Opinion
Price Gap Between New, Existing Homes Narrows
The price gap between new and existing houses has been falling in recent years, but buyers are still likely to pay 15 percent more for new construction.
The Fixed-Rate Mortgage Myth Agents Need to Stop Spreading
Soaring insurance rates and property tax increases due to appreciating prices not only stretch a borrower’s budget, but could even lead to foreclosure for more people than you’d think.
Addressing Elevator Issues
America has a serious elevator shortage, and it’s an impediment to developing the amount and types of housing we need to meet demand and improve affordability.
Federal Court Rules Against Luxury Homebuilder
What do you get when you combine a 100-year-old former oceanside inn, an inexperienced luxury home developer and a wealthy out-of-state buyer? You get a lawsuit.
A Tale of Three Church Conversion Projects
Boston has a housing shortage, and the answer does not always have to begin with a vacant lot or a full demolition.
These Amenities May Find a Home
Concierge-like services that ease the demands of everyday life will allow homeowners to tend to other priorities.
Is Boston Headed for Stagnation? Or Is This Slowdown Just Temporary?
Boston was a boomtown in the 2010s, with tower cranes dotting the skyline. That era is definitely over, and a new report makes you wonder about where we’re headed.
How Window-Mounted Heat Pumps Can Give Tenants Efficient Heating and Cooling
People who rent their homes have for many years been left out of a major shift in HVAC tech. Not any more.
Preserving the Past While Making the Present Legible
Much of our future housing already exists in the form of Colonials, Capes and historic homes. If we want these homes to remain relevant, we need to allow them to evolve.
To Make Senior Housing Affordable, Promote Smarter Development
We are already faced with a growing shortfall of affordable assisted living units, including here in Massachusetts. We urgently need to spur the development of affordable affordable living facilities.
Available MA Homes Don’t Meet Homeowners’ Needs
Instead of playing defense over young families, localities should more proactively accommodate the housing needs of empty nesters and single adults.
Mental Health in Construction Can’t Be Ignored
Mental Health Awareness Month gave our industry an opportunity to have a conversation that, historically, construction has avoided. Now that May has passed, the question is whether that conversation carries forward or gets buried again until next year.
Housing Is the Ultimate Numbers Game
That we have a housing shortage in Massachusetts, and that it is getting ever more dire by the year, is not some arcane economics debate.
Your New Condos Aren’t ‘Luxury.’ Calling Them That Causes Bigger Problems
If every new development is advertised as “luxury housing,” is it any wonder many people believe that new development is only catering to the wealthy?
Flood Insurance’s Moral Hazards Depend on How Wealthy You Are
Subsidized insurance makes waterfront property seem safer than it is for wealthier buyers, while many low-income homeowners face repeat disasters with no help.
Real Estate Has Lost Its Way. We Must Return to Our North Star
The industry keeps fighting over platforms and policies while agents struggle to do more transactions. And everyone is overlooking hundreds of thousands of potential buyers and sellers.
Focusing on Income Inequality Misses the Forest for the Trees
It’s a cost-of-everything crisis, and it has put large swaths of the middle class under financial siege, especially here in Massachusetts.
Rent Control ‘Deal’ Is Just a Negotiated Surrender
The much-touted agreement between rent control advocates and a handful of developers is no compromise. And it will do nothing to lower housing costs.
Don’t Pass on Government Loans
Misguided buyers and sellers too often turn their noses up at these loans thanks to unfair myths that linger. Let’s bust some of those misconceptions.
The Real Anxiety: When Credit Unions’ Cooperative Model Works
The criticism is predictable: Credit unions that acquire community banks are abusing tax policy. But that framing dodges the real question.
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