Homes for Profit: Speculation and Investment in Greater Boston
Our new research found one in every five homes sold to an investor from 2004 to 2018
MAPC has released research that examines the prevalence, characteristics, and spatial patterns of residential property speculation in Greater Boston. Our research finds that low-income urban communities of color experience the highest rates of speculative investor activity. Investors are often able to buy properties at a discount using cash, and they are also more likely than non-investors to flip their properties and to make a significantly higher profit on flipped properties than non-investors. Our November 30 featured a presentation of this research and a panel discussion.
Report Release Briefing
Thursday, November 30, 2023 12:00 p.m.
Guest panelists included:
Angie Liou, Executive Director, Asian Community Development Corporation
Brian An, PhD, Director, Master of Science in Public Policy Program, Georgia Institute of Technology
Katie McCann, Rent Control Campaign Coordinator, City Life/Vida Urbana
Tim Reardon, Chief of Data and Research, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities
This map on the right represents data from the Homes for Profit report. The interactive map allows you to select a geography to see the data and use the controls to choose which data to visualize, apply filters, adjust colors, or show different geographies.
For more details about how these data were generated, visit the About page.
To help provide a way for local stakeholders to understand housing market diversity within the region and individual municipalities, MAPC classified housing in Greater Boston into seven distinct submarkets – neighborhoods with similar housing stock and market characteristics.
Greater Boston’s housing crisis devastates the cost-burdened, hurts the region’s quality of life, and weakens its economic competitiveness. How do we create more places to live, and protect against displacement?
In the News
- Investors snagged 1 in 5 homes for sale in Greater Boston, worsening housing crisis, report finds – The Boston Globe | Dec. 3, 2023
- New analysis shows how investors have helped push up Boston housing costs – Boston Business Journal | Nov. 30, 2023
- Investors buying up homes in Massachusetts at red-hot pace: report – Boston Herald | Nov. 30, 2023
- Investors bought 1 in 5 homes in Boston area with no intention of living in them, report says – CBS Boston Ι Nov. 30, 2023
- Report: Investors Adding To Mass. Housing Market Strain – State House News Service Ι Nov. 29, 2023
- Market distortion: Speculators snapping up a huge number of homes and small apartment buildings across Greater Boston, study finds – Contrarian Boston Ι Nov. 29, 2023