Residents in City Council districts 1 and 6 will have the first chance to purchase one of a cluster of single-family homes the city is making available at affordable prices through the Austin Community Land Trust. In a memo released last week, Housing and Planning Director Rosie Truelove detailed the timing and methodology for the […]
Housing
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County, nonprofits prepare to administer supportive housing resolution
The Travis County Commissioners Court met for a work session Thursday to review the ongoing, federally funded affordable housing initiatives in the Austin area. Multiple nonprofits are preparing to build supportive housing in Travis County using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, earmarked for use by commissioners last year. The nine groups – the Other […]
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Neighborhood association attempts to put kibosh on housing for the homeless
Advocates and city officials often say affordable housing is the key to ending homelessness. But as a rezoning case heard Tuesday at the Planning Commission showed, this type of housing can be hard to build, due in part to neighborhood opposition. A group of affordable housing developers plans to turn three lots at 1004-1008 E. […]
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The value of your Travis County home has gone up a lot. That doesn’t mean your property taxes will.
People who own property in the Austin area recently received new valuations from the local appraisal district. This number, known as your appraised value, estimates what your property would currently sell for in Austin’s record-breaking housing market. The appraisals are a lot higher than they were last year. According to the Travis Central Appraisal District, […]
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The median sales price of a home in Austin has surpassed $600,000
The price of buying a home in Austin knows no other mode than acceleration, it seems. According to the latest numbers from the Austin Board of Realtors, homes in the city sold for a median price of $624,000 in March. That represents a record-high price, and a 22 percent increase in sales price over the […]
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City anticipating three new hotels for homeless housing
The city expects to have about 190 new hotel rooms available by the end of June to provide permanent supportive housing to homeless people who are found to need long-term assistance to avoid winding up on the streets again. Approximately 60 additional affordable units will be operated by a nonprofit partner. During a presentation at […]
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Austin says it will sell city-owned property to families affected by gentrification
The city of Austin says it will give people from gentrifying neighborhoods priority in the application process for more than two dozen homes it’s selling to low-income families. This is the first time the city plans to use what it calls a “preference policy,” which was approved by City Council members in 2018. Other cities, […]
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As housing protections expire, Travis County observes bump in evictions
Travis County is seeing a wave, not a tsunami of evictions, according to Precinct 5 Judge Nick Chu. A more substantial increase in evictions had been forecast as federal and local eviction protections wore off. But last Tuesday, the judge told the Travis County Commissioners Court it was just a bump – a 7 percent […]
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As Austin-area evictions rise, lawyers are on hand (virtually) to help tenants
Travis County eviction court has looked different during the pandemic. Hearings, for the most part, have been held virtually; people can log in from anywhere and learn if they have to be out of their house. Standing in a parking lot. On break from their job. In the car. On the couch. Some of the […]
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Austin Habitat for Humanity gets windfall $8.5 million donation
Austin Habitat for Humanity has received an $8.5 million gift, a much-needed investment that will help the local affiliate expand the number of houses it can build and the number of Austin community members it can serve. Philanthropist and novelist MacKenzie Scott, who is worth almost $50 billion in part from her stake in Amazon, made […]
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A rush of applications for housing help forces Travis County to close its program months early
Following what one official described as an “absolute deluge” of interest, Travis County says it has stopped taking applications for a program to help people make their rent and mortgage payments. The county had nearly $9.2 million in federal and local funds to help people making below a certain income pay for housing. Staff opened […]
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Using neighborhood demographics might create deeply affordable housing. It might also be illegal.
As Austin’s housing affordability crisis deepens, public officials and advocates are looking for ways to create more income-restricted homes – especially those that are affordable to people at the lowest end of the income spectrum. One idea, floated by the Planning Commission on Tuesday, is changing how the city calculates a key metric of affordability: […]