Almost all discussions about Newton’s future mention the growing number of seniors who live here. Many of us have owned our single-family homes for decades. Their value has climbed precipitously, in my case by a factor of ten. At this point in our lives, several issues arise. How much longer can we bear the responsibility of maintaining our property? Houses naturally decay and need repair, usually an expensive proposition. When it snows, someone has to clear the driveway and sidewalk. What about all those empty rooms now that the children live on their own? And what of the costs of electricity and heat? Finally, if we retirees want to surrender our haciendas but also to remain in the Garden City, can we find condos or rentals to our satisfaction?
My wife, who still works four days a week, and I are committed to remain in our home. Thanks to prudent improvements, our home’s fixed expenses are minimal. Our colonial is well-insulated and the furnace efficient. We have twenty-eight solar panels on our roof and haven’t paid an electrical bill in years. Fortunately, we are both in good health, and with the aid of a snow blower, we can handle occasional snow storms without much difficulty. Having always lived modestly and saved more than we spent, we managed to pay off our mortgage. Between my state pension and my wife’s salary, we are secure, at least for now. Things have surely broken our way.
Still, we know of other retirees who long to downsize for a rental or condo in the vicinity but cannot find a good match. Some of our friends, religiously observant, want to live within walking distance of their temple. Others hope to use the profit from the sale of their homes not only to find a more modest Newton home but also to help fund their Golden Years. These two goals, however, seem difficult to reconcile at present. The units presently on the market are rare or extremely expensive, the rent or mortgage payments larger than that of their homes- and the space is constricted. The mega-developments on the horizon offer mostly high-end units, and those deemed “affordable” are just too small for a couple hoping to host their grandchildren on weekends and school vacations.
In the grand scheme of things, why should anyone care about problems facing relatively affluent senior citizens? Elsewhere, some citizens are homeless, and others live in neighborhoods with few amenities and many problems. But Newton’s senior citizens are often the backbone of the community: present and former leaders of PTAs, activists in community groups, former city employees, and even former office-holders in local government. We love Newton and want to remain part of its fabric. What might the city do to help more of us stay?
Bob
Unfortunately, the city has no obligation to “do more “to help you
and those of your generation to stay, nor should it. Economics determine much in life. You can either afford something or you can’t.
Consider yourself lucky to have had such a good run a decamp for a community that you can afford.
No one is entitled to anything,
irregardless of their history
A problem Bob didn’t mention, which causes problem for old homeowners and young homebuyers alike:
When older residents own a million-dollar home that has appreciated 10x or in value, they face a difficult financial choice: sell it and pay about $100K federal and state capital gains tax, or leave the home in their wills, so when they pass away, the tax will vanish (step-up in cost basis). Of course, most children want Mom and Pop to keep that extra $100K in the estate and not fork it over to the IRS and Mass. DOR. That puts Mom and Pop under pressure to keep the house until they pass away. So much for trading your big 4-bedroom for a tidy condo.
I know of at least one elderly person who stays in an enormous home because of this perverse government incentive.
Michael Singer, if most kids want their aging parents to stay in their homes for the kids monetary gain when selling the home will give the parents a more comfortable lifestyle, which I’m not sure is true, then they are either selfish brats or should be kids who take care of the taxes, maintenance and other expenses on the home they hope to own.
Bob,
The harsh reality is that most people are not going to cry a river for someone with million dollar nest egg. #richPeopleProblems.
I agree that newton should create more senior only housing, but i dont know how the city can get the costs down due to regulations…especially since you dont want a studio or 1br…after selling your home, several hundred thousand dollars will go a long way.
I know many seniors who give away all their assets to their children (many years in adavance) which makes them eligible for low income senior housing…They only pay 300 a month which includes heat and electricity.
But again a studio or 1br is not good enough for you. #beggersCantBeChoosers
Bugek, who are you to judge where and how someone else lives or prefers to live? Seniors are not beggars, they just want their due. Low income seniors have most likely contributed more than real estate taxes to Newton in many ways over their years here. They deserve housing in Newton that respects that.
Seniors who become wealthy because of the sale of their home are doing their own thing. Why shouldn’t aging homeowners with homes to sell at an over inflated price, want to live wherever they like at the size they like? The money is their own and it will be high, particularly if their house is paid off.
I downsized early, got a great price for our family home in CT and moved to Newton to be close to both of my kids and grandkids – who cheered me on. I have no interest in owning another home or in a studio or one bedroom because I have visitors from out of state. Just recently I moved again, still in Newtonville, mainly because I needed more space for grandkids who are planning to get their higher education here and want to be able to get away from the grind sometimes. I had no trouble either time finding a space I could afford. I much prefer the first floor of a renovated multi-family home to any high rise. I am still within easy walking distance to Newtonville center.
