If you own property in the Austin area, chances are you recently received your latest property appraisal. This number, known as your appraised value, is an estimate from the Travis Central Appraisal District of what your home would sell for in Austin’s current housing market. Last year, appraisals went up a whopping 50 percent on […]
Housing
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The University of Texas says it will help low-income students pay for housing
University of Texas students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year may be able to get money to cover a portion of their on-campus rent for one academic year. University officials teased the new program in an op-ed in the Austin American–Statesman last weekend before officially announcing the program Wednesday. Students whose families earn no more than $65,000 […]
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Austin launches displacement prevention pilot program
Austin will soon have a network of displacement prevention organizers connecting vulnerable communities with the city programs and resources they need to stay in their homes and communities. The city announced the program’s launch on March 30, during a press conference featuring City Council members Vanessa Fuentes and Natasha Harper-Madison. The Displacement Prevention Navigator pilot […]
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Salvation Army’s downtown shelter is closing, leaving gap in services for single women
Maria Pérez heard she was weeks away from homelessness from an unlikely source. It wasn’t a case manager or anyone from the administrative staff at the Salvation Army downtown shelter, where she’s been staying for weeks. “I heard it from the lady that cleans,” she told KUT. Pérez had been struggling to hold down an […]
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3D home printer opens $1M competition as ‘affordability moonshot’
Austin-based 3D-printed home manufacturer Icon is looking for designers and college students from all over the world to propose advancements in architecture that could bring the cost of homes under $99,000. The company announced its Initiative 99 contest on Wednesday at South by Southwest, offering a $1 million prize to winners of a yearlong competition […]
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Doggett celebrates federal funding to benefit Foundation Communities
At a Tuesday press conference, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett and Foundation Communities celebrated $3.5 million in federal funds that will go toward three of the local housing nonprofit’s programs serving low- and middle-income families in Austin. “Before affordability was a top concern for folks across our community, Foundation Communities was doing something about it,” Doggett […]
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More than 70 percent of Austin ISD employees are burdened by housing costs, survey finds
Lee esta historia en español More than 70 percent Austin Independent School District employees are burdened by the cost of housing in the city, according to an online survey the district conducted this year. Many of the respondents said the high costs are pushing them to move outside of Austin and to consider leaving their […]
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Salvation Army’s handling of downtown shelter closure draws Council criticism
The Salvation Army’s handling of the closure of its downtown shelter was the target of criticism at City Council’s Public Health Committee meeting on Wednesday. Critiques came from Mayor Kirk Watson, members of City Council, and clients of the shelter who find themselves in limbo as a result of the announcement. The Salvation Army, which […]
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HACA shifts voucher allocation to let housing groups assist homeless
The Housing Authority of the City of Austin has shifted 300 of its housing vouchers to be more available to those experiencing homelessness, in a move aimed at helping the city reduce the number of people in chronic need of housing. Last week, HACA announced the change to convert the 20-year vouchers, which equate to […]
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Council sets its sights on affordable student housing
City Council newcomer Ryan Alter is making headway, kicking off his tenure with a call for more robust housing in the increasingly unaffordable neighborhoods around Austin’s college campuses. Alter’s resolution, which passed unanimously, directs city staff to explore partnerships and policy solutions to ramp up affordable unit production for students at UT, ACC, Huston-Tillotson, and […]
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Affordability calculator helps to demystify financing realities for low-income units
The complicated math involved in planning and financing affordable housing projects in Austin has become a little easier, thanks to a first-ever affordability calculator intended to help political leaders and housing advocates better research how developments are assembled. The calculator, which is free and available here, was created in a partnership between education nonprofit HousingWorks […]
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In Texas, you can be forced to sell your condo
It was outside the mailroom where Deborah Michals learned she could lose her home. One night this past summer when Michals walked outside her condominium in North Austin to check her mail or catch up with a neighbor doing laundry – she can’t remember which – she noticed a man she didn’t recognize. He told […]