What Massachusetts' top leaders are doing to bring down housing prices

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It’s not every day you get Gov. Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu at the same press conference: think of their recent climate trip to Rome or the migrant shelter controversy in Roxbury. But housing can also cause the political stars to align, as happened recently at 95 Berkeley St. in Boston’s Bay Village neighborhood. That’s where developers want to capitalize on millions in state subsidies and city tax breaks to convert long-vacant office space into apartments.

“We’re a team that prioritizes creating more housing,” Healey said, standing in the six-story office building alongside Wu and the top housing chiefs for the city and state. “All of you out there understand that housing is our single greatest challenge as a state.”

That message is not lost on political organizer Ron Bell, who has advised politicians from Gov. Deval Patrick to Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia. Bell now works with MIT civics design professor Caesar McDowell on Real Talk for Change, a years-long effort to track the concerns of Boston residents. “Housing was the number one issue that kept coming up — clearly,” he said.

As the region continues to lag behind in its construction goals, officials have focused on finding new ways to spur housing production.

Among the highest profile issues on Beacon Hill this year is a multi-billion-dollar housing bill lawmakers are negotiating. While the House and Senate have passed different versions, both would set aside $275 million for initiatives like office-to-housing conversions, accessory dwelling units (aka “granny flats”) and factory-made housing.

The wide-ranging bill has fans on various fronts, from pro-density groups to fiscal watchdogs like the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

But the foundation’s chief, Doug Howgate, said investing tax dollars is only one part of addressing the housing shortage. Challenges around permitting and zoning, many of which are dictated by cities and towns across the state, also loom large.

“Right now, we’ve got 351 different sets of rules for where you can build, when you can build,” he said.

Changing those rules can spark tensions. Take, for example, the local fights over the MBTA Communities Act. Resistance to the prospect of denser housing has led to a backlash in some communities, even as experts say the law will not have as much impact as either side claims.

That law was a signature part of former Gov. Charlie Baker’s legacy on housing. Now, advocates are hopeful Healey’s policies go further.

P.S.— Housing isn’t only an issue in Massachusetts. As home prices and rents have soared nationwide, here’s a look at the vastly different housing plans President Biden and Donald Trump have put forward.