Charted: Massachusetts' housing supply gap
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It's no secret that Massachusetts' population far outpaces its housing stock. But new estimates from the D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center show how stark the gap is.
What's happening: The number of single-family housing permit approvals dropped by nearly half between the 2000s and the 2010s, according to the BPC's data.
- While multi-family building approvals have bounced back since their lowest levels in the 1990s, the overall number of housing permits remains a fraction of what it used to be.
Zoom out: Housing stock increased during the last decade by just under 136,000, lagging far behind the estimated 167,000 new households during that same period, the report states, citing data from the American Community Survey.
- The actual population increase is likely higher when factoring historically hard-to-count populations, like college students, seniors and immigrants.
The bottom line: Permit approvals in Massachusetts were 38% lower on average in the 21st century (2000-2021) than in the latter half of the 20th century (1960-1999), the report estimates.