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Housing
Austin helped buy cheap apartments with the intent of keeping prices low. Instead, rents went up.
In the parking lot of a two-story apartment building in Central Austin last month, former and current politicians came together to celebrate something increasingly rare in this city: low rents. The city, along with a real estate investment fund, had…
Housing • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Dec 1, 2023
Demography map shows 90,000 new housing units wasn't enough for Austin's growth
A new interactive map released by the Planning Department shows some of the ways Austin’s housing supply has changed dramatically over the course of a decade in which the city has become one of the most popular destinations in the…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 28, 2023
City planning revision of density bonus programs
Members of the city’s Housing and Planning Department say they will be hiring a consultant with expertise in creating and using incentives known as density bonuses to help them untangle the city’s myriad, often competing, development programs. Most of those…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Nov 16, 2023
ABOR report highlights striking disparities in housing affordability
A new report from one of the city’s leading real estate groups is bringing fresh, detailed data that shows how unaffordable housing has become for most local residents. Austin Board of Realtors’ “The Truth About Austin’s Missing Housing” uses industry…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 15, 2023
City loses second suit over development rules
A group of citizens who sued the city over four ordinances designed to make it easier to develop new housing projects have apparently prevailed on three of the four laws. That means the city will have to go back to…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Nov 14, 2023
Panelists debate potential housing supply impacts from HOME initiative
Advocates for more housing options in Austin see hope in recently passed changes in city land use policy intended to increase density, but still hope for more progress in increasing the overall supply of housing available for middle- and lower-income…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 6, 2023
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Austin wants to make relocating a home easier to reduce waste and create affordable housing
In a move to create more options for affordable housing while also reducing waste, the city of Austin is trying to make it easier to relocate homes. When a builder comes in to redevelop a lot, the existing home is…
Housing • By Luz Moreno-Lozano, KUT • Nov 3, 2023
County contract to help more residents avoid eviction
The Travis County Commissioners Court approved a new contract Tuesday with nonprofit El Buen Samaritano to help more Travis County families stay in their homes. The contract is one part of the county’s response to rising eviction rates. In addition…
Housing • By Ken Chambers • Nov 3, 2023
RVs won't be allowed on single-family lots under coming code changes
When City Council considers changes to the Land Development Code in December, while they will discuss giving property owners the option of having three units on single-family lots and allowing tiny homes on those lots, they will not consider adding…
Housing • By Jo Clifton • Oct 31, 2023
Tourism Commission joins staff in push for agreement with short-term rental companies
The Tourism Commission appears ready to push the city to come to an agreement with short-term rental platforms that will allow some regulation of the industry and allow the collection of millions of dollars in Hotel Occupancy Tax revenue each…
Housing • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 17, 2023
County adds more “deeply affordable” housing units
Travis County has built about 12,000 affordable housing units and has more on the way, Travis County Corporations Managing Director Andrea Shields told the Commissioners Court last Tuesday. “That number will need to be updated with what you may approve…
Housing • By Ken Chambers • Oct 10, 2023
Developer of parking-free downtown apartments surrenders building to lender
A parking-free, 30-unit apartment building that gained attention as one of the first attempts to bring “missing middle” housing downtown has been turned over to its lender after failing to generate enough occupancy to operate successfully. Weaver Buildings, the company…
