable housing as a requirement in this act.
The truth is, the HCA has NO requirement for affordable housing. It allows each town to require UP TO 10% affordable housing. The other 90% can be at market rate ($$$$) unless a town is willing to bribe the developer to add more, as we did with Oriole Landing and a $1 million dollar “loan” (at 0% interest and only to be repaid if they lose units of affordable housing.)
The only ones benefiting from the HCA are developers.
There isn’t just a housing crisis. There is an AFFORDABLE housing crisis. That missing word is important when you’re going to use diversity and equity to describe it.
As far as I know, empty nesters expect their monthly housing payment to downsize at the same time their house size does.
But Lincoln Empty nesters you’re in luck! Oriole Landing has multiple units with immediate availability! You can move into this lovely 1156 square foot unit for the low low price of $4076 a month! Pack your bags now because we hear the condo market is hot in these NIMBY towns! 🧳📦
Also, if there is such a huge demand for market rate condos and apartments in Lincoln and surrounding towns, why does Oriole Landing have any availability? You’d think that there would be a waiting list of people wanting to move in….
I had a very different reaction to the article. Nowhere in the piece did I discern that the Globe's Spotlight's team's thesis is that there is a housing crisis for those looking for single-family homes. Rather, the crux of the article (and this is just the first in a series) is summed up in the introductory paragraphs below.
John
For Milton’s story is everywhere – it is the story of Boston’s pricey suburbs, cocooned by restrictive single-family zoning rules that make apartment and condo projects so hard to permit that they are rarely built. It is the story of a town, and region, that has for half a century doubled down on the status quo, or made zoning even more restrictive, all but guaranteeing that single-family home prices — rising more steeply here than in any other state since 1980 — will remain shockingly high. The fallout from these outrageous home prices is a sort of economic climate change, steadily making much of the region uninhabitable for those of modest incomes. Expensive housing acts as a golden gate, and there is a price to be paid for living in a gated community. This is the price: Across this region, the dream of suburban life is largely foreclosed by lack of affordable options to the children of those who live in the suburbs now, to the town employees who keep municipalities humming, to newcomers who might bring new energies to town — and added diversity of class and race. One fact became obvious in the course of this review: The sense of urgency here does not match this brewing crisis. Not even close. One reason may be that swelling property values don’t feel like a crisis for those who bought into the market years or decades ago, they feel like a windfall. This region, Milton included, is awash in paper millionaires. But standing pat will suffocate hope — the hope of many now trying to enter this mad housing market, from empty-nesters hoping to downsize in the town they know, to newcomers seeking to buy a first home as careers and prosperity grow.
Yes -very inserting article. And very well written-very readable.
But what is of special note is that the article calls it a crisis for those seeking SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. Those are the first examples they offer.
And, then the pivot is to apartment developments and condos, with no equivalent documentation of demand…just the assertion. It is easy to document the demand for affordable units as there are waging lists. On the other hand, we are not documenting demand for market rate, especially high end units. It seems there is no discussion as to how to meet the noted demand for single family homes.
Also of note is the graph of where there are a lot of building permits being pulled and where there are not, without also noting that lots of permits are being pulled where land is easier to come by, like the Denver area.
The real challenge will be how to meet demand for single family homes in our area.
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