The Housing Development Incentive Program on July 9 rolled out the largest funding boost to Massachusetts communities in the program’s history, doling out a total of $27 million to various cities and towns.

But the cash infusion for new housing will likely make only a small dent in what many residents see as a crisis of unaffordability.

The HDIP funds were awarded to 13 communities across the state to build 547 new units of housing in Barnstable, Brockton, Fall River, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield, and Worcester. The plan is to add housing to the so-called “Gateway Cities” as well as boost their local economies.

“We expanded the HDIP program in our tax cuts package, because it has a proven track record of spurring housing development in Gateway Cities and lowering costs,” said Gov. Maura Healey in a statement. “Our Gateway Cities are vital centers for industry and culture while also being positioned to help provide the housing we need to meet the demand. These funds help make projects possible that will create hundreds of homes, revitalize neighborhoods and strengthen our communities.”

The funding will also help ease the housing supply shortage in the state while potentially making the cost of living more affordable, claimed the administration.

But there is a key distinction with the HDIP-funded housing: they are, in the majority, intended to be market-rate. What this means is that these new housing units will be priced according to the average rent or sale prices in the area.

The housing crisis in Massachusetts is a major issue that poses problems on two fronts: a shortage in quantity, and an excess in cost. These two complications often intersect with and exacerbate each other. For example, a lack of inventory—houses put on the market to be sold—has contributed to a steady increase in home prices in the state. According to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, the median sale price for a single-family home in April of this year was 9% higher than it was this time last year.

Rather than struggle with these high prices, many residents choose instead to leave the state altogether to find a neighborhood they can afford, prompting the departure of many young, educated individuals.
These housing pressures are felt, perhaps even more acutely, by low-income households. For every 100 low-income renter household, there are only 46 available and affordable homes. Simply put, there is not enough housing in the state for them. Even where there is, many families find themselves severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing alone. This means they have to scrimp and sacrifice on other expenses, such as food or healthcare.

According to the MIT living wage calculator, for example, a four-person household would require one adult to work full time earning nearly $44 per hour to support the family in Bristol County. The cost goes up for those living closer to Boston; in Suffolk County, the hourly wage would have to be around $10 more to support the family. That’s far above minimum wage and many times the poverty-wage level.

For some, the lack of available and affordable housing has pushed them out onto the streets. At 19,141, the homeless population in Massachusetts ranks as the seventh highest in the nation. Since the pandemic, this number has only grown as rising prices, especially in the housing market, make it impossible for people to afford their homes. Most homeless persons in Massachusetts stay in shelters, but unless more affordable housing is built, and quickly, there is little likelihood that the homeless population will be able to move out of these shelters and back into permanent housing.

This threatens to further stretch Massachusetts’ already-overwhelmed shelter system. The recent influx of migrants into the state has seen shelter spots fill up to capacity and then some; in the past year, the Healey administration was forced to use Logan Airport as a temporary shelter space, though this ended in early July. Families in the shelter system, of which around half are immigrants, have been asked to move out once they reach nine months—another sign of how overburdened the shelter system is. State efforts have focused on mitigating this issue by equipping migrants with the resources to transition to more stable housing, such as through language classes and employment.

As of the moment, however, the shelter system still struggles to accommodate the rush of both migrants and the native residents who have been pushed out of their homes.

“Asking around, talking about immigrants in the shelter system cusps on taboo,” said Lee, a homeless woman, in an interview with the Sampan. With resources stretched thin, “people living in the shelter system report theft, entitlement, low standard of living and special treatment as main complaints…Many are unable to find a bed in a shelter or access adequate support services. Some people report being unhoused for 10 months to two years.”

Lee added that some people within the shelter system attribute these issues to the influx of migrants, “Leaving little room for the increasing number of native residents entering homelessness.”
“Regardless of intent, the influx of immigrants add increasing stress to a system operating beyond capacity,” Lee says.

In contrast to the HDIP program, the Affordable Homes Act that is working its way through the state Senate and House would direct more support toward housing for low-income families. A major portion of the funding in the legislation is planned for building affordable housing units; there will also be an emphasis on maintaining and repairing public housing units in the state. However, these benefits won’t be fully felt until the Act goes into effect.

Gov. Healey’s office also emphasized that while “HDIP is a specific tool to incentivize market rate development in Gateway Cities, [it] is not the only program dedicated to housing production.” Other measures, such as the 2024 Affordable Housing Development Grant Awards, which will go towards supporting around 1,700 affordable housing units for low-income residents, are also at play.
“We want a Massachusetts that’s affordable, accessible and resilient,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, “so that everyone can afford to work, live and build their future here.”

So far, however, that goal appears a distance away.