Efforts to expand housing production through legislation and expanded permitting in Massachusetts have helped slow but not reverse the housing cost and supply trends that have made the state especially challenging for renters and homeowners, according to the 2026 Greater Boston Housing Report Card.
The report, which was released November 10th by the Boston Foundation, finds that while price increases have leveled off for both homebuyers and renters, the combination of slowing population growth and a slower-growth economy have kept housing production below the levels needed to meet the region’s housing goals.
Once again this year, the research team from Boston Indicators wove together data on Greater Boston’s demographics, housing prices, affordability, and housing instability in the Core Metrics section of the report. This year’s Special Topic section, produced by researchers from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, explored one possible path toward rental affordability, the development of social housing projects that leverage public or nonprofit investments to create housing that can be offered at below-market rate rents.
The persistence of high cost burdens for Greater Boston renters is leading to the exploration of several ideas for improving affordability. This year’s report Special Topic digs into the potential of social housing, housing that uses public and/or nonprofit funds to help create permanently affordable housing options for a mix of incomes and family sizes.