I have an enormous family on both my mother’s and my father’s side – not one of their children wanted them to stay in their home if it meant they were not where they wanted to be. They all have homes and families of their own. My mother’s homestead was on the national historical register and we all visited for family occasions until it recently burned down.
@Bob-
Astute observers might also note that
the city and it taxpayers-like me, and my parents before me- have “done more” to retain city workers and pols as residents by paying decent union wages, health benefits, and pensions that I have never had provided as a self employed small business
owner. Ever. These wages and benefits have allowed you to live in Newton. Health care coverage for part time work -a benefit enjoyed by city politicians – has “helped” generations of government workers live and thrive in Newton. Most other residents could only dream of such boondoggles. The city council and school committee just got a bump in wages and benefits, and you can be damn sure that when the register stops ringing, all teachers represented by your union will be getting a bump in pay again as well. Now that you’re retired, you want residents to make sure you can afford to live here. What gall you have!
Paul -City employees haven’t been able to buy a home anywhere near Newton for for over 30 years unless their spouse’s salary is substantially higher.
@Jane
Bob obviously could afford to buy a house here 30+ yrs ago, as did you. If I were either of you, I would be counting my blessings as I am.
If I’m not mistaken, you ended up in Waban, one of the wealthiest zip codes in the state, so you have had a good run also.
The city is not obligated to provide affordable housing for teachers or any of its other employees any more than it is obligated to provide affordable housing for me or the clerk at the 7-11 near me. What is so hard to understand about looking for housing in a community that you can afford?
My guess is most residents could care not one bit about whether a city employee can afford a house in Newton or not, and frankly why should they? I’m not sure if it’s entitlement, narcissism, or a generational thing, but I have to believe other people are scratching their heads over this. If your pocketbook cant afford the address,
you do what everyone else does, you move to where you can afford.
It’s that simple. It doesn’t matter what you personally want.
Michael,
You forgot to mention that the federal government already give homeowners up tp 500k TAX FREE gain on the home. Here’s the worlds smallest violin for that extra 100k tax they have to pay. No one has any right to complain about having to pay taxes after half a million dollar gain..
Other options to downsize:
– build accessory unit using a reverse mortgage or home equity
– home equity loan or reverse mortgage to pay for a handyman, plumber, gardener on speed-dial
I wonder if Newton should allow zoning of “adult dorms” (or senior dorms)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-high-rise-offers-dorm-style-living-for-adults-1524087565
This would be the only way to keep the costs down..
Remember that there are those of us who do not live in million dollar houses and who have not lived in them long enough for them to be worth ten times what we paid for them. Yes, my house has increased in value but so has everything around here. I’m not living in a huge 3 or 4 bedroom house. I’m living in half a Cape, with about the same amount of room as I’ll have in an apartment when I need to move to one level living. Due to an accident, I’m currently in a wheelchair for the next few months and therefore cannot get to my bedroom or my shower. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want to stay in my community, in an easy commute to my job.
Paul- I will repeat: city employees haven’t been able to afford to buy a house in Newton for over 30 years UNLESS their spouse made a significantly higher salary. Thirty seven years ago, I could never have afforded to buy a house in Newton on a teacher’s salary.
If you want all Newton residents to be wealthy, then keep it up because that’s where we’re headed. One of the reasons we were attracted to Newton was because 37 years ago, there was a significant level of economic diversity. That doesn’t exist anymore and I see that as a loss to the community.
In reading Bob’s comments, I came away that he was discussing the lack of choice in housing for the elderly , or for anyone who wants to live in Newton, but not in a single family detached house.he is not looking for a handout, nor was he looking for subsidized housing. His comments were about the lack of housing diversity, and choice.
And I feel that Newton has an obligation, through its zoning laws, to provide the types of choice for those that can afford it.
Jack,
Bobs post came across sympathetic until he mention 2 things
– he’s probably sitting on close to 1M in equity, 500k TAX FREE gains, and the rest at long term capital gains and he’s complaining about affording rent ONTOP of a guaranteed pension. Please, this is an insensitive thing to complain about #richPeopleProblems
– a studio or 1BR was not good enough for him. Again, since you’re refusing to pay more for more space then this is no one’s problem but your own. I believe there are rental complexes such a s “albemarle gardens” which are not fancy/large that have reasonable rents..
Any “new” housing would have to be subsidized due to construction costs.. , but unfortunately his income + assets would certainly exceed any restrictions.
Here is a real life story a senior navigating Newton’s housing crisis.
My mother is a retired public school teacher on a pension. My father, who has passed away, sold televisions at Sears Roebuck. My parents earned all of their money. There was no inheritance. My grandfathers were both orphan immigrants. One was a janitor and one was a cobbler.
