Immigration Is Not Making Housing Less Affordable - Invisible People BiWeekly News

Sharing this worthy source of homelessness information.

This edition also looks at how service providers are reducing racial disparities, indigenous homelessness, sweeps, homeless mortality and more.

View this email in your browser Hi Neighbor, As the 2024 election heats up, debates around housing affordability and immigration are taking center stage. Some candidates blame the recent influx of 3.3 million immigrants for soaring home prices, but this narrative overlooks the real culprits: high borrowing costs and restrictive zoning laws. Our lead article explores how these misconceptions miss the mark and how immigration might actually contribute positively by boosting the construction workforce and revitalizing underinvested neighborhoods. Invisible People is an independent non-profit media publisher dedicated to solving homelessness. Your generous donations enable us to continue our crucial work and make a real difference. Thank you! NO, IMMIGRATION IS NOT MAKING HOUSING LESS AFFORDABLE Immigration isn't the reason housing is unaffordable. The real culprits? High borrowing costs, restrictive zoning laws, and insufficient housing supply. Learn how immigration might actually help ease the housing crisis. THE REAL SOLUTION TO HOMELESSNESS? IT'S ALWAYS BEEN HOUSING 🚨 Politicians claim criminalizing homelessness is "tough love," but the truth is, only affordable housing will solve the crisis. Discover why housing is the real solution and how you can make a difference. HOW SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE REDUCING RACIAL DISPARITIES IN HOMELESSNESS Service providers are stepping up to tackle these inequities with innovative strategies and federal funding. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES BEAR THE BRUNT OF NATIONAL HOMELESSNESS SURGE Indigenous communities are facing a disproportionate surge in homelessness, with harsh living conditions and limited resources compounding the crisis. RESULTS ARE IN FROM UTAH'S FIRST HOMELESS MORTALITY REPORT Unhoused Utahns are dying at a staggering rate—10 times higher than the general population, and 16 years younger on average. These tragic deaths are preventable, and the data proves it. Shawn shares his journey from homelessness to media spotlight, offering journalists tools on covering the issue with respect, empathy, and dignity. DONATE DONATE

Boston Globe: "Median home sale prices have risen across Mass. since 2018"

"It’s no secret that home prices have soared to new heights in Greater Boston. But most of the towns in Massachusetts that have seen the fastest rise in home prices in recent years aren’t actually inside Route 128.

Town-by-town median home sale price data provided by The Warren Group, a real estate information firm, offer a bird’s eye view of recent trends. The data show that in the past five years, prices have risen the most in towns outside Greater Boston.

Just west of Worcester, Spencer saw its median home sale price go from $225,000 in 2018 to $407,500 in 2023 — an 81 percent increase. The median price in nearby Charlton went from $284,900 to $499,950 over the same time period, up about 75 percent. The dataset includes only towns where there have been 25 or more transactions in 2023."

Continue reading the article online -> 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/03/business/massachusetts-cape-cod-median-home-price-increase-map-greater-boston-real-estate/

Boston Globe: "Median home sale prices have risen across Mass. since 2018"

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Did you catch the Boston Globe article on the BEN for Franklin group?

"For Cobi Frongillo, a town councilor in Franklin, every meeting about a new housing development goes about the same way.

First, the pitch from the developer. Then, a barrage of complaints quickly follows. The Franklin residents who show up generally hate the height of the building, how large it is, the number of parking spots — pretty much everything about the proposal.

It can be difficult for Frongillo, 25, to sit through. The only way he can afford to live in Franklin is by renting a backyard cottage from his parents, and he sees how few people his age have any opportunity to stay in the community where they grew up. Allowing more new homes in Franklin could help, he said.

