Gov. Maura Healey is seeking to double down on reasonably priced housing in Massachusetts within the second 12 months of her administration, together with by pushing the Legislature to move a pending $4 billion housing bond invoice she already filed.
In an interview with the Herald Wednesday afternoon, Healey mentioned housing is the best problem going through the state, and a part of the answer might lie in boosting manufacturing and rehabbing present models. Healey filed the huge housing bond in October, pitching it as the most important funding in state historical past.
“We need housing because I don’t want to see people leave this state. This is a great, great state, a great state to raise a family to grow a business,” Healey instructed the Herald. “I want people who come to school here, staying here. I want businesses incubating here and growing here, right. I want businesses expanding here. And I want people who grew up here to be able to afford to stay here.”
Healey’s invoice directs $1.8 billion to housing manufacturing and preservation, together with $425 million for a housing stabilization and funding fund, $175 million for municipal infrastructure initiatives that encourage dense developments, and $100 million to incentivize the development of reasonably priced properties, amongst different issues.
It would additionally grant cities and cities the choice of imposing an actual property transaction payment of between 0.5% to 2% on the portion of a property sale over $1 million, or the county median house sale value. The income generated from the payment would head to reasonably priced housing.
Some just like the Greater Boston Real Estate Board have expressed “deep concern” with a “sales tax on real estate.”
“It’s an unstable source of revenue that would cause more harm than good at a time when people and businesses are leaving the state because it is just too expensive,” the group’s CEO, Greg Vasil, mentioned in an announcement when the invoice was launched.
The thought has been pushed on the state stage and backed by leaders of a number of communities, together with Mayor Michelle Wu, who testified on the State House in favor of the matter solely days earlier than Healey launched her housing bond invoice.
Accessory dwelling models are one other key technique to create extra models, Healey mentioned. The bond invoice would permit accent dwelling models lower than 900 sq. toes “as of right” all through the state with the power for communities to set some restrictions.
Healey mentioned many states throughout the nation already permit accent dwelling models.
“This is where you see the greatest growth overnight in housing units because you can create a housing unit on your existing property or you can refashion a garage,” she mentioned. “That’s the quickest way to generate additional housing.”
The invoice was referred to the Legislature’s Housing Committee — chaired by Sen. Lydia Edwards and Rep. James Arciero — in October, the place it has not moved since nor had a listening to.
A push for the $4 billion housing bond invoice comes as Massachusetts begins to face income headwinds. Tax collections through the first 5 months of fiscal 12 months 2024 have are available in 4.3% decrease than anticipated, in response to state knowledge launched earlier this month.
But the alarm bells usually are not but ringing for Healey as her administration additionally dives into the fiscal 12 months 2025 finances course of. The drop in revenues is “something that we continue to monitor, and it’s going to be something that we will have to continue to manage,” she mentioned.
Healey mentioned the state has “great bond rating” and greater than sufficient funds within the wet day account.
“Our foundation is really strong here in the state,” she mentioned. “It seems that we’re going into a time where we’re gonna be seeing less revenue than we saw the last few years. And these things are cyclical. Obviously, what’s happening with inflation is tough and challenging for a lot of folks, but we’re just gonna have to manage it.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”