My mother is in her 80’s and moved to Newton from Florida a little more than 10 years ago. Because we grew up in the rust belt, there was no massive capital gain on our family house, as is the case for anyone who bought in Newton 40+ years ago. She easily found an apartment that was affordable. Afterwards she easily bought a condo in Newton that is affordable. When I say affordable, I don’t mean government regulation (like 40B) “affordable.” I mean both times she found market-priced-affordable housing.
As an aside, my mom wanted to be Newton to be close to her children. If she had any problems finding anything, she would have expanded her search to Needham, Waltham, or Watertown, and she would still be only a couple miles from her kids.
Jack Leader understood me well. I am asking nothing for me personally, but I am hoping for a more diverse housing stock that would permit seniors who love Newton to stay here. Others on this stream have commented on how the current tax structure distorts the process of decision-making among older homeowners. I’d also like to second Jane’s observation that the diverse housing stock once common in Newton has all but disappeared. Property costs are sky-high, and I doubt that they will accrue in value as did ours. Sadly, young families hoping to move to the Garden City face tremendous hurdles. For better or worse, economics rules all, I guess.
@bugek and @Paul Green
Why are you so bothered that Bob wants to know what the City can do for him?
Bob is a resident here; he pays taxes; he’s entitled to free speech; and he gets to VOTE. If he is like 99.99% of people in this city, he will advocate and vote for his own selfish interests. That has always been how democracy works.
What do you do, make all your political decisions to benefit others, and not yourselves?
I don’t want to subsidize Bob’s house for him either. But I think it is perfectly fine for him to muse stuff he wants. God knows that Bob’s words here are in the minds of the collective Baby Boomer conscience, which controls Newton. For better or worse, that makes Bob’s sentiments a political reality.
What do you, advocate policies and vote for candidates who will benefit others and cost you money?
I didn’t read Bob’ post as asking for anything for himself. He’s posing a dilemma facing many seniors.
Jeffrey-10 years ago, housing was much more affordable than it is now. Income inequality wasn’t an issue discussed on a daily basis either. A new order is in place now and it’s much harder to navigate the housing market.
For an interesting view of income inequality I recommend Jamie Johnson ( Johnson and Johnson heir ) documentaries “Born Rich” and the follow up “The one percent”. In these excellent documentaries ( originally shown on HBO ) he questions the current systems of inherited wealth. They are available for free in complete form on YouTube. Will be quite an eye opener how much inequality there truly is in the US.
Generally i agree that newton and the united states should provide better care for seniors (eg Japan)
Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of resouces and we like to try to appease everyone. We could easily take resouces(funding, land, housing units) from one group and give to another… but political reality means we cant because everyone must be pleased
Btw the new world order was caused by the hollowing of the middle class (eg outsourcing and globalization)
Jane. I agree that the price of owning a home has gone up, but that is only half the story. For people with limited means, rents are more relevant.
The real price of renting has gone DOWN. According to Zillow, the Newton Rent Index was $3,429 a month in November 2010 and $3,323 in April 2019. If we control for inflation, the cost of renting today in 11/2010 dollars is $2,845!
Let’s also compare Newton to neighbors with more aggressive government policies to combat the housing “crisis,” Boston and Cambridge. The typical rental in Cambridge costs $3.41 per square foot per month, Boston is $3.36, while Newton is $2.16. Wow.
One of the other global changes , for better or worse, is the physical mobility caused by upward mobility of some of the upper class children. In my youth, people were less mobile, and often middle class families stayed in the town they grew up in. Especially away from the coast where housing was ( and still is) much cheaper. Growing up in CNY near Syracuse, many of my friends grandparents lived with one if the kids family. Can’t get much closer to your kids than that! Now, kids go to college to get a better job ( that’s the dream yes ?) and those jobs are out of town. So it becomes a situation of “what are we gonna do about Pop !?” Usually this is later in life today but in my day people didn’t live as long and health problems also came up earlier after retirement.
The real estate development business community ( Trumpsters ) , and the political do golfers we’re saddled with, have got it right,.. “there’s meat on the bone in Newton”.
Sadly , the historically permissive and way to generous zoning laws we have allowed and written have encouraged and promoted the tearing down of what might be considered naturally affordable housing, (!), and given us a community for the wealthy, replete with out sized Mc Mansions and +$1,000,000 condos.
To who’s benefit ?
Aging retirees, real estate speculators ,developers and NY City hedge fund investors.
And what is the citizenry left with?
Ratty treeless patchworked streets replete with pot holes , strings of rotting overhead utilities, noisy traffic jambs, high priced out of scale apartment buildings, overcrowded schools and an overburdening tax structure to pay for it all.
