Mortgage Payments Are Outstripping Income Gains

[Brian J Allen]

A recent statistic from Banker & Tradesman caught my attention, highlighting a growing concern in the housing market. According to Zoocasa, the annual median income in Greater Boston has increased by 22.4 percent since 2018, yet in that same period, the average monthly mortgage payment has jumped by 27.5 percent. The disparity is even more alarming in Worcester, where median income has grown by 19.7 percent, while mortgage payments have surged a staggering 82.9 percent.

It’s no surprise that home prices in Worcester have risen, but I didn’t realize the jump was so dramatic.

What I’m seeing on the ground is that many of the buyers for multifamily homes (multis) in Worcester are coming from the east—places like Greater Boston. Unfortunately, very few local Worcester residents can afford these properties, creating intense pressure on those who live and work in the city. As rents and home prices rise, long-time residents are being squeezed out.

Worcester is increasingly becoming a bedroom community for towns like Marlborough, Hudson, Natick, and Framingham, as those areas become more expensive. We seem to be returning to the “Drive until you qualify” days, where homebuyers are forced to move further out to find affordable housing.

For someone who works in Marlborough and only commutes a couple of times a week, buying a multifamily home in Worcester might seem like a smart investment. However, the rapid rise in housing costs is dramatically impacting people who live and work in Worcester, pushing them farther west and south in search of more affordable options to buy or rent.