Fed up with the hostile reception to new development in Franklin, Frongillo and a group of other residents formed what was once a rare breed of advocacy organization in Boston-area suburbs: a pro-housing group, whose members go to public meetings to say yes to more housing development, instead of no."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required) -> 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/05/25/business/housing-suburbs-greater-boston-activists/

Visit the Building Equitable Neighborhoods for Franklin webpage to find out more about the group and perhaps even join the mailing list to join in the conversations.  https://ben4franklin.org/

Cobi Frongillo is a 25-year-old town council member in Franklin who lives in a cottage in his parents' backyard — the only way he can afford to live in the suburban town, he says. SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

Washington Post: "Are home prices still rising? See how prices have changed in your area"

"Many first time home buyers are struggling to break into the U.S. housing market as prices continue to rise. 

Since 2019, home prices have surged 54 percent. In the last year, prices increased 5.8 percent — a more steady rise after the volatile years of the early pandemic, according to a Washington Post analysis of home value data from the mortgage technology division of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). But high interest rates, low inventory and years of price jumps continue to challenge Americans buying homes. 

Prices vary widely depending on where you live. Enter your Zip code below to see how the market value of the average home in your area has changed."

Are home prices still rising? See how prices have changed in your area"

Shared from -> https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2024/housing-market-price-trends-zip-code-map/

"We're not going to overcome this deficit anytime soon just building single-family housing."

Jonathan Berk (@berkie1) posted  Sun, Dec 17, 2023:

America's Housing Shortage Explained In One Chart 🏠

"We're not going to overcome this deficit anytime soon just building single-family housing."

"There aren't enough homes to keep up with the increase in households"

From the article quoted:

Why it matters: There aren't enough homes to keep up with the increase in households.

• Other estimates also put the size of the country's housing shortage in the millions. 

What they're saying: "We're not going to overcome this deficit anytime soon just building single-family housing," Hines managing director Ryan McCullough tells Axios.

• Between the lines: Apartment construction surged in recent years.

Yes, but: Most newly built housing is high-end, and not widely affordable.

Link to article -> https://t.co/kGUhvcuQLC   or https://www.axios.com/2023/12/16/housing-market-why-homes-expensive-chart-inventory

Shared from -> https://t.co/PJv2oBkbOh

Shared from Jonathan Berk  "Supporting a new generation of walkable neighborhoods with housing abundance, active public realms, & thriving small business ecosystems. Founder: 

@remainplaces"

“In terms of a moral imperative, it’s despicable to think we can’t do better”

"Nearing 70 years old, Mary McPeak had long had a stable home in Greater Boston. But after a breakup four years ago, she suddenly found herself unmoored, couch-surfing at friends’ homes or renting a room while she faced years-long wait lists for affordable senior housing.

Then a break: McPeak “won the lottery,” figuratively and quite literally, when she was selected in 2020 by lottery for a new senior housing complex, the Brown Family House in Brookline run by 2Life Communities.

“It was sheer, blind, ridiculous luck,” said McPeak, now 73. The retired secretary has lived in her subsidized one-bedroom apartment for nearly three years now. “It was so lucky, it was enough to believe in God.”

Such is the state of affordable housing for seniors in Massachusetts, where it seemingly takes divine intervention to find a home. In an inventory-starved market, the graying population faces some of the steepest hurdles in the country to secure an affordable place. So dire is the situation, some argue, seniors should be prioritized in the state’s response to the wider-ranging housing crisis."

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/06/metro/massachusetts-needs-more-senior-housing/

“It was sheer, blind, ridiculous luck,” said Mary McPeak, 73, of her subsidized apartment. SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF

MassCEC Seeking Applicants for Triple Decker Retrofit Pilot

I don't know how many triple deckers we have in Franklin. I believe the current building code is such that we couldn't build one. That I think is an issue. This type of housing could be a worthy addition to our housing stock in Franklin.

 

Apply by Dec. 21st!

