The good news is that builders took out permits for more than 12,000 new homes, condos and apartments across the state through the first ten months of 2013.
About half were for single family homes, with other half for apartments and condos, U.S. Census Bureau stats show.
That was a significant increase over 2012, when just under 8,200 new hosuing units were approved by cities and towns across Massachusetts.
But here’s the bad news. Those numbers represent residential construction across the entire state. And that is a far cry from the 15,000 to 20,000 new homes, apartments and condos that need to be built just in the Boston area alone, according to the MAPC study.
Barring a sweeping change in suburban and small-town culture that dominates much of the state, it will be hard, to say the least, to meet the MAPC’s goals..
Just about every new apartment project approved in the suburbs features a long and drawn out permitting process, often with heated opposition from local officials and neighbors.
That’s why I’m skeptical we can build enough new apartments to keep rents in check, though I hope I am wrong on this.