MetroFuture calls for housing production sufficient to keep pace with demand, including demand created by new residents and decreasing household size. An adequate supply will help to mitigate prices overall, especially for moderately-priced units. MetroFuture’s plan to diversify housing production will create more housing for middle-income families and individuals
(those earning 80% - 120% of regional median income), especially in those communities where very little moderately priced housing is being built. Each municipality would plan for housing production at a broad range of prices. Most middle-income families will spend no more than 30% of their income on housing, including property tax and insurance for ownership units.

Metro Boston’s “affordability gap” would be eliminated: regional median ownership and rental costs would be no more than 30% of regional median income levels, adjusted for household size. While there would still be differences in housing prices and affordability across the region, these differences would be less extreme. In cities and towns with the least moderately priced housing, an increasing share of housing would be affordable to moderate-income families and individuals.

Currently, in 71% of the region’s cities and towns, the median single family home is not affordable to families making regional median income, versus 8% in 1998. As of 2005, 37% of homeowners and 46% of renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

Objectives:

• The region will produce 350,000 new housing units by 2030.
• The regional affordability gap will be eliminated by 2030, for households earning 80%, 100%, and 120% of regional median income.
• There will be an increasing number municipalities in which local median housing costs (ownership and rental) are equal to or less than 30% of regional median income.
• Ownership housing units with monthly costs less than 30% of regional monthly median income will comprise a growing share of the region’s housing stock.
• Rental housing units costing less than 30% of regional median income will comprise a growing share of the region’s housing stock.
• There will be 97,000 new starter homes (single family homes <1,700 square feet; single-family attached; 2-4 family homes) by 2030.