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Housing

Last year, your property appraisal went way up. This year (maybe) it’s down. What does it all mean?

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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