What Jane said. I suppose nothing should surprise me anymore, but I was shocked by some of the negative over the top responses to Bob Jampol’s post. Bob wasn’t asking for any “handout” or preference from the City or from anybody else in Newton. He was simply stating a fact or life and death that goes through the head of every senior in Newton (including me) who owns a home and is contemplating that “next move” or that “final move”. BTW. I, too, want nothing from the City.
The irony is that these salvos were even leveled against Bob Jampol. Bob is the epitome of civic and community leadership in Newton. I could write an entire post about all the things he has done for this city and its people while working, and in retirement. He didn’t deserve some of the responses here.
I’ll say it again. Seniors owning single family homes are still a bargain for the City. The only services I really use are snow and trash removal and they would still be needed if others lived where I do in Newton.
What Bob said. I get it when folks lash out at me. But we have a few trolls on this site who clearly don’t want to hear anything but their own anger.
Once again-
Anyone who has been fortunate enough to have lived in Newton for decades, or at all for that matter, has been blessed. Lets remember we are talking about first world, not third world problems here. We live in 13 different Villages, and in each village there are different constituencies with different agendas and wish lists.
The questions we should be asking, rather than how can the city do more, are what are our priorities, and WHAT ARE WE EACH PERSONALLY WILLING TO SACRIFICE TO SEE THESE PRIORITIES THROUGH?
Yes Jane, the times have changed.
Housing, colleges, childcare & food, are all more expensive. Yes, unfortunately Bob economics mostly do rule all. That’s not my fault. People play by the rules, procedures and expectations that were laid out in the generations before them. Life guarantees you nothing. Not health, not money,
certainly not affordable rentals or condos “to our satisfaction”.
Greg may or may not be referring to me as one of the angry trolls, but I can assure you that once the gen-xrs and millennials begin to age and take stock of the political and economic mess that they have been left by a generation of “selfish”, “collective consciousness baby boomers”, there is going to be the worst kind of reckoning, and baby boomers will have have to explain to these very angry kids what they were thinking and doing.
I did not think Bob was not asking for a hand out. But I know Bob. He is a member of the Bike Newton Steering Committee and he is a really good guy. Part of the fabric of Newton is our organizations and keeping them going requires retaining residents who have and are continuing to contribute to Newton as well as attract new people to become part of our community.
We need to do more to diversify the housing stock. When my in-laws Newton Highlands home of 51 years was no longer a safe place for them to be, we could not find another option. There was no place for them to go in Newton (and they had a large sum of money to spend). Too much of Newton’s housing stock is multi-floor and car-oriented. This does not work well for people who have difficulty walking and should be giving up driving. Seniors need safe housing that allows them to continue to live independently and close to friends. (Think housing in village centers!)
And if you think this is just an issue for seniors, anyone at anytime could have their lives turned upside down. You could be a perfectly healthy 40 year old and have a stroke. Your children are in school, you have a support system here but your life is now so complicated by the struggle of getting through your day. Wouldn’t it be good if you could move to a house or condo that better suited your new situation without having to rip apart your family?
What I am finding particularly hard as a candidate for City Council is the number of people openly advocating AGAINST things that could transform their lives.
-Seniors who say they don’t want walkable communities
-People who want their children to be able to move home but fight against changing zoning to allow for smaller units or multi-family unit
-Those who are worried about the climate crisis, but fight building housing that enables people to more easily live without a car.
The irony: the exclusionary zoning that has limited the housing stock diversity has also increased home prices. That Bob has accrued wealth in his home, but has few housing choices as a senior are directly related.
We should build as much housing as the market can bear, particularly underrepresented housing types, like senior housing. But, Bob (and others), the likely result will be to drive down our artificially inflated home values. I’m good with that. Are you, Bob (and others)?
Blueprintbill,
Do you know what the teardown activity in Newton means? It means that the land under these home — as an empty, buildable lot — is more valuable than the lot and the old house, including the cost to actually tear down the old house. It’s the land value that’s driving the cost, not the size of the home. Certainly, home prices will go down if you restrict whether or not the new owner can expand or rebuild, but there’s no way that land values are going to come down so much that standalone, single-family homes in Newton will ever again be cheap enough to be starter homes for middle-income families.
If we want middle-income families to live in Newton, we need more duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes all over the city.
Thanks @Sean-
That’s an excellent question. Thank you for making my point for me also.
What are we PERSONALLY willing to sacrifice in order to insure seniors could remain in Newton? Exactly how far does the “collective consciousness of the baby boomers extend?
This “angry troll” would accept a decrease in my artificially inflated home value if it meant “good guy”
Bob Jampol could find more condos
or rentals to “his satisfaction”,
so I say build away. I’m just a stones throw away from the Newton Highlands T-Stop, and I imagine
the development of condos in and around Lincoln St and it’s surrounding neighborhoods would provide walkable transit oriented housing.
