2026 City (CDD) Housing Report

Summary:  The City’s Annual Housing Review reveals a housing system marked by a growing pipeline of market-rate development alongside limited near-term production, rising costs, and significant neighborhood and environmental impacts. Affordable housing remains the most consistent source of actual unit delivery. The report notes that “2 projects with all-affordable units were permitted in 2025,” totaling 71 units, or “46%” of all new units permitted. It further concludes that “all-affordable housing development remains strong due to alternate funding sources and reliable permitting (AHO).” These projects are moving forward despite economic constraints, indicating that subsidized housing is currently the most dependable form of production.

At the same time, the report identifies a very large pipeline of future housing, much of it market-rate. It notes that “PUD proposals… make up a large pipeline of market housing over long term (5,000± units).” While “not all projects will necessarily move forward,” and “actual construction and timing… is uncertain due to economic factors” these will likely increase housing costs and have harmful environmental impacts. Furthermore, these new units will not help build back our middle class because the new housing costs will be out of reach. The report itself notes that “private funding for market-rate housing remains difficult to secure,” reinforcing the pattern that new private development must command high prices to proceed. As a result, new housing is likely to enter the market at elevated price points, contributing to broader increases in rents and property values.

The redevelopment process is also associated with displacement pressures. In 2025, “88” housing units were approved for demolition, a sharp increase from the prior year. Many projects replace smaller or older buildings with larger developments, reflecting what the report describes as a “shift away from decreasing units toward increasing units.” While this increases total unit counts, it also results in the loss of existing housing and contributes to rising land values, making it more difficult for current residents to remain in place.
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Environmental impacts are also evident. The report shows that “37” significant trees were removed while only “26” new canopy trees were proposed. Although projects are said to meet requirements, “some proposals are closer to the minimum,” suggesting a gradual erosion of tree canopy and open space quality associated with new development. The report also  underestimates the number of market rate homes and units that have been engaged with this upzoning, the amount of profit developers are making on Cambridge since the upzoning, and the  loss of residents and green space.

Overall, the report points to a system in which affordable housing is being delivered through public mechanisms, while a large volume of market-rate housing is planned but not yet realized. In the meantime, the housing that is built is often high-cost, redevelopment-driven, and associated with demolition and environmental impacts. The result is a pattern of rising property values, displacement pressure, and neighborhood change occurring in advance of any substantial increase in supply that might offset these trends.
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Cambridge's CDD's Development Log for July 2025 tracks 67 projects totaling 12.9 million square feet and over $3 billion in construction. Projects cover development of more than 5,000 housing units, including over 1,000 affordable housing units. On top of this we have potentially 2000 new units proposed for Alewife quad. And this appears  not to  include  demolitions of existing single and two-family vintage homes for larger luxury ones.  We are certainly building alot even without the proposed lowering of the affordable housing 20% mandate, or doing away with design oversight, setbacks, and the legal right to appeal.