Housing was a key topic during Gov. Maura Healey’s State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday, just one day before she was set to speak in favor of the Affordable Homes Act before the state’s Joint Committee on Housing. 

The Affordable Homes Act, if passed, will create thousands of homebuying opportunities for those who right now cannot afford a home in the Bay State. On top of that, Healey says it will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into building programs and first-time homebuyer programs.

Calling housing the biggest challenge the state faces, Healey talked about how rents and prices are at all-time highs. 

“It’s young couples searching on Zillow putting in their price range and watching all the homes for sale disappear off the map,” she said. “Recent graduates sharing a meal and talking about states where your paycheck might go further. Seniors staring in disbelief at a letter about a rent hike they can’t afford.

“This isn’t just a few unlucky people. It’s the heart of our workforce. It’s the soul of our communities. It’s the future of our state.”

Healey said the state needs to act now to make it easier for everyone to find affordable places to live, and the process is already underway.

In 2023, the Healey administration appointed the state’s first secretary of housing and livable communities, tripled tax credits for new housing and increased low-income housing credits. It also funded 1,000 new rental vouchers and identified surplus public land for new homes — all steps Healey said will make a difference. 

But the housing shortage we are dealing with now is decades in the making, and Healey said to get costs down “we have to go big and we have to do it now.”

“That means passing our $4 billion Affordable Homes Act — the most ambitious housing plan in Massachusetts history,” Healy said. “If you’re born here or come to school here, I want you staying here.”

Healey said passage of the bill would:

• Create middle-class housing and make homeownership a reality for families who have been priced out.
• Build affordable homes at every income level and repair public housing.
• Create supportive homes for seniors, veterans and the disabled. 
• Support construction careers with strong labor standards.

“It would inject hundreds of millions of dollars into building programs and first-time homebuyer programs,” Healey said. “It will reduce barriers to housing production and give communities the tools to develop more housing where they need it. It would bring down housing costs for everyone.”

The Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) also offered testimony on the bill and offered support for the Healey administration’s focus. 

“On behalf of the over 13,000 members of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, we wish to  express our support for housing production and applaud the Healey administration for its focus on production as the solution to the housing shortage,” a statement sent to Boston Agent ahead of the hearing read. “Massachusetts needs to build housing of all types — market rate, middle-income, low-income and supportive. Supporting one subset of the housing market is not enough. It will require long-term solutions and public support to make the type of  investments in infrastructure as outlined in H.4138.”