It’s a no brainer.
as much transit close
I think it fair to ask bob what his ideal place is
– location
– size
– amenities
– sales price and rental price
Fair question
@sean like everything, it difficult to change an eco system. Along with land value, as I mentioned before, a friend of mine who’s a residential developer told me he can’t make any money unless he tears down and builds larger. The cost of building a home the same size that’s on the lot is not that much different from what a larger home is. But the price he could sell it for is. Hence, the market pushes the developers to build larger in order to make a profit. It’s similar to why you see American car makers like Ford stopping making all sedans, and instead making only trucks and SUVs. They can’t seem to make enough money on the “smaller” cars. It’s too bad. I’m on my second Ford Fusion Hybrid. The best car I’ve ever owned. 40 + mpg, no repairs, excellent car. This year is the last year they will make them. If you go to an American car dealer ( like Muzi Ford, where I got my car ) you will see rows and rows of trucks and SUVs, it’s as if the cost of carbon doesn’t exist. Americans seem to be buying tons of SUVs. My favorite is the Porsche SUV. Really? If you’re going to buy a Porsche, it’s an SUV? Makes me chuckle.
Marti.
Bob asked for more housing, its fair to ask him to quantify what he wants… he brought up the issue
Dear, oh dear- Where to begin?
Jeffrey – I thought you were an economics professor? Ever hear the expression “fixed income”? It’s a problem, because it doesn’t matter what the adjusted rental rate is – today’s rental rate is what you need to pay and a retiree’s income doesn’t kept pace to the rate of inflation.
Bugek, Paul and Michael Singer- If you are very, very lucky, you too will be a senior citizen one day and face the same dilemma that Bob has right now.
I have a feeling that some people in this “discussion” imagine Bob living some hifalutin’ life in a huge mansion. He happens to live around the block from me and nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who sells a house will make a profit from that sale. However, you have to move somewhere and his point is that there are limited options for someone living on a fixed income, which is what most people live on once they retire.
There aren’t enough housing options for seniors in Newton, and the problem is going to be exacerbated in the coming years are the city’s demographic shifts to an older population. Since the city is pretty much built out, there are limited opportunities to put a dent in the deficit of senior-appropriate (‘age friendly’) housing.
If we continue to fight against new apartments and condos because they’re too big, too tall or too dense, or because they aren’t right for this or that subset of seniors, or because they don’t have the right mix of market and affordable units, etc., we should be prepared for the fact that many will need to leave the city at the point when remaining in their single family home is no longer safe or feasible.
Correction:
*as the city’s demographic shifts…
I read some comments in this thread, and they just makes me think that we’ve become awfully hard in our interactions.
How difficult is it to listen to people’s problems or opinions with respect? Their problems/opinions might not resonate with us. They might not match with our priorities. They might not rank up with the plight of some other group. They might even be completely off-base, or weird, or whatever (not in this case).
But part of building a vibrant community is building empathy for the concerns of others, listening to people’s hopes and fears, figuring out root causes, and putting it all together with fiscal realities and other constraints to make life better.
Society at large, and government in particular, can’t solve everyone’s problems. But everyone wants to be heard. And listening means that, sometimes, we can come up with not-obvious solutions to problems large or small that we might not have considered otherwise.
> “No one is entitled to anything, irregardless of their history”
Just about everyone appreciates being treated with respect. I like to think they are all entitled to it, regardless of their history.
An interesting fact learned from working with the so-called Senior Living Industry and seeing their market need analysis documents: While people talk quite a bit about wanting to be able to downsize and move to apartments, etc., when push comes to decision time shove, seniors do not actually move out of their homes and go to independent living situations. They usually defer (unless they head to the sunbelt states with better weather, costs of living and tax structures) until they urgently need to leave home and move to an assistive living arrangement.
Why?
Many reasons such as;
-Not wanting to leave the home where they made so many memories
– The process of decluttering and tidying up for showings, selling, and packing to move are truly daunting tasks, especially to folks who are growing older.
-The fear of the unknown.
– The fear of of acknowledge that the next stage of life is moving to life’s conclusion.
-The inherent anxiety around undertaking a major life change.
-Tax considerations may factor in, too, but in general it is just good old human nature to have inertia about moving
I do not say this to be critical. But I do caution that all the discussion about needing to provide alternative housing stock in Newton for senior citizens may overstate the actual demand that will provide uptake for apartments that get built. Rents are not cheap — especially with be competition for apartments from younger families that want to get their their students into Newton schools and can afford to pay more than seniors. (28 Austin Street Well, I understand, command rents the $4100 a month for a modest two bedroom apartment and, by comparison, the cost of living in a single-family home that has been owned for years maybe quite comparable.)