View this email in your browser The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is now accepting applications for the market rate track of the Triple Decker Retrofit Pilot. This pilot builds on the lessons learned from our Triple Decker Design Challenge and will offer selected triple decker owners: Technical support to implement a high-efficiency, all-electric retrofit Financial incentives: Up to $70,000 for a standard triple decker retrofit Up to $125,000 for triple deckers adding a new unit as part of the project Performance monitoring  This is a great opportunity to get the technical support and financial assistance to bring your triple decker into the 21st century! Please share this opportunity with your network! If you might be interested, please reach out with any and all questions to buildings@masscec.com.   Learn More & Apply Copyright © 2022 Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Massachusetts Clean Energy Center 294 Washington St. Suite 1150 Boston, MA 02108

02038.com: "Million dollar homes shock no more in Franklin, MA"

Realtor Warren Reynolds has some very interesting statistics on the real estate market in Franklin, MA as he looks back at 2021. A worthy read especially to help inform the ongoing discussion around Franklin housing as well as the need for more affordable housing in Franklin.

 

"Highest home sale in 2021
The highest price paid for a single-family home in Franklin during 2021 was $1,677,900. While decidedly small potatoes in many of the affluent communities throughout Greater Boston, it was the highest price ever paid for a home in Franklin listed on MLS-PIN. 

Before 2021, Franklin’s record-high sale price on MLS-PIN was $1,577,000, which was set in 2020. 

Franklin’s sale price record broken five times in 2021
What’s most noteworthy about 2021’s housing market in Franklin is that the town’s record-high sale price set in 2020 was surpassed FIVE times just one year later in 2021!"

One of the key markers in the demographics study done for Franklin Public Schools in the number of annual home sales. The ability for housing to turnover is one of the factors for population. Franklin had dropped in annual sales during 2020 and has recovered to more of a recent volume with 332 sales.

The number of single-family home sales in Franklin recorded on MLS-PIN during 2021 was significantly higher than the previous year’s total

Continue reading his recap of 2021

https://02038.com/2022/01/franklin-2021/

Franklin, MA: FY 2022 Tax Rate Information (Franklin Matters view)

The Town Administration and Board of Assessors prepared the following to present the FY 2022 tax rate info for the public hearing at the Town Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec 1, 2021. 

My version shares the information with some chart views that I think help tell the story better (my 2 cents). 

The official data and presentation copy ->    https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/6._tax_classification.pdf

My view ->   https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13BJB50G7qg3nU2_cS74HGxAFkgJMwJ8Syi_znlkcgSc/edit?usp=sharing

tax rate chart vs. net change in property valuations 1988-2022

Franklin, MA FY 2022 Tax Rate Information from Franklin Matters

"Affordable housing projects often draw resistance from neighbors"

"Housing costs are soaring across southern Maine, driving families from the towns where they were raised and bringing tensions to a boil as young residents and retirees struggle to compete against an influx of out-of-staters and well-off buyers.

That dynamic, which has intensified across the country during the pandemic, has unsettled quiet Cape Elizabeth, an affluent coastal community just south of Portland, where a proposal to build the town’s first affordable housing project in 50 years has pitted neighbor against neighbor and raised hard questions of who can afford to live here.

“This is a community of tremendous privilege and wealth, but there are other people in this town who are not well-off,” said Jamie Garvin, the Town Council chairman who supports the 49-unit project. “People are being priced out of the community they’ve lived in for a number of years.”

Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/23/metro/affordable-housing-plan-divides-affluent-portland-suburb/ 

Portland, Maine is not alone in having this affordable housing discussion. With the Housing Production Plan being worked on currently, this is a timely topic. Public comment on the Plan closed at the end of June. The revised draft is expected to come back out for review and comment as it needs approval from both the Planning Board and the Town Council. The plan is a component of the overall "Master Plan" for Franklin for which the update process is scheduled to begin next year.

Current draft of the Housing Production Plan

https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/uploads/franklin_housing_production_plan_-_may_2021_public_draft.pdf

Current Master Plan  https://www.franklinma.gov/planning-community-development/pages/master-plan

The most recent virtual meeting on Housing took place July 14, 2021 and the audio recording is available here  https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/07/fm-580-community-conversation-on.html

FM #580 - Community Conversation on Housing & Race - 07/14/21 (audio)