Demographics, development, and housing choices

As a planner and housing finance professional, I am focused on our changing demographics and our housing stock. Demographics drive who lives and plays in town, and certainly also affect housing prices and property values. The median age in Wakefield increased over the past nine years to 43.9 years old, older than rest of the state, and the nation. Households are also getting smaller too. Since 2010 our town's population has only grown one percent. We are fortunate that, proportionately, our school age population (14 and younger) is holding steady at 16% over the past decade. Whether this can continue depends on our housing stock.

Wakefield is a warm and inviting suburban town close to Boston. Single-family and two-family homes make up three-fourths of our housing stock. This may feel right in terms of scale but we are also largely built out. We also have proportionately fewer housing units in structures with 20+ units. Whereas only 10.6% of our housing units are in larger structures, towns of similar sizes are higher - Melrose (18.2%), Burlington (15%) and Lynnfield (12%). Reading is just below us at 10.1%.

Now let's layer on affordability. The percentage of Wakefield homeowners and renters paying more than 30% of income to housing is increasing as property values, home prices, and rents rise. We also haven't produced enough affordable housing units. As of December 2020, Wakefield's ratio of affordable to total housing units (6.7%) stands below most of our neighbors (Melrose -8.0%, Reading - 10.4%, North Reading - 10.8%, and Lynnfield - 11.4%).

Overall this also means we do not offer many different housing choices for individuals and families of different sizes or at different price points. Will there be housing for me when I want to downsize? Could our children come back to start their own families here? To have a healthy and vibrant community, we will need more housing that is affordable to a wider income range.

Other towns are finding that balance and reaping the benefits and stability as as result. Wakefield can as well. We have the ability to impact these trends and make lasting positive physical choices that positively benefit our quality of life. Through planning visioning and zoning, we can encourage housing in the right places and manage growth elsewhere to protect the Lake and green spaces. Let's go Wakefield!