why is MA so expensive? (Boston, Cambridge: real estate, apartments, condos)

[TexasBound19]

was looking around at random suburbs and everythings 400k+

[matrix5k]

Lack of supply. More people are moving to the Boston area for work and there's just not enough houses for everyone. That's why old fixer uppers get into bidding wars.

[GeoffD]

The supply problem is caused by local zoning that prevents high density housing and small houses on small lots. All school systems are local. The zoning keeps the unwashed masses out of the schools and keeps property tax rates in the town low since the school budget is the dominant cost. Socioeconomic segregation. The only high density housing those towns will happily approve is senior housing since it doesn’t impact the schools or property tax rates.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

Lack of supply. More people are moving to the Boston area for work and there's just not enough houses for everyone. That's why old fixer uppers get into bidding wars.

Yep, that's it. The job market for skilled jobs is strong in the Boston area, and there's just very little buildable land left in the whole Boston metro region, so the supply of housing is nearly fixed. Prices keep going up, up, up. It's good for someone from this area who will be selling and moving elsewhere, but creates a real issue for those trying to relocate here. We could use an increase in higher density housing in the suburbs - condos and apartments, as well as an improvement in transportation infrastructure, as traffic is also a problem around here already.

[KoNgFooCj]

Time to start building highrise housing projects in the inner city.

[G-fused]

I must say however, I don't understand why so many advocate for more housing with the specific objective of making real estate more affordable. I own, and I want my real estate value to keep going up...not down. I don't want what I own to be more affordable. I know I am missing something but don't know what that is.

[darkone]

You’re only thinking about yourself and not about the sustainability of the region - economy, traffic patterns etc.

[darkone]

Who wants to pay Mercedes prices for a Civic?

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by KoNgFooCj

Time to start building highrise housing projects in the inner city.

The problem is that couples with children want the gold-plated school system. Thus the leafy suburbs with single family homes and restrictive zoning. Given the traffic and public transportation debacle in the Boston metro, there is an enormous premium for close-to-work layered on top of that gold-plated school system. Family size is smaller but Millenials are still reproducing. Once they have demon spawn, they aren't as interested in a "highrise housing project in the inner city". If you look at Niche top-100 ratings for elementary schools in Massachusetts, you won't find any in Boston, one in Cambridge.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by G-fused

I must say however, I don't understand why so many advocate for more housing with the specific objective of making real estate more affordable. I own, and I want my real estate value to keep going up...not down. I don't want what I own to be more affordable. I know I am missing something but don't know what that is.

Originally Posted by darkone

You’re only thinking about yourself and not about the sustainability of the region - economy, traffic patterns etc.

Everyone is thinking about themselves. The people that want the Boston area to be more affordable are the people that don't live there. They want to live there but can't afford to. It has nothing to do with the sustainability of the region.