As 2025 comes to a close, Central Texas continues to be a place where people want to live, work, innovate, and build their futures. But the same growth that fuels our economy is also putting immense pressure on something fundamental to our region’s long-term stability: housing affordability.
A recent Austin Business Journal survey, commissioned by the Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR), makes this reality impossible to ignore. More than half of business leaders ranked housing affordability and availability among the top three issues facing Austin, with property taxes close behind. These findings reflect a broader reality across our region. An overwhelming 61 percent of respondents believe homeownership has become less affordable in recent years, with nearly 60 percent citing property taxes as a major driver, closely followed by rising construction and material costs.
This isn’t just a housing problem. It’s an economic one that ripples into hiring challenges, workforce retention, and long-term economic mobility. When the people who teach our children, provide healthcare, deliver essential services, start small businesses, and drive innovation can no longer afford to live near where they work, the entire region feels the strain. Affordability isn’t just another issue on the minds of Central Texans—it is the defining challenge that will shape our region’s future growth, competitiveness, and economic strength.
To be sure, there is progress worth celebrating. Austin is one of the few U.S. cities experiencing declines in rent rates thanks to the remarkable delivery of new multifamily units. Buyers have more leverage today than at any point in recent years. And the City of Austin’s HOME Initiative has opened the door for more modest infill housing—an important step toward diversifying our housing supply.
All of these factors are moving our region in the right direction, but they haven’t yet translated into broader access to attainable homeownership. For too many first-time buyers, the door remains shut. And many longtime residents find themselves struggling to stay rooted in the communities where they’ve lived for decades. Addressing Central Texas’ affordability issues is essential to sustaining our growth, competitiveness, and long-term economic strength.
This is where REALTORS® play a critical role—both in helping Central Texans navigate today’s challenges and in shaping the long-term policy solutions our region desperately needs. Every day, REALTORS® work alongside first-time buyers as they navigate complex financing decisions, help families understand property taxes and the appraisal protest process, and connect clients to down-payment programs that can make homeownership possible. When rising costs threaten someone’s ability to remain in Austin, REALTORS® are often one of the first calls people make.
But REALTORS® don’t just respond to the market—they help inform it. Through ABoR’s Advocacy program, REALTORS® bring real-time data and on-the-ground experience to policymakers. They champion land use reforms that allow for more diverse housing types—townhomes, smaller homes on smaller lots, and other “missing middle” options that give families more attainable pathways to ownership. They work to streamline permitting processes that delay the delivery of new homes and increase costs. And they advocate for fiscal decisions that prioritize long-term affordability and stability over short-term political wins.
Momentum is important, but it is not a mission accomplished. Expanding homeownership opportunities requires sustained focus on modernizing outdated land regulations, delivering more starter-home options, and supporting longtime residents who are being squeezed by rising taxes and escalating costs of living. It also requires strong regional partnerships. One of the most encouraging shifts in recent years has been the strengthening of Austin’s pro-housing coalition—bringing together business leaders, labor groups, neighborhood advocates, and preservationists to find common ground. We won’t agree on everything, but diverse voices make for more thoughtful, durable solutions.
As ABoR approaches its 100th anniversary in 2026, our mission remains unchanged: ensuring that Central Texans have a place they can call home. For a century, REALTORS® have helped families navigate rising costs, periods of rapid growth, and constant change. They’ve been trusted resources, economic partners, and advocates for practical solutions that keep our region strong. And as Central Texas continues to evolve, Unlock MLS will remain the region’s most trusted and accurate source for real-time market information, helping agents deliver credibility and clarity in a dynamic environment.
The next 100 years will demand that same commitment—with even greater urgency. The future of Central Texas depends on the people who make this region thrive, and who are able to afford to live here. If we stay focused, collaborative, and data-driven, that future remains within reach.
And we’ll be here—today, tomorrow, and for the next century—to help make it possible."
Source: Austin Business Journal
Written by: Emily Girard
Published: December 4, 2025
Posted by Grossman & Jones Group on
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