“It’s not just renters who could be pushed out the door. Diana Painter is deputy director of the Coalition for Social Justice in New Bedford. She says that as the rail line barrels toward completion, corporate investors are buying out longtime homeowners, marking a major shift in the city’s housing market.

‘New Bedford, especially being a gateway city—we had a lot of immigrant families and that was their way to build family wealth, was to buy a multi-family home and rent out a floor,’ said Painter. ‘Now we’re seeing more investment real estate. So people are buying up properties they don’t intend to live in.’

Painter said the rail will provide an economic boost to the region, but rising housing costs are taking a toll on residents today.”

Read more: https://www.capeandislands.org/local-news/2021-08-09/south-coast-rail-brings-access-to-boston-and-concern-about-housing-costs