InFocus featuring UMass Donahue Institute Dr. Kerry Spitzer
In this 22 News InFocus segment, host Patrick Berry speaks with Dr. Kerry Spitzer, senior research manager at the UMass Donahue Institute, about a Wayfinders-commissioned study detailing the severe housing shortage in Western Massachusetts.
Spitzer explains that all four western counties face long-standing underproduction of housing, resulting in extremely low vacancy rates, rapidly rising rents, and widespread cost burden, especially for low-income renters—36% of whom earn under $25,000 and can afford only about $625 per month, far below local market rates. The region is short more than 23,000 housing units, and construction lags significantly behind state and national levels due to high building costs, restrictive zoning, and difficulty achieving financial viability for smaller or lower-priced homes.
Spitzer notes that population dynamics—such as smaller household sizes and aging residents—mean the crisis won’t resolve simply through out-migration, and that increasing housing supply would also generate substantial economic benefits.
Read article: InFocus featuring UMass Donahue Institute's Dr. Kerry Spitzer
November 20, 2025
