TIME TO ACT: Falmouth Housing Crisis

 

Key Demographic and Economic Information

The Town of Falmouth has an estimated year-round population of just over 32,500 residents, the second largest town in the region in terms of year-round population. It is bordered by Bourne and Sandwich on the north, Vineyard Sound on the south, Buzzards Bay on the west, and Mashpee on the east. About 31% of homes in the town are seasonal, which is slightly lower than the region as a whole (36%). The Town of Falmouth includes two Community Activity Centers within its boundaries: Falmouth and Woods Hole.

2020 Decennial Census; American Community Survey (ACS) 2021 5-year Estimates; Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors; Massachusetts Department of Revenue)

Current Housing Stock

Housing Stock by Year Built Like the region, the vast majority of housing units in the town were built between 1950 and 1999. About 14% of homes have been built in the 2000s. (Assessors’ data and CCC housing typology analysis) The Cape Cod Commission conducted a housing typology study using local assessors’ data and state class property codes. The graph below shows the distribution of various types of residences using this data, which differs slightly from American Community Survey counts. In Falmouth, about 82% of residential properties are single-family homes; 14% are multifamily properties. The remaining 4.1% are other types of properties. Other properties may be a single home or may be multifamily homes such as compounds, which may include multiple houses on one parcel occupied by different households or a single family home with a guest house. Mix of uses are properties that have at least one residence on them but also have some sort of other use such as agricultural or commercial. For more information on the housing typology and categories visit: cccom.link/ht

 

Housing Stock by Year

Built Like the region, the vast majority of housing units in the town were built between 1950 and 1999. About 14% of homes have been built in the 2000s. (Assessors’ data and CCC housing typology analysis)

 

Owners and Renters

There are about 14,000 year-round occupied housing units in Falmouth; of these, 81% are owner-occupied and 19% are renter-occupied.

 

Seasonality

Just under 1/3 of all housing units in Falmouth are used for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use.

 (ACS 2021 5-year Estimates) 

 

(ACS 2021 5-year Estimates)

Wages, Employment, and Housing Affordability

(MA Labor Market Information, ES-202 data)

Like much of the region, employment in Falmouth can be highly seasonal. In 2019, employment peaked in July at 27% more than the low in February. Due to the pandemic, 2020 patterns were significantly different, but in 2021 started to return to pre-pandemic levels and trends.

 

Housing Affordability

(Annual income refers to a household’s earnings, while annual wage refers to an individual’s earnings. Data: Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors; 2021 ACS 5-Yr Estimates; 2022 Cape Cod Housing Needs Assessment; MA Labor Market Information, ES-202 data)

In 2021 the median price for a home for sale in Falmouth was $650,000. In 2022, prices increased to a median home sales price of $705,000, a 9% increase. Average wages in the town’s largest industries by employment fall well below what is needed to affordably purchase a home at median sales prices (affordably purchase means a household spends 30% or less on housing costs). While the median gross rent, according to the American Community Survey, is more affordable, availability of year-round rental housing is very limited.

 

Affordable Housing Units

The Massachusetts Subsidized Housing Inventory is used to measure a community’s stock of low- or moderate-income housing for the purposes of M.G.L. Chapter 40B, the Comprehensive Permit Law, which encourages communities to have 10% of their housing stock be affordable for low- to moderate-income households. While housing developed under Chapter 40B is eligible for inclusion on the inventory, other types of housing also qualify to count toward a community’s affordable housing stock.

Community Activity Centers

Community Activity Centers are areas with a concentration of business activity, community activity, and a compact built environment that may be suitable for additional housing and a mix of uses at a scale that fits in with the community’s character. The vision for these areas is to accommodate these uses in a walkable, vibrant area, preserve historic buildings, and to provide diverse services, shopping, recreation, civic spaces, housing, and job opportunities, with adequate infrastructure and pedestrian amenities to support development. The Cape Cod Commission identified seventeen Community Activity Centers across the region. Falmouth has two identified Community Activity Centers, one in downtown Falmouth and one in Woods Hole.

Zoning 

 

Accessory Dwelling Unit by Right 

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a secondary housing unit on a single-family residential lot. ADUs can include over-garage units, carriage houses, or in-house apartments, and may provide more affordable housing options.

Note: Only ADUs that are attached are allowed by right in Falmouth; detached ADUs require a special permit.

Allowed

Multifamily Housing by Right

Multifamily zoning by right makes the ability to develop multifamily units in certain districts of a town easier, supporting an expanded and diversified housing stock.

Allowed

Inclusionary Zoning Policy

Inclusionary zoning requires developers to designate a percentage of the units in certain projects as available to lower to moderate income households.

Note: Falmouth does have zoning provisions to encourage the development of affordable housing; it is not required.

Not Adopted

 
 

The Town Housing Profiles have been created as a data resource by the Cape Cod Commission. Explore more data related to housing, demographics, and the economy at datacapecod.org.

 

Our Projects

Falmouth Station Restoration
Rehabilitation of the Historic Falmouth Station located at 59 Depot Avenue in Falmouth.
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