Newton has had one of the highest percentages of residents above the age of 75 living in their own homes for a long time. That is not just because there is an absence of alternatives, but, as the Senior Living Industry has learned the hard way from projects that were built on expectations of and projections about occupancy that could never be achieved for their independent living segment, people simply like to remain at home as long as possible and many (if not most) will do so until they are utterly forced to move by by health reverses — and when that occurs, it is generally not to an independent apartment
Mike,
When your biggest problem in life is “not being able to buy a home whilst owning a home in one of the wealthiest zips in MA and the country”….
then expect the trolls… If I was in the same situation i would have enough empathy not to whine on this publically because there are starving children in the world…
What Mike Halle said.
What Abe Zoe said.
What Abe Zoe said – a million times over!!
From both personal experience with my family and friends and in-depth knowledge of the senior housing field, elders are not likely to move out of their homes unless they are heading south or they are heading to assistant living situations. They will not move to new luxury apartments. The market just isn’t there.
Jane. When you reach 62, you will discover that your Social Security benefits are tied to the CPI! Thank you, Millennials for paying for it (and our debt and our underfunded pensions and…)
Everybody. Repeat after me, “There is no housing Crisis.” According to Zillow, over the last 10 years, Newton rents have stayed the same in nominal terms and gone DOWN in real terms. Newton rents per square foot are LOWER than Cambridge and Boston.
This is a fact. Sorry if it does not correspond to our preconceived notions. If anyone has data from an impartial data source, bring it on. Otherwise, Greg, please end this blog, and spare us future “housing crisis” blogs.
I hope Marion Knapp is reading this.
@Abe Zoe, Pat Irwin, and Lisa – absolutely, some seniors won’t leave their homes until they require assisted living, some will head south, etc. But the fact is that the senior population is as diverse as any other population and makes a range of choices. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for seniors, and the best thing we can do to help our seniors remain in the city that they love and helped build is to provide them with a range of housing options.
The data proves that seniors do choose single level apartments and condos in elevator buildings:
34-36% of the residents in Newton’s 3 large, recent developments (Avalon on Needham St, Avalon in Chestnut Hill, and the Woodland Station apartments are 60+.
Over 75% of residents in the Towers in Chestnut Hill (older high rise buildings) are 60+.
There is without a doubt demand for this type of housing for seniors. Will all, or even most seniors want to live in inter-generational, independent apartments? Of course not. Will some? Absolutely.
@Mike Halle-
I completely hear what you are saying and i agree. I am one of the guilty parties.
Everyone has a different background and history, and brings to these conversations a lifetime of hard won experience and decision making. Posters should be treated with respect, empathy, and in some cases sympathy.
Respect and empathy however are two way streets. My biggest frustration is with posters who don’t seem to be self aware enough to “read the room”, or who handle these conversations with a tin ear. While i can empathize with fixed income retirees, two actually, on this thread who have aged out or have been priced out of the most exclusive, expensive, village in our city, i find it far more difficult to sympathize with their plight to find acceptable, affordable housing as their next step. Its one very big step down from those neighborhoods and homes, and their expectations need to be adjusted accordingly. It cannot and should not be the responsibility of the city or taxpayers to replicate or provide acceptable housing similar to that previously enjoyed by these residents, while at the same time making it affordable.
I will be dealing with retirement and housing issues way sooner than i would like, but it will almost certainly be without the soft landing that folks like Jane and Bob are experiencing, whether they are living the high faluttin life in Waban or not. I care about these issues as they pertain to my own family and extended family, perhaps maybe a few of my friends, and it may sound cold and
final, but i feel no obligation or desire to spend my time, energy or resources helping the people who do have the wherewithal and means to provide for their own needs, any more than they should feel obligated to provide for mine. There may not be an inherent or implicit desire for a handout from the community included in the issue description, but there definitely seems to be a clear expectation that our city should be the driving force in addressing the senior housing issue for middle or upper middle income individuals. I think residents will have plenty to say about this in the coming years.
Intriguing! Alas: bogus data. Zillow has only had a critical mass of rental listings within the last few years, so its historical data, especially from its early years, is not statistically meaningful.
Even so, here are Zillow’s estimates for studio, 1BR, and 2BR apartments for the available full-year periods reported by Zillow:
Studios
4/2011 $1,924
4/2019 $2,484
CAGR 3.2%
1BR
4/2011 $1,644
4/2019 $2,232
CAGR 3.8%
2BR
4/2011 $2,064
4/2019 $2,629
CAGR 3.1%
So the growth in Newton rents for studios, 1BR, and 2BR (which would be the applicable categories when discussing senior housing) was at least twice the average rate of inflation (1.6%).
Oh and check out the “Zillow rent index” (equally meaningless, but what the heck):
Zillow Rent Index
$3,323 Newton
$2,435 Boston-Cambridge-Newton Metro
$1,486 United States
Everybody repeat after me: there is a housing crisis, in Newton and across the rest of the metropolitan area.
