The initiative petition to automatically allow single-family homes wherever there is adequate space, direct road access, and existing water and sewer service would produce a meaningful increase in starter homes, concludes a recent report by The Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University.
The starter home initiative petition sponsored by the Legalize Starter Homes ballot committee would generate roughly 750 new homes per year if approved by the voters in November. Although it acknowledges that its analysis involves a lot of uncertainty, the center’s modeling suggests a plausible range from 350 to 1,200 homes per year.
The report suggests that construction at this scale would have a real but limited impact on overall production, increasing single-family home construction by roughly 15 percent and overall housing development by roughly 5 percent. Suburbs would see the biggest increase in home building, especially Boston-area suburbs that already have robust sewer infrastructure and lots that are large enough to split.
Importantly, while the report’s estimate of likely home building is relatively restrained, it found the legal impact is quite large. Roughly 200,000 parcels statewide would have new construction options under this ballot initiative, including a small number of vacant lots and many large lots that could be readily subdivided.
The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts strongly supports the Starter Home initiative petition. The HBRAMA urges its members to encourage their friends, families, workers, suppliers, subcontractors and others to vote for it on Tuesday, November 3rd.
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