Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Globe On the Housing Crisis

More evidence from Sunday's Globe that you can't solve the state's job crisis without addressing the housing crisis.

[T]he biggest problem in Boston is not pay but housing. In other words, companies can't pay employees enough to compensate for the area's ultra-high housing prices. The Massachusetts Medical Society's most recent economic survey identified housing costs as a major deterrent to bringing new doctors to Boston and keeping old ones from leaving. Doctors here actually earn less than they do in other parts of the country, but have to pay far more for housing, the survey found.
[...]
Housing prices are a double negative. They create affordability issues on their own and they push up salaries as employers try to compensate workers for the region's high cost of living.