Housing Headlines

PITTSFIELD --- At a recent Berkshire Housing Summit, the Baker Administration's Jay Ash provided an economic overview while Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyler talked about how CPA and downtown zoning has helped her city. The focus on downtown's was echoed by Tim Geller of the Community Development Corp. of South Berkshire, who said "all the projects we're doing now are downtown."

WORCESTER --- Citing rising housing costs in the private rental market, the Worcester Housing Authority Board of Commissioners have voted to increase the amount of money given to Section 8 voucher holders by five percent and an extra five percent for people with one-bedroom apartments. The WHA board voted on a recommendations made by WHA executive director Alex Corrales. A recent WHA analysis shows that more than 40 percent of its roughly 4,000 Section 8 voucher holders are paying more than 30 percent of their monthly income on rent, and 27 percent of people who are selected to receive Section 8 vouchers for the first time cannot find housing even with the voucher,

According to the real estate tracking firm Zillow, median rents rental prices in the Greater Boston real estate market fell 1.3 percent compared to last year, mirroring a trend seen nationwide.The median rent in the Boston metro was $2,366 in August — compared to $2,396 in August 2017. Reasons for nationwide cooling include more apartment production and millennials entering the home-buying market, according to Zillow economist Sarah Mikhitarian.

ROXBURY --- In advancing this weekend's YIMBYtown convention at Roxbury Community College and the Reggie Lewis Center, Commonwealth Magazine's Michael Jonas does a deep dive into the origins and philosophies of the movement and the counter movements swimming around it, such as a coalition of tenant activists like the Boston Chapter of Right to the City, who will be holding a forum a half-mile away to argue that unbridled growth only exacerbates the affordable housing shortage.

WORCESTER --- The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Coordinating Council announced Wednesday that they've hired Mahesh Ramachandran of Smart Growth Economics to produce a city-wide housing study.

FALMOUTH --- A town-approved Ch. 40B housing proposal that aims to provide 21 market-rate homes and seven affordable selling for about $218,000 will be put on hold as neighbors have filed suit against the Zoning Board of Appeals, challenging that Aspen Group's Little Pond Village at Falmouth Heights will place a burden on a section of Alma Road that has been a private way.