| In Metro Boston — and in Boston — the number of households is growing faster than the population and much faster than the growth in housing units, creating a severe shortage. The current shortage reflects a marked change in lifestyle choices. In 1950, Boston contained roughly 32,000 fewer housing units than it does today, but had 200,000 more residents — so many more people occupied each housing unit than is the case today. Families were larger, children tended to live with their parents until marriage, and elders were often taken in as members of extended families. Boston’s stock of two-family homes and three-deckers helped family members to share a mortgage and stay together. But the GI Bill following World War II and the construction of new highways began to change things. Returning soldiers had access to low-interest home mortgages and the means to lead their young families out of cities and into suburban homes. A new American lifestyle was born. Today, the trend in Boston is toward one- and two-person households, resulting in fewer people needing more housing units. The Greater Boston Housing Report Card estimates that, between now and 2010, housing markets in Greater Boston will need to accommodate 100,000 new households.
How are we doing?
Between 1990 and 2000 in Metro Boston, the region’s population grew by about 5%, and the number of new housing units increased by 5% — but the number of new households increased by 7.7%, reflecting the trend toward one- and two-person households. The gap between new housing units and new households during the 1990s led to a growing housing shortage which pushed up home sales and rental prices dramatically, creating a crisis for many low- and middle-income families and individuals.
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