In Cambridge, where the median rent for a two-bedroom is more than $3,400, residents cite affordable housing as their top concern in an annual survey. Amherst’s rental market has been strained by the growing number of college students living off-campus. A family who wants to buy a home in Concord would need an annual income of $300,000 to be able to afford her median list price of $1.5 million.
Local officials and advocates presented these facts and figures to state lawmakers on Wednesday, announcing another tool to combat the continued rise in home prices: new incentives for certain high-priced properties. He called on Congress to provide the ability to impose taxes. Sell real estate and use the proceeds to fund affordable housing.
“The reality is that there is no silver bullet to solve the housing crisis,” said Cambridge City Manager Ian Huang. “We need more tools, more approaches, and more action. And we need to be bold. The City of Cambridge is ready, but we have no We need you. We need more tools to address this housing crisis, and that’s something only this legislative body can provide.”
Lawmakers on the Ways and Means Committee are talking about a bill that would allow 10 individual regions to impose their own local real estate transfer taxes: Concord, Arlington, Chatham, Provincetown, Amherst, Truro, Somerville, Cambridge, Wellfleet and Boston. I heard the testimony of Another bill has been introduced that would change state law and allow cities and towns to take action without first seeking permission from the Legislature or the governor.
Many of these municipalities have been seeking to introduce transfer taxes for years. Concord Town Meeting has voted to approve transfer proposals in both 2019 and 2023, and Somerville Mayor Katchana Ballantyne said she was a council member in 2018 when the transfer proposal was first presented. stated that he supported the transfer fee proposal.
“Currently, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Somerville has soared to $3,000 a month. The median home sale price is a whopping $941,000,” Ballantine said. “This is a 17.6% increase in one year. These rising housing costs are highly destabilizing for many vulnerable people in our communities. We are simply trying to respond to a human crisis in our communities caused by a lack of housing supply.”
But the idea has not gained support from Democratic leaders in Congress in recent years. Some real estate industry groups, including the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, also oppose it.
In written testimony to the committee, GBREB argued that the transfer tax would add new costs to home sales and create an unstable funding source.
“We remain focused on supporting legislation that focuses on enabling more housing development as a solution to affordability and housing issues,” the group said in testimony. “New consumption tax on housing and real estate” [estate] It simply limits the incentive to invest in new multifamily housing, slows the production of new supply, and exacerbates housing affordability challenges. ”
Tax proposals vary by community. Boston’s Home Rule petition exempts real estate sales of $2 million or less. Above this threshold, the city applies his 2% fee to the portion of the price that exceeds his $2 million.
Mayor Michelle Wu said the fee would generate up to $100 million in revenue for housing affordability and production efforts in 2021. That year, it would have applied to 700 transactions out of more than 10,000 real estate sales, she said.
“The revenue collected through this fee will help us build supportive housing and ensure seniors can remain in their homes,” Wu said. “It will help families displaced by rising prices build new homes, and it will enable more first-time homebuyers to put down roots and raise their families right here in Boston.”
Supporters of the transfer tax bill are hoping they have an ally in Gov. Maura Healey. Former Gov. Charlie Baker did not support the idea, but Mr. Healy campaigned on a platform promising to “empower communities to enact local policies that best address their unique housing issues.” went.
The next step may not materialize for months. The Ways and Means Committee has until February to vote on the bill, and can choose to bring it forward, vote it down, or extend the deadline for a decision.