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 […]
affordable housing
This general term refers to housing that is affordable to Austinites, with or without subsidy.
Posted inHousing
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 […]
Posted inHousing
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 […]
Posted inHousing
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 […]
Posted inHousing
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 […]
Posted inHousing
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 […]
Posted inHousing
Want to know how the city enforces density bonus agreements? Read on.
This week, the Community Development Commission learned more about how the city ensures the reduced-rent housing units created through its density bonus programs go to people who meet the income eligibility requirements. At the commission’s Jan. 10 meeting, Commissioner Karen Paup said she asked staff from the Housing and Planning Department to help them better […]
Posted inHousing
After years of negotiation, renovations begin on Austin’s oldest publicly owned homes
Alexis Henderson stands in the kitchen of her former home at Rosewood Courts in East Austin. The place is abandoned now, save for a couple of items. A rag on the stairwell. A video game decal on the bedroom wall. Henderson points up at a thick pipe in the wall, above where a stove used […]
Posted inHousing
Council responds to report finding ‘affordable’ condos aren’t always affordable
City Council approved a resolution on Dec. 8 addressing barriers to affordable condo ownership, acting on findings from a report by the University of Texas School of Law that expensive condo fees and improper property tax assessments can push below-market units beyond the reach of those who qualify. “There are some things we really need […]
Posted inHousing
Austin’s program to sell homes to people affected by gentrification off to slow start
The city of Austin has not yet sold one of the two dozen homes it began marketing six months ago to low-income families affected by displacement and the influx of wealth into neighborhoods. This is the city’s first attempt at using its long-touted “preference policy,” approved by City Council members in 2018. Policies like these – […]
Posted inHousing
Builder: Without new affordability bonds, projects would be ‘few and far between’
The new round of bonds providing $350 million to fund affordable projects couldn’t have come at a better time for developers of affordable housing in Austin. The combination of fierce land costs locally, inflation increasing construction costs on all housing projects by around 14 percent and interest rate increases making borrowing more expensive has made […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Voters strongly back $350M proposal for affordable housing
Voters strongly approved the city’s latest bond proposal to create more affordable housing, giving the city another $350 million to direct toward housing acquisition, repair and rental programs. The vote totals from Travis County as well as portions of Hays and Williamson counties covered by the proposition had it winning by just over 70 percent, […]