Jeffrey-I don’t receive Social Security and never will.
But I’ll admit to being secretly pleased that you referred to 62 years of age as part of my future. :)
I’m sorry, but personal experience is not a good indicator for whether someone wants to downsize. I can give you countless examples of people I meet on the campaign who want to downsize – and countless examples who have already downsized. They live in granny flats and condos and Court Street and in converted churches. They live in Cabot Park Village and some still live in large homes they can’t wait to leave. Some want to stay in Newton – some want to be closer to their kids or even old friends! (Have you checked out the new co-housing trend? https://aleteia.org/2019/04/15/why-co-housing-in-your-senior-years-is-something-to-look-forward-to/)
So what do the stats say? You can find different studies that have a larger or smaller percentage but all show a significant percentage of baby boomers downsizing. For example, in a 2017 study 46 percent of the home sellers who were baby boomers downsized, according to the 2017 Zillow Group Housing Trends Report.
Do you folks who don’t believe there’s a housing shortage in Greater Boston also not believe in climate change?
And do you also think the Red Sox need bullpen help?
Yes or no will do.
Paul – I don’t hear anyone is asking for a handout. I’m certainly not and neither is Bob. We’re just wondering if there will be housing options other than a single family home in Newton. However, I’m aware that other seniors have significant financial challenges when looking for housing and those are the people I was referring to. Not me.
Paul – I don’t hear anyone is asking for a handout. I’m certainly not and neither is Bob. We’re just wondering if there will be housing options other than a single family home in Newton. I see no reason why you got so angry at two retired people who live quite modestly and aren’t asking anything from you, the city, or anyone else. Zip codes represent an area and nothing else.
Michael. Thank you for looking at data. If you have better data than Zillow , for a 10% cut, I’ll make you a billionaire.
Google “zillow rent methodology.” You will see how they compute their index.
The Zillow Rent Index is intended for temporal comparisons. This is exactly how I used it. Looking at prices of, say, all studios is problematic. If more, fresh units come on the market, it will look like prices are going up, when really what is happening is that the new units sell at a premium while the seasoned units sell at the same price.
Second, you can’t compare average rental prices across cities. Newton rentals, on average, are bigger and thus cost more. A senior who wants a 1,000 square foot apartment will pay less than Newton’s median and probably more than Boston’s median. This is why I chose to compare price per square foot.
The way that I look at it, solving one person’s problems can offer the opportunity to solve a series of them for a range of people and for the benefit of the community.
Bob wants to keep living in Newton, I assume both the place and the community. He and his wife have played by the rules, invested in their home, been part of their neighborhood. They have means. Their problem isn’t the world biggest, but it likely isn’t unique given the figures floating around on this thread.
I see societal benefit in keeping people with Newton ties near Newton. Not an obligation, but an advantage. They are part of churches and temples, cultural groups and local politics. They have often have ties to children and grandchildren who may live in the area. These are good things.
Now, they may just want an elevator. Or no driveway to plow, or sidewalk to clear. Or don’t need the extra rooms. Or the maintenance. Or they want to walk to a drug store. Or want to give up driving. Or be around more people. A suburb in the northeast like Newton doesn’t make it easy to live old independently; it is a testament to the grit of Newton’s seniors that so many do so. But that doesn’t mean that, given an alternative and a path toward it, they might not choose it (much like many other seniors across the country). Yes, we need to understand the need, but nearby apartments in Waltham, Watertown, and Needham are already attracting seniors from Newton.
Help these seniors figure out their next steps (within the community if possible), and existing housing stock frees up. Many of the houses that long-term residents live in in my part of town, West Newton, are good but relatively modest homes on quiet streets, perfect for new families to move into (perhaps with renovation). If we use zoning to discourage some of the teardown opportunities, we’ve provided a natural path for neighborhoods to evolve organically.
Is this solving “children starving in the world”? Maybe not. But finding meaningful opportunities for Newton community to grow in ways that respect the ongoing contributions of an older generation while looking out for the future of our villages and neighborhoods is OK enough for me.
And if your true interest is “children starving in the world”, posting to V14 probably probably isn’t the best use of your time anyway.
As the data tells us, no housing crisis for apartments.
I believe in climate change, although I don’t see the connection to the housing crisis.
I don’t watch baseball. It is too boring. I have no idea about the Red Sox bullpen.
The two major needs in our city and many large cities in MA and this country is for affordable housing, not the luxury apartments that Newton seems intent on building, and even more importantly better public transportation. There was an article in the nytimes recently on just this issue. The jobs and economy are generally doing well in these cities so it is far less a concern. Gov Baker ran on his big plans to improve public transport in MA. Not seeing the results yet. The state needs to be willing to invest in both.
