Austin ramps up efforts to create affordable housing to head off future homelessness

Housing in Austin is now going for record prices. That's good news if you're selling, but not so good if you're a lower-income family looking to buy.

The cost of housing in Austin is simply outpacing wage growth. That's especially true for workers at the low end of the pay scale. The fear is the widening gap could lead to homelessness where it didn't exist before.

The City of Austin is often criticized for spending a lot on homelessness. But city leaders say the bulk of that is actually used to keep people from being priced out of the housing they already have. Austin Mayor Steve Adler says, “You have to recognize that a lot of that money is being spent to keep people from becoming homeless. It's rental assistance, it's helping with programs and support so they don't become homeless."

And the state doesn't make it easy. Texas law prohibits cities from requiring affordable housing units, impact fees to fund affordable housing, and limits on rent increases

But there are still avenues open to cities. A city can use federal funds or general obligation bonds like it did here in Austin to give homeowners a break on the city part of their property taxes. Rebecca Giello is assistant director for Austin’s Neighborhood Housing and Community Development Department. She says, “City of Austin voters approved $250 million in general obligation bonds that has infused capital into our programs so we can address affordable housing.”

And affordable housing is being discussed right now in the land development code rewrite. Giello adds, “And what is being produced through that process is affordable housing that will be available through our density bonus or incentive programs.” That's where the city allows a developer to build bigger if income-restricted affordable housing is part of the mix.

But all this effort may not stop housing prices from rising out of reach of lower income families. That's why the city is also pushing jobs programs to upskill homeowners to qualify them for better paying jobs. Think of it as future-proofing your family finances.