Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 22, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 15 R E A L E S T A T E F O C U S and business recruitment at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. ese kinds of gaps become particularly glaring when interest rates rise, Joseph said. Young people from families with generational wealth can oen get loans from parents and grandparents, allowing them to compete with buyers who can pay cash. Making matters worse, federally funded pandemic- era programs designed to help first-time buyers have now run out of money, said omas Callahan, executive director of the Partnership for Financial Equity, a coalition of Massachusetts financial institutions and community groups. Government-led efforts e state's housing woes are very much on the minds of government leaders at all levels, Sullivan said. Shortly aer she was inaugurated into office, Gov. Maura Healey created the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and selected former Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus to be the state's first housing secretary, a cabinet-level position. "e Healey-Driscoll administration has housing as its top priority," Sullivan said. In October, the Healey Administration presented a plan known as the Affordable Homes Act, with a goal of constructing 200,000 more units of housing by 2030. If passed by the state legislature, it would provide $4 billion to construct and improve housing stock around the state and offer assistance to disadvantaged buyers. It includes a provision encouraging the construction of accessory dwelling units, small residential units sharing a lot with a single-family home. Another important state-level change is the MBTA Communities Act, passed in 2021, which encourages the construction of more multifamily housing, Callahan said. It requires Central Massachusetts communities served by commuter rail to adjust their zoning bylaws to permit more multi-family homes by the end of 2024. Construction of more apartments and condos would have an indirect effect on the single-family market, although the measure has encountered resistance from communities. Most notably, Holden has faced a lawsuit and the ire fo the Healey Administration for refusing to comply multifamily housing requirements in with the MBTA Communities Act. "If some of these units are designed for seniors who are downsizing, that opens up the single-family homes they're moving from," Callahan said. Since all these policy changes will take time to show results. In the meantime, would-be homebuyers may be destined to try their best in a market that's stabilizing but still far from fixed. Thomas Callahan, executive director of the Partnership for Financial Equity Massachusetts single-family home sales 0 $100K $200K $300K $400K $500K $600K 0 10K 20K 30K 40K 50K 60K 59.1 37.6 $400 $572 Number of sales (Numbers in thousands) Median sale price (Numbers in thousands) '19 '23 '20 '21 '22 '19 '23 '20 '21 '22 Worcester County single-family home sales 0 $100K $200K $300K $400K $500K 0 2K 4K 6K 8K 10K 8.6 5.5 $290 $432.5 Number of sales (Numbers in thousands) Median sale price (Numbers in thousands) '19 '23 '20 '21 '22 '19 '23 '20 '21 '22 Source for both charts: The Warren Group Lee Joseph, standing in front of a for-sale house she is listing, says offers have been diminished on properties since the second half of 2023. PHOTO | EDD COTE W

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