Thank you, Mike Halle, for an elegant explanation of the issue.
Let me add that there is significant societal benefit when seniors leave their long term properties at a time of their choosing, rather than waiting to the point that moving on their own is no longer practical.
There are three homes right near us where long time residents have passed away. One will probably be in probate for years, one is slowly being cleared out by the adult children of our neighbors, and another is a fenced off, burned out hulk across from our school.
Each such example is it’s own special case and circumstance. Humans are not so good at choosing the perfect time to make important choices, and we have limited ability to help.
But it benefits families and neighborhoods alike when those who have the ability and will to move out from their own homes do so cleanly and move on to their next stage in life.
Most ppl here dont realize they are living in a Newton bubble. If the city should extend any housing help, it should be in the following order
1 homeless
2 veterans
3 struggling low income families
4 abused spouses
.
.
Distant LAST: change zoning so that ppl who have owned their home for decades and now have significant equity (hundreds of thousands) can afford to trade down(or up) with a wide variety of choices.
I agree that seniors on fixed incomes should be given help with property taxes to stay in their current home.
Advocating building affordable housing for people who already own very expensive homes (relatively speaking) should be dead last in any priority… although one interesting idea could be a city sponsored “housing swap”:
The city will build senior complexes at various price points. The senior gives their house to the city with an agreement that when they pass away the city will give current market price + inflation back to their estate.
In exchange, the seniors gets to live in the complex rent free. The city will partner with a developer to tear down the old house and build multifamily housing(city can bypass zoning) and be given a percentage of profits(which suppory the senior complex)
Not that i support this, just an idea…
“I believe in climate change, although I don’t see the connection to the housing crisis.” Transportation is the number 1 greenhouse gas emission source in Newton and MA, mainly from private vehicles, as is shown in this https://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/calculator. The denser people live, the less they need to drive to stores, parks, etc. It also makes mass transit (buses, trains) more viable.
“The rule of thumb that economists use on this is if you can get 5 percent of the cars off the road, you can reduce your traffic by 20 percent.”
https://www.boston.com/cars/car-culture/2018/02/20/boston-traffic-congestion-pricing
Bugek,
Your plan sounds a bit like the kind of “social engineering” you have repeatedly criticized others for in your postings here.
Not judging, just saying.
@Jane-
Zip codes represent far more than
“Just an area”, and both you and I know
that. Zip codes usually determine the difference between the haves and the have nots in life. The money and political power(which usually
go hand and hand), that is concentrated in some zip codes and absent in others determines which villages will have two brand new state of the art
elementary schools built within a few short years of each other(Zervas & Angier in Waban), and which villages on the north side of the city will be left to beat each other over the head fighting for the financial scraps to have their old crappy school buildings updated. Zip codes determine which villages will have the political power to fight and succeed in preventing parking meters in their square to preserve the character of their village(again Waban), and zip codes determine which residents will be successful when they fight like rabid dogs to prevent modest transitional housing for people trying to get back on their feet, some at no fault of their own.(Hello again Waban). Most importantly, and pertinent to the entire point of this discussion,
and the issue of concern to Bob Jampol, the lack of senior housing,
zip codes determine where affordable housing for seniors will be welcomed and encouraged or be shunned, discouraged and have highly organized vocal opposition.
If Bob and other seniors in Waban are having trouble finding acceptable affordable housing, they might ask their own neighbors why.
So much for the “collective consciousness of the baby boomers”…
Bob may end up being in luck however.
Ward 5 candidate for city council,
Bill Humphrey,
characterizes himself as a “redistributionist” so all may not be lost yet.
Redistribution sounds like a good idea. I read recently that one zip code – 02462 – has 16.6% affordable housing units or twice the city-wide average of 8.3%.
I’d like to know why there’s so much development going on in the seaport district ( and I presume the jobs there are causing part of the housing “crisis”) when the union of concerned scientists map shows so much of Boston and back bay being underwater in 30 years. Are we going to have to bail them out of that as well? We are past the point of eliminating climate change, and have to start thinking about mitigation as well as prevention. Allowing so much building in future flood zones is not wise.
@Rick Frank. I’d actually be somewhat relieved if the worst manifestation of climate change three decades from now was a flooded Seaport District. Many far more serious effects are in the offing and technology while necessary is far from sufficient for reversing the trajectory we are on.
another issue with increased density will hit seniors with fixed incomes pretty hard … “increase in property taxes”
– area upzoned around Washington street will see their land value shoot up significantly as developers will bid up any parcel which can maximize their profit
– increase in population will require more services (streets, schools, police). common sense tells you that right now.
For those seniors who are not fortunate to have a fat pension will start to struggle with property taxes 5 to 10 years from now..