Jonathan Berk

Describing the intensity of emotions surrounding the presidential election’s outcome as “strong” would be an understatement. Regardless of which side of the political equation you find yourself on, one thing that remains constant after Nov. 5 is that Massachusetts is still tasked with addressing Massachusetts’ housing crisis.

Regardless of which political party gained control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, Massachusetts would continue to bear the bulk of the responsibility for tackling a housing affordability crisis decades in the making, largely by our own action & inaction.

Despite the existence of federal programs that are crucial in funding the development of new market-rate and affordable housing, many obstacles to housing production in Massachusetts. They stem from decades of state and local over-regulation that must be reformed if we’re going to address our housing crisis today and be able to build a commonwealth capable of adapting to its needs in the future.

Voters Sent a Message

While I am not a political analyst and will defer the comprehensive analysis of the 2024 election to experts in the field, there are key observations indicating a widespread discontent with the current economic situation. Specifically, there is dissatisfaction with the handling – or lack thereof – of issues related to the cost of living in more traditionally Democratic states.

Despite a robust economy and decreasing inflation rates, expenses such as housing and childcare are on the rise. Post-election surveys reveal that counties ranked in the top 10 percent for cost of living, most of these in traditionally “blue” states experienced a 4 percent to 5 percent shift towards President-elect Donald Trump compared to the 2020 election results. That’s nearly twice the shift seen in the rest of the country.

Speaking at the Harvard Institute of Politics on Nov. 12, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg recognized this stating, “there is healthy introspection going on right now on the left on how we may have gotten in our own way in terms of getting stuff done. The one that’s provoked the most discussion…is around housing.”

In Massachusetts, there has been a noticeable increase in dissatisfaction towards our legislature. According to a MassInc poll conducted in September, 47 percent of Massachusetts voters expressed disapproval of the Legislature’s performance, marking a significant rise from the 32 percent disapproval rate recorded in the previous year’s poll. Furthermore, a ballot initiative featured on the 2024 ballot that would grant State Auditor Diana Dizoglio the power to audit the Legislature received support from 72 percent of voters, indicating a strong call for reform.

Where Do We Go from Here?

It’s clear there’s a dissatisfaction among voters with Democratic leadership and much of the exit polling shows economic issues were the most important factors in determining who voters chose. Many young voters see the proverbial ‘American Dream’ of home ownership as just that, a dream of something they may never be able to achieve.

As New York Times columnist Ezra Klein observed post-election, “Governing matters. If housing is more affordable, and homelessness far less of a crisis, in Texas and Florida than California and New York, that’s a huge problem… Democrats need to take seriously how much scarcity harms them.”

In Massachusetts, this means adopting an abundance mindset, and an understanding that we need to work to build momentum around the needed reforms that will allow us to provide housing for a growing population. Today’s housing shortage and affordability issues are a failure of policy that dates back decades to municipal downzonings that spread across our region in the 1970s and ’80s. Today’s archaic permitting and entitlements process that forces developers to bring five-unit buildings through the same cumbersome and uncertain permitting process as nearby 75-unit buildings perpetuate those harms.

Later this year, Gov. Maura Healy’s Housing Advisory Council and Commission on Unlocking Housing Production will unveil their recommendations for addressing the housing crisis. It is crucial that we give serious consideration to these recommendations and promptly begin implementing them.

Similar housing task forces in other states have recently been rolling out their own recommendations for housing policy reforms, providing inspiration – and competition – for us. For example, group of bipartisan legislators, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and advocates last year worked to enact the “Montana Miracle,” a suite of statewide zoning, permitting and policy reforms aimed at promoting the development of new housing in communities statewide. The bipartisan effort aimed to safeguard Montana from facing housing challenges akin to those persisting in California, even publicly branding the effort with “Don’t let Montana become California.”

The election is over, and much remains uncertain about what the future holds over the next four years. But one thing that was true on Nov. 4 remains so today: By and large, Massachusetts will be the one to determine if and how our state responds to our housing crisis.

While we can debate the details of our approach, the electorate has clearly communicated a strong message to local and state leadership. There is no more room for procrastination. Massachusetts must wholeheartedly embrace a mindset of housing abundance and bring about the necessary reforms to achieve that result.

Jonathan Berk is the founder of the real estate and placemaking consultancy re:MAIN and a board member of Abundant Housing Massachusetts.