When a rent control measure was proposed by the City of Medford earlier this year, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board took action. Recognizing that the root of the area’s affordable housing crisis is a dearth of inventory, it launched a public-facing campaign to shed light on the fact that the city was not making full use of the tools already at its disposal to create new affordable housing for the community. The measure was withdrawn, and there are promising signs that the City Council is now focused on housing production. An Issues Mobilization Grant from the REALTOR® Party helped make the campaign possible.
As GBREB Government Affairs Director Patricia Baumer explains, the vacancy rate in the Boston area is very low, land is expensive, and in Medford, home to Tufts University, a sizable student population lives off-campus in rented housing. “We all agree on the need for additional housing. What we disagree about is rent control. We saw that if the City wanted to lean in to housing, there are two tools that could be more fully leveraged to produce housing and take pressure off the market.
Both tools that Baumer cites are existing state law supported by the REALTORS®. One is the Community Preservation Act, As written, it allows for a property tax surcharge up to 3% at the discretion of voters to be applied toward housing development in Medford; that surcharge is currently at only 1.5%. In addition, a 2023 study done the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University funded by GBREB with the support NAR found that Medford was missing an opportunity to fund housing through the CPA. Instead of leveraging existing revenue streams to fund housing Medford was prioritizing open space and historic preservation, with housing as a share of spending at: 21%, historic preservation 35.9% and open space and recreation at 43.1% . The second tool is the Comprehensive Permit Law, which, since 1969, has required communities in Massachusetts to build 10% affordable housing. Medford, with a current rate of 6.87%, is not meeting its obligation. “In other words, the City still had some work to do using the tools that exist,” asserts Baumer.
To make sure the community was focused on the real issue – the affordable housing inventory – GBREB secured funding from the REALTOR® Party for an awareness campaign to educate the public and the City Council, a majority of whose members are renters, about the under-utilized avenues to developing more housing in Medford. Working with Real Strategies, a firm partnering with the National Association of REALTORS®, the board devised a multifaceted campaign targeting the Mayor and City Council directly with patch-through calls, text messaging, and postcards. GBREB’s local PR firm developed a dedicated website, messaging, and digital ads.
“We’re very lucky that we have REALTORS® active on the zoning front, which is the third avenue open to the City Council when it comes to increasing affordable housing,” notes Baumer. “Beyond the resources available from NAR, it’s the local REALTORS® on the ground and in the neighborhoods who are the secret sauce of successful advocacy. REALTORS® are the ones who advocate for homeowners, who have no trade association. And until you see people around you who care about an issue, it’s hard to take that first step towards involvement.” In Medford, local REALTORS® met with elected officials, answered the Call for Action, and testified at the public hearing.
“I would like to think our campaign helped raise awareness of the powers the City Council does have to improve housing affordability,” says Baumer. “They seem to be taking it to heart and tackling some of the zoning barriers. It’s hard and contentious work, but that’s what’s going to solve the problem.”
To learn more about how the Greater Boston Real Estate Board is working to promote an increase in the area’s affordable housing, contact Government Affairs Director Patricia Baumer at pbaumer@greb.com or 617.399.7858. To view the campaign website, visit: protectmedford.com; a pre-roll video is at: https://youtu.be/aMQDF3NEexY
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