"Six years before Caitlin Harnois was born, her parents achieved the American dream. For $250,000, they bought an unremarkable two-family house on a leafy street in Roslindale that was packed with unremarkable two-family houses. That home became the family's anchor - both economic and physical - to the city. Harnois grew up there, and nearly four decades later, she and her husband rent the second floor from her parents, while tenants live downstairs."
"If only, Harnois often laments, she could do what her parents had done. But buying a home isn't for people like Harnois anymore. Not around here. Not now. Harnois is an elementary school teacher in Boston Public Schools; together she and her husband make $175,000 a year. And their monthly rental costs are modest, considerably less than the typical household around here."
"The typical house in Greater Boston sold for $833,900 in the second quarter of 2025, more than 7.5 times the region's median household income. Five years ago, a household needed to earn $126,519 a year to afford the median-priced single-family home in this region, according to an analysis by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Today, that figure has more than doubled, to $259,648."
Home prices in Greater Boston have risen dramatically faster than incomes, making ownership unattainable for many younger and middle-class households. Typical single-family sale price reached $833,900 in the second quarter of 2025, more than 7.5 times the region's median household income. The income needed to afford a median-priced single-family home rose from $126,519 five years ago to $259,648 today. Long-term price growth has accelerated recently, pushing teachers, nurses, and academics out of the market. Families who purchased decades earlier now often anchor multigenerational arrangements while newer households continue to rent despite substantial incomes.
Read at Boston.com
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