Massachusetts 2035 · 01 / 10

Housing

You will buy a home for 1/3 of today's price

The moonshot

Build Homes at Factory Scale

We will build a Massachusetts homebuilding industry that produces beautiful, durable homes at factory scale. Combine modular production, construction robotics, faster permits, and unlocked land to deliver a new home for 1/3 of the price of a comparable home today.

The opportunity

A picture of 2035

A teacher in Lowell picks up the keys to a new factory-built home. Her mortgage leaves room for groceries, savings, and a family. Across the street, apprentices are helping build the next block.

What we can build on

Massachusetts has universities, construction talent, modular builders, and public land that can become homes. Reframe Systems and other builders are the kinds of partners we should invite to compete on cost, quality, and delivery.

The gap to close

A cheaper wall panel does not automatically produce a cheaper home. Land, utilities, financing, approvals, and resale terms can absorb every construction saving. The target must be the price a household actually pays.

The work starts here.

Top three key initiatives

Say yes to homes and put approvals on a clock

Create a Housing Production Office to coordinate state reviews and propose a 120-day decision standard for complete, qualifying applications. Seek the legal authority needed to resolve missed deadlines; do not treat a new override as a power the state already has.

Prioritize infill, small lots, accessory homes, office conversions, and housing near jobs and useful transportation. Reward towns when homes are occupied. Publish approvals, completions, and delays so saying yes leads to actual keys.

Run a housing R&D race to 1/3 the price

Invite MIT, UMass Lowell, other public universities, and builders into a competitive housing compact. Test modular construction, robotics, standardized components, and simpler designs. Use a sub-$200-per-square-foot construction milestone as an intermediate target.

Publish a full cost stack: land, site work, utilities, construction, financing, fees, and developer margin. Compare each demonstration with a similar 2026 local home in constant dollars. One-third means the final purchase price is about 33% of that baseline, not merely a cheaper factory shell.

Put factory-built homes on land we can unlock

Offer suitable surplus state land through competitive leases or sales, with clear affordability terms. Invite Reframe and other qualified modular builders to deliver finished, inspected homes at scale. Structure purchase commitments around completed units and verified milestones.

Use long ground leases or shared-equity terms where needed to preserve affordability. Disclose any subsidy and resale restriction alongside the price. A 1/3-price demonstration must be repeatable, with the public contribution visible.

The supporting work

Finish the zoning work and reward delivery

Advance multifamily housing in covered transit communities and other job centers. Tie infrastructure grants to completed homes, with school, water, and street capacity planned alongside growth.

Turn empty offices into homes statewide

Target 5,000 conversion homes by 2030. Screen buildings for workable layouts and renovation costs before committing public money.

Modernize building rules without compromising safety

Evaluate single-stair designs, small-lot subdivisions, and parking reforms with fire officials and building professionals. Adopt changes where evidence supports safe, less expensive homes.

Open faith-owned and nonprofit land

Create a Yes In God's Backyard pathway, with predevelopment help for congregations and nonprofits that want homes on underused land. Make local participation practical and transparent.

Launch First Home Commonwealth

Help teachers, nurses, tradespeople, and first-time buyers access the new supply. Pair assistance with production and durable affordability so public dollars do not simply bid up existing homes.

The path to 2035

Proposed milestones. Expand against evidence, delivery, and public value.

2027
Establish the baseline
Publish comparable local home prices and the full cost model. Select demonstration sites, propose the permit clock, and procure the first factory-built homes. Show the public contribution per home.
2029
Prove the production model
Verify construction-cost reductions in occupied homes. Expand only the designs that pass inspections and lower the final price. Aim to restore a production pace above 20,000 permits a year.
2031
Make affordability repeatable
Scale factories, conversions, and public-land partnerships across multiple regions. Publish operating costs, household affordability, and repeat orders, alongside progress toward the 222,000-home ambition.
2035
Deliver the 1/3-price home
Target a scalable class of starter homes priced at 1/3 of comparable 2026 local homes in real terms. Pursue 222,000 additional homes over the 2024-2035 planning period, with supply keeping up with population growth.

Questions & answers

Does this mean every existing home loses two-thirds of its value?

The production moonshot is a new, comparable starter home for 1/3 the baseline price. It is not a forecast for every property. Publish the geography, size, quality, subsidy, and ownership terms so the claim can be checked.

Will faster permitting overwhelm towns?

Put new homes where infrastructure can support them, and fund added capacity where it cannot. Towns should shape design and growth while meeting clear production obligations. Resolve legal authority openly through legislation and rulemaking.

What if a modular builder fails?

Use multiple suppliers, staged commitments, independent inspections, warranties, and completion security. Do not prepay an entire factory on the strength of a rendering. A public land contribution is a real cost and belongs on the scorecard.

Show the results.

The public scorecard

These are the measures we would publish to judge progress.

Fully loaded price versus comparable 2026 homes
Subsidy per home
Completions
Approval time
Housing costs as a share of household income