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Metro Boston ranked 4th in the US for multifamily housing approval
Providence landed in the bottom 15, but Rhode Island overall has really upped its game.
In metro Boston, 68.6 percent of the new housing approved in 2023 was for multifamilies, according to a report Construction Coverage published on Nov. 6.
That’s welcome news in a region struggling with a deficit of properties on the market as well as high rents and home prices.
“According to a recent Zillow analysis, the US faces a shortfall of 4.5 million housing units, a deficit that continues to drive high prices for both homeowners and renters,” the report stated. “Expanding multifamily housing — such as town homes, condos, and apartments — offers one of the most effective solutions for addressing this shortage and improving affordability.”
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The report ranked the Boston area fourth in the nation for such development, behind the New York City, Miami, and San Diego metro areas. The Hartford area also made the top 15 for large metros, landing at No. 5 with 68.3 percent of its newly authorized housing falling in the multifamily category.
Providence did not fare well, landing in the 39th spot — the bottom 15 out of 53 large metros — with 35 percent.
The research firm analyzed data from the US Census Bureau’s 2023 Building Permit Survey and 2023 American Community Survey, and it “excludes mobile homes, boats, RVs, and other similar types of housing,” according to the methodology. “To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with data available from both sources were included. Additionally, metros were grouped into cohorts by population: small (less than 350,000), midsize (350,000-999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more).”
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These were the top 15 large metros for multifamily housing creation:
| Metro | Share |
|---|---|
| 1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 81.40% |
| 2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 74.10% |
| 3. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 73.40% |
| 4. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 68.60% |
| 5. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 68.30% |
| 6. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 67.30% |
| 7. Salt Lake City, UT | 65.70% |
| 8. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 63.40% |
| 9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 60.90% |
| 10. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | 60.00% |
| 11. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | 57.40% |
| 12. Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN | 56.70% |
| 13. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 56.40% |
| 14. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 55.80% |
| 15. Richmond, VA | 54.00% |
Source: Construction Coverage
And the bottom 15:
| Metro | Share |
|---|---|
| 1. Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 10.30% |
| 2. Oklahoma City, OK | 17.30% |
| 3. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 22.80% |
| 4. Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 24.50% |
| 5. Fresno, CA | 24.70% |
| 6. Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 26.60% |
| 7. Tucson, AZ | 29.80% |
| 8. Tulsa, OK | 32.30% |
| 9. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 32.60% |
| 10. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 32.90% |
| 11. Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | 33.30% |
| 12. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 33.60% |
| 13. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 34.80% |
| 14. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 34.90% |
| 15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 35.00% |
Source: Construction Coverage
Midsize metros
New Haven-Milford, Conn., topped this list, with 78.1 percent of its new housing permits going to multifamilies. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn., landed in the No. 3 spot (71.1 percent), and Manchester-Nashua, N.H., came in seventh with 61.5 percent.
Springfield landed in the 24th spot, with 41.1 percent of its new housing going to multifamily structures. Portland-South Portland, Maine, came in 30th with 38 percent. The Worcester area ranked 46th with 31.9 percent. The city authorized 919 single-family structures and 430 multifamily units in 2023, according to the report.
Small metros
Burlington-South Burlington, Vt., landed at No. 15 out of 217 small metro areas, with 64 percent of its new housing going to multifamily development. Norwich-New London, Conn., ranked 63rd (36.6 percent); Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, came in 90th (28 percent); Pittsfield was 96th (26.2 percent); Barnstable landed at 105th (23.6 percent); and Bangor, Maine, entered the chat at 124th (17.1 percent).
WalletHub named South Burlington, Vt., the safest city in the nation in October. Burlington, Vt., came in fourth in that study.
Where we started
Nationally, 29 percent of the existing housing stock consists of multifamily units, according to the report, with New York leading the nation. Nearly 53 of the housing stock in the Empire State is multifamily. Massachusetts came in second (43.2 percent), followed by Rhode Island (39.9 percent), Hawaii (37.2 percent), and New Jersey (36.8 percent).
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“States with traditionally high levels of multifamily housing, such as New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, continue to prioritize this type of development,” according to the report.
Where we’re headed
When it comes to multifamily housing approvals, here’s where the New England states stood in Construction Coverage’s 2023 report and where they stand now:
| STATE | 2023 RANK | % OF NEW HOUSING | 2024 RANK | % OF NEW HOUSING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | 6 | 56.8% | ⬆️2 | 67.3% |
| Maine | 39 | 30.8% | ⬇️41 | 26.6% |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 65% | ⬇️3 | 61.6% |
| New Hampshire | 35 | 34.6% | ⬆️31 | 34.8% |
| Rhode Island | 40 | 30.1% | ⬆️24 | 39.3% |
| Vermont | 21 | 42.4% | ⬆️14 | 46.9% |
Metro Providence may have landed in the bottom 15 for new multifamily authorization, but the state of Rhode Island jumped 16 spots overall. Massachusetts and Maine were the only New England states to lose their footing in this year’s analysis.
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