Greater Boston’s housing crisis has deepened, with federal policies under the Trump administration adding new challenges to an already strained housing market, according to a new report.
The 2026 Greater Boston Housing Report Card, from the Boston Foundation and its research arm, Boston Indicators, found federal policies have fueled population declines, weakened the regional economy and strained lower-income households.
Those challenges add to a decades-long trend of underbuilding that has left housing increasingly unaffordable. Home values are up 50%, and rents are up 35%, since 2019.
Even with some initial signs of a cooling housing market in the region, it will take years to address the region’s housing shortage, according to the report.
Boston Indicators analyzed years of data, including population trends, household size and incomes, market prices, construction permits and changes in new housing stock.
The report found immigration restrictions have weakened population growth, while federal funding cuts have cost jobs and undermined the universities and research institutions that drive the area’s economic growth. Higher interest rates will continue to slow construction. At the same time, the report noted some early trends, like a slight easing of rental vacancy rates, and a softening of the for-sale market.
“So supply up a little bit, demand may be down a little bit, but for a whole host of bad reasons,” said Luc Schuster, executive director of Boston Indicators, the research arm of the Boston Foundation, “We don’t want to solve our housing affordability challenges by slipping into recession or losing significant numbers of residents.”
Federal cuts to SNAP and Medicaid have also added pressure on lower-income households, leaving them with less money for housing. So even as the state has tried to maintain and even increase funding for housing assistance programs, high costs and continued demand mean those programs won’t likely meet the need.
Population growth slows
Massachusetts’ economy has slowed, with job losses continuing through most of 2025 and into 2026. Despite a slight recovery, recent job data from the state suggests economic growth is still weak.
High housing prices have pushed residents into substandard housing, farther from Greater Boston or out of the state altogether.
The region added just 9,000 residents in 2025, down from 49,000 the previous year, according to the report. About 32,000 people moved to other parts of the country, while a sharp decline in international immigration — amid the federal crackdown has eroded a longstanding source of population growth.
For years people moving into the state from other countries had more than offset those domestic population losses, but they no longer do. The report found growth in Greater Boston came “exclusively from births.”
While the drop in population might seem like it would help housing supply, the report notes, it has led to a weaker economy and job declines.
Where housing growth is found
Homebuilding has increased since 2024, and the state has largely kept pace with its goal of building 22,000 new homes each year. But declining housing permits suggest construction may be slowing, even while the region needs far more housing to make homes more affordable.
Housing growth has been concentrated in a handful of places. Between 2020 and 2026, Plymouth added more than 3,000 housing units — nearly 12% of its 2020 housing stock. Quincy is close behind. But wealthier, older suburbs are seeing less housing growth.
Meanwhile housing has become increasingly unaffordable. Since the pandemic, Greater Boston home values have increased about 50% and rents are up 35% as of August 2026. Households need to earn at least $180,000 to afford a home even in a low-priced Greater Boston community, according to the report.
In the most expensive places, like Cambridge, Wellesley, Weston and Brookline, median single-family homes are over $2 million. Those seeking cheaper homes will have to look to Ashby, Avon, Brockton and Shirley, all with median prices under $500,000.
But prices are rising sharply even in places that have historically offered more affordable options. Since 2019, single-family home prices have increased more than 50% in Manchester, Marion and Hopkinton. Lawrence, Salisbury and Tyngsborough are also seeing large increases.
The affordability gap is stark for renters: Fewer than 120,000 renter households can afford to buy a home in one of these low-priced towns. Just 9% of Black and Latino renters earn enough to do that.
“Black and Hispanic renter households, less than 10% of those families could afford to buy even in the low-priced towns,” said Schuster. “There’s basically no Black or Hispanic renter households who could afford to buy a median-priced home in one of our higher-priced communities in Greater Boston.”
Condominiums are increasingly expensive. About 57% of municipalities had median condo sale prices of $500,000 or higher. Median prices top $1 million in Sudbury, Newton, and Needham. Since 2019, median condo prices have climbed the fastest in Millis and Sharon, with a 122% rise, and 119% increase respectively.
Rents among the highest in the U.S.
Boston’s rental market may be starting to soften as vacancies increase slightly, but rents remain among the highest in the country.
Boston rents rank as the third most expensive among the top 25 U.S. metro areas, just after New York and San Francisco. The report said in many Boston neighborhoods, prevailing rents are reaching $4,000 a month, which is $48,000 a year on rent alone.
About half of Greater Boston’s renters are paying more than 30% of their income just on housing — classifying them as “cost burdened” by rent. Black and Latino renters are hardest hit, with 60% of Black renters and 53% of Latino renters considered cost burdened.
And while the area’s high rent burden may not be new, the report notes a “most troubling” rise in the number of those who are “severely cost burdened,” spending more than half of their income on housing. The rise is seen not only among low income households but moderate income households.
“Roughly one in four renter households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 spend more than half of their income on housing. By contrast, only 1% of those households were severely cost burdened back in 2006,” the report said.
Even as the state maintains, and in some cases increases funding for core housing safety net programs, despite federal cuts, the report predicts rising housing costs and continued need mean the state won’t be able to meet the need.
Glimmers of hope
The report does offer some good news. While the area’s housing crisis has been decades in the making, in recent years, the state response picked up pace and support for change has slowly grown. There’s still political resistance to zoning reforms, but the report notes efforts like ADUs, the MBTA Communities ACT and a program to use surplus state land for housing development, are starting to make housing easier to build.
“Laws don’t build homes overnight,” the Boston Foundation’s Keith Mahoney said, “It takes years to get from a new rule to permits, financing, and an actual front door. We may not see the full payoff of today’s policies for a long time.”
The report says current legislative proposals could further help the housing picture, such as a reform to allow religious institutions to build multifamily housing on land they own, and a statewide duplex legalization to allow two-family homes anywhere single family homes are allowed.
If passed, the report said, “2026 could end up proving to be a consequential year for state housing policy.”
