Gov. Maura Healey, flanked by the state’s top housing officials, on Thursday announced what her administration calls the state’s first ever comprehensive housing plan .
The governor said the plan will increase housing production and sets a scheduled timeline to lower housing costs across the commonwealth. The plan, which included an in-depth analysis of the housing needs across Massachusetts, also identifies strategies for increasing production.
“We charged folks with thinking about how we can more quickly bring housing online in the state. And one of the things that I think was fundamental to doing that, as with anything else, is determining a plan,” Healey explained. “We had experts digging into the landscape and documenting needs around our state, across all regions, and then setting our strategies to meet them.”
The state needs at least 220,000 more units by 2035 given current unmet needs and to support long-term growth, according to estimates from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities that were shared along with the housing plan.
The plan outlines approaches to deliver production in all regions of the state. Those techniques include the Affordable Homes Act, which Healey signed last year to create or preserve 65,000 housing units, and the MBTA Communities law , which was introduced during the previous Baker administration.
The MBTA Communities law, passed in 2021, removes exclusionary zoning barriers to housing production in cities and towns served by public transit. Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus says more than 116 communities have approved new multifamily zoning projects near transit, and more than 3,000 new housing units are already in the pipeline. Some other cities and towns have opposed the idea , citing traffic congestion and overcrowding.
“We’ve pledged to continue to work with them and to continue to be on the ground talking about why housing is so necessary. You need it. You need it for your economic growth and viability as a city,” said Augustus.
Healey acknowledged the Trump administration could make the state’s work more challenging as new federal funding policies roll out, but she said they are sticking to their plan.
“I’ve said from the outset, it is our job is to implement the legislation that we helped get passed and get the money out the door,” said Healey.
She added that she is concerned about other expenses being added to the mix as President Donald Trump unveils a flood of new policies and executive orders.
“One of the reasons I spoke strongly in opposition to tariff hikes, particularly against Canada and Mexico, is because a lot of our building supply material is coming from those countries,” she said.
A full version of the plan is scheduled to be released in the spring and will include an interactive resource center and housing production tracking guide.
