For Sarah King, buying a home in Massachusetts feels less like a future milestone and more like an impossible dream.
“The thought of owning a home has truly never in a real way crossed my mind,” she said.
King, a Somerville resident who has worked to address housing insecurity, is far from alone. With home prices in Greater Boston among the highest in the country, many residents are questioning whether homeownership is within reach. In 2024, the median price for a single-family home in the Greater Boston area was $950,000, making it the third most expensive market in the country.
Even for those who can afford the monthly mortgage payments, saving for a down payment can be another major hurdle. A survey from the online financial marketplace LendingTree found that 40% of U.S. homeowners received help making a down payment. Nearly 80% of Gen Z homeowners needed assistance, along with 56% of millennials.
Northeastern University professor Daniel Grindle was among those able to buy a home with help from his family. He owns a condo with his wife in Chelsea, but says he sees colleagues with high-paying, highly skilled jobs struggling to find affordable housing.
“My friends who are professors, who are high-paid engineers doing very complex cool stuff are looking at the housing market and saying, ‘well I guess if I want to own a home I’ll just have to move somewhere else,’” he said.
As housing affordability becomes a growing concern across the state, Question 7 is looking to lower the cost by allowing single-family homes on lots as small as 5,000 square feet — roughly the size of an NBA basketball court.
Currently, local municipalities determine the minimum lot size, but the ballot question would create a statewide standard. The measure would require at least 50 feet of land bordering the home and the adjacent street or road. Homes built under the measure would also need to have access to public sewer and water services.
What supporters are saying
Legalize Starter Homes is leading the campaign in support of Question 7. The group says the ballot question was filed by about a dozen housing experts, including urban planners, land use attorneys and academics.
Supporters argue that allowing smaller lots would help boost construction and bring down housing costs.
“We have a lot of large lot requirements which tend to push up home prices both directly because land costs money, and indirectly because it basically puts a cap on how many homes you can build in a given area,” said Andrew Mikula, chair of Legalize Starter Homes. “By allowing smaller lots, you’re facilitating smaller, lower-cost homes that will be much more attainable for most folks than the typical new single-family home that’s built today.”
If that ballot question is approved, Legalize Starter Homes estimates that it could lead to the construction of between 2,200 and 5,700 homes annually. A study from the Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis predicts a more modest impact, estimating the measure would generate about 750 homes per year. However, researchers acknowledged that there is a lot of uncertainty in their analysis.
What opponents are saying
Opponents argue the proposed statewide standard takes a one-size-fits-all approach to housing policy, limiting municipalities’ ability to make zoning decisions based on local needs.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association, which represents cities and towns across the state, argues that municipalities should retain control over their zoning laws. The organization has also raised concerns about whether local water and sewer systems could accommodate additional development.
“It doesn’t speak to whether or not the water or sewer system has the capacity to take on new homes, and we worry that without a more complex or deeper understanding of water and sewer infrastructure capacity, existing homeowners could bear the brunt of needing to expand the system,” said Adam Chapdelaine, the association’s executive director and CEO.
Rather than changing lot-size requirements, opponents want state leaders to focus on reducing the cost of building new homes. One approach they have highlighted is off-site construction, in which homes are built in factories and then transported to their final locations.
On Thursday, Gov. Maura Healey announced that her administration is making $10 million in financing available to developers interested in building these manufactured homes in an effort to expand homeownership and lower costs.
As for King and Grindle, both say they plan to vote yes on Question 7, hopeful that it will drive down housing costs and make Massachusetts more affordable for younger residents.
“The biggest class of people leaving Massachusetts are 18 through 35,” King said “The younger generation can’t afford homes because there’s still not enough relief for our generation to afford them.”
Grindle worries that the high cost of housing could make it harder for Massachusetts to retain the workers and talent that help drive its economy.
“If we want to keep the amazing smart people we have in Massachusetts and Boston, we have to make this place an affordable place to live,” Grindle said. “So anything that would help us in that effort I am for.”
