Mayor Michelle Wu, along with several city councillors and State House officials, had a handful of football analogies at the ready last week as she signed a City Council-approved home rule petition establishing a real estate transfer fee aimed at helping affordable housing development and senior citizen property tax stabilization across the city.
The legislation faces two more critical approvals – by the Legislature and then the governor – for it to become law. It could be a bruising run to the end zone, though; Gov. Baker has already signaled his opposition to the proposal.
The City Council passed the petition at its Wednesday morning session, and Wu signed it in Mattapan, at the Foley Senior Residences on River Street. The proposal has a history at City Hall and the State House. Marty Walsh, who served for 17 years in the House before becoming mayor, had unsuccessfully pushed a similar idea.
“Safe housing, affordable housing is a human right for everyone,” Wu said. “This is a moment where housing continues to be life or death, better opportunities, and the baseline to raise a family,” she added. “This is a time when we are getting tremendous support from the federal government. We will take that opportunity to use every single dollar wisely…It’s also a moment to lean in and say this is a time where we can help people even more. We can’t wait in this moment to add a very small transaction fee at the point of sale…Everything we do to stabilize our residents is an investment in the Commonwealth and beyond.”
If it receives final approval, the fee is expected to generate nearly $100 million annually to create and preserve affordable housing in Boston and reduce property taxes for qualified low-income senior homeowners – doubling the numbers of senior citizens who would qualify for the senior property tax exemption.
Through the legislation, the first $2 million of the sales price on a home in Boston would be exempt from the fee. For sales over $2 million, the two percent fee will be paid by the seller and the funds generated will be allocated to the Neighborhood Housing Trust, which creates new affordable housing and preserves existing properties.
Wu pointed out that Boston could have doubled its funding for affordable housing last year if the fee had been in place. The transfer fee petition was originally proposed in 2019 by East Boston Councillor Lydia Edwards, who is now also a state senator.
Baker, who has left the door open to other Wu proposals like fare-free public transit, said last Thursday on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” show that “as a general rule, I don’t support these types of things.
He pointed to “billions” available to Massachusetts for housing, meaning money from the federal government, while noting that city housing officials have hundreds of millions of dollars available to them. “These are huge numbers, folks,” Baker added.
Based on 2021 sales in Boston, a two percent fee would have raised an estimated $99.7 million, and would have affected approximately 700 transactions, though some transfers between family members are exempt from the fee.
As a new stipulation in this petition, the senior tax relief program (known as the 41C program) will be expanded through increasing the exemption and modifying the criteria. The income limits would go from $24,911 to $47,000 for single people, and up to $53,000 for a couple. The changes would take the eligible tax-paying population from 4,600 residents to 8,700.
Wu said on Wednesday that state Rep. Brandy Fluker-Oakley of Mattapan will be “quarterbacking” the proposal through the Legislature. Having her sign the petition in Rep. Fluker-Oakley’s district, and within a senior housing development, was a forward pass to the Legislature conveying how important this is to Boston.
“This is to not only increase our supply of affordable housing, but also to protect our seniors,” said Fluker-Oakley. “This is the time for this to happen. We can’t just kick the can down the road and squeeze our long-time homeowners and renters…Our seniors took care of us and now we need to take care of them. We can be more progressive in how we tax in this city.”
State Rep. Liz Miranda, who represents Dorchester and is running for a seat in the state Senate, said she would be pushing for the petition as well during her last days as representative.
“For many young people who grew up here, not being able to buy a home in the neighborhood they live in is actually emotionally violent,” she said. “Many of them look for a place in Brockton, New Bedford, or Taunton. I ask myself how far will people have to go before we do something about it.”
The speaking program concluded with Mattapan resident Laura Woods, who lives at the Foley, wishing everyone well. “I am here at the Foley now for 14 years,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed it. I wouldn’t be at another place.”
Reporter Managing Editor Gintautas Dumcius contributed to this report.
