Sections

About Us

 
Make a Donation
Local • Independent • Essential News
 

Housing

City provides updates on financial, anti-displacement efforts related to HOME initiatives

The city has started to make a series of moves intended to make it easier for middle- and low-income residents to build accessory dwelling units and generate new income from properties that are now able to host more housing. Last…

Council declines site plan appeal despite claims of ordinance violations

City Council last week declined to even discuss an appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision to approve a site plan, despite area homeowners’ arguments that the plan violates not only the Save Our Springs Ordinance but also the Hill Country…

Left waiting: Rally Austin pushes for city action on four sites ID'd for redevelopment

Representatives of the economic entity created by City Council to speed up development of city real estate assets in support of affordable housing said they’re being stymied by inaction that’s holding back work on at least four high-profile sites. In…

Project Connect anti-displacement funding gets close look from Community Development Commission

Members of the Community Development Commission have requested more information from city staff about the decision-making process for spending Project Connect funds intended to preserve or create affordable housing near the mass transit system. Last week, the commission received a…

Builders can now construct homes on less land, as Austin’s new minimum lot size goes into effect

A controversial rule that lowers the amount of land needed to build one house in Austin goes into effect Friday. Landowners wanting to build a home in some city neighborhoods will now need 1,800 square feet of land, about two-thirds…

Rents in Austin are down. But many renters still struggle to find housing they can afford.

When the rent payment on Leigh Vladyka’s Austin apartment comes out of his bank account, he tries to avoid looking. Each month, almost half of his take-home pay goes to rent. Nearly $1,600 gone from the $3,400 deposited. And there…

Subscribe to our newsletter

As construction slowdown continues, a new workforce housing project takes shape

While the pipeline for multifamily housing projects has slowed severely since the end of 2023 in Austin, a local developer has announced something of a rarity: a new 110-unit project aimed primarily at workforce and middle-income residents. Earlier this week,…

Stressing community trust, county commissioners consider candidates for Housing Authority board

At its meeting July 16, the Travis County Commissioners Court considered six applicants to fill two vacancies on the board of the Housing Authority of Travis County (HATC). Commissioners will make a final decision this coming Tuesday. Candidates focused on…

Questions on short-term rental rules linger as city moves toward new regulations

A city memo published earlier this month suggests that, more than a decade after Austin became a leading destination in the market for short-term rentals, City Council could have code language later this year to comprehensively regulate the industry. The…

Panelists offer cautious optimism on HOME and other city land use changes

Local real estate and development professionals weighed in Wednesday on the potential impact of the city’s many recent changes in land use policy, which were intended to add housing stock and address the affordability problem that has affected the area…

Austin has a high rate of segregation between homeowners and renters, study finds

Renters and homeowners in the Austin metro live more sequestered from each other than in other U.S. cities, according to a study from Harvard University released last week. The Austin area has one of the highest levels of renter and homeowner…

Planning Commission wants housing for older adults on city land near transit lines

The Planning Commission wants City Council to prioritize creating senior and disabled-accessible housing units on city-owned land located near transit corridors, with a priority given to equitable transit-oriented developments, or ETODs, throughout the area. At a meeting last week, the…

Back to Top