Boston’s housing-creation Drought worsens
Excerpted and edited from a Boston Guardian article.
After booming during Mayor Marty Walsh’s years, construction of new apartments, condos and homes in Boston has plunged.
The drop-off began in mid-2022 as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to battle inflation and as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu shifted city housing policy away from her predecessor’s pro-growth approach.
During her first months in office, Wu unveiled an ultimately unsuccessful plan to bring back a form of rent control, while also vowing to hike affordable housing and energy efficiency for new housing developments.
And while Marty Walsh had focused on boosting the volume of new housing produced by encouraging private-sector development, Wu refocused city efforts on building more public housing.
Now the decline appears to be gaining speed, with the city’s Building Department issuing just building permits for just 72 new housing units in March, according to a review of city records….
This caps a dismal, seven-month run in which housing starts in Boston have fallen to their lowest levels since at least 2018.