CRRC President Greg Reibman moderating a panel of municipal Planning Directors: Barney Heath (Newton), Eric Arbeene (Wellesley), Lee Newman (Needham), Steve Magoon (Watertown) (photo: NewTV)
On December 11, at the Charles River Regional Chamber (CRRC) Real Estate Forum, an audience member asked, “If Wellesley may lose up to 15% of its population over the next five years, why do you need more housing?” “The housing crisis is a regional crisis,” replied Wellesley’s Planning Director, Eric Arbeene. The regional crisis is about who is leaving Massachusetts and what it will do to the economy.
Massachusetts’ population is growing. The fastest-growing segment is 65 and over, a 39% increase between 2010 and 2022. The state’s labor force has been decreasing since 2019. Last year, the out-migration of adults ages 24 to 36 was the largest ever recorded (slide 29). In the past, when Massachusetts lost workers, it was because the state was in a recession. Now, Massachusetts is losing workers during a boom period, with two job openings for every applicant. To help explain why, The Taxpayers Foundation and UMass Boston have released a Massachusetts Competitiveness Index Report listing the State’s strengths and weaknesses.
In the strength column, the state has the best-educated workforce and the highest weekly wage in the nation. The biggest competitive weaknesses are cost – housing, taxes, child care – and commuting times. The young professionals on the panel at the forum noted they would need to make over $100,000 to keep median rent within 30% of their income and that this was often only enough for rentals they did not even like. They spoke of their long commutes and friends leaving the state for lower-cost housing. The housing supply has not kept up with population growth, so housing costs and commuting times have increased as workers drive further for cheaper housing. “The long-term economic growth of the Commonwealth doesn’t work if…