Over 100 Texas Business, Organization and Thought Leaders Pen Letter to Texas Legislative Leadership: More Housing is Needed

With the accelerating threat that high housing prices pose to the Texas Miracle, and to our Texan workforce in particular, we write to urge the Texas Legislature to remove barriers to homebuilding.

May 8, 2023


Governor Greg Abbott
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428, Austin, Texas 78711-2428

The Honorable Dan Patrick
Lieutenant Governor, State of Texas
1400 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701

Speaker Dade Phelan
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives 
P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768

Members of the State Legislature
P.O. Box 2910. Austin, Texas 78768

Dear Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Phelan and Members of the State Legislature:


We are concerned Texans who seek to preserve our state’s workforce, which has powered the state’s growth over the past century. Our mission is to keep the Texas Miracle alive: A key part of that is ensuring the Texas workforce can afford to raise a family and live comfortably in this great state. Many of us have dedicated our lives to creating businesses and organizations that employ workers, while others have studied the problems and solutions to society’s most immense problems around housing supply. With the accelerating threat that high housing prices pose to the Texas Miracle, and to our Texan workforce in particular, we write today to urge the Texas Legislature to remove barriers to homebuilding in order to accommodate the additional 22 million people projected to become Texans in the next 50 years.1

As you know, Texas is nearing a housing crisis of epic proportions, and the problem will grow exponentially worse if we continue on our current path. As more people and businesses populate our great state, homebuilding has stagnated, driving up prices for everyone. What is happening in Central Texas is felt in all of Texas’ urban metros. Texas is at peril of pricing out our middle and working class folks, the people who are the economic engine of the state. To put this issue in perspective:

  • Almost half of Texans are defined as housing burdened, which means they spend more than 30% of their household income on housing costs.3

  • Texas cities make up 3 of the most 7 underhoused cities across the United States.23

  • In Austin, about 50% of homeowners’ median yearly household income is spent on homeownership costs. In Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Irving, about 40% of yearly household income is spent on homeownership costs.24

  • Among 100 of the most expensive housing markets, Austin ranked second most overvalued in the entire nation.4 Austin is so severely overvalued because of the regulatory environment that makes it so difficult and time-consuming to build homes.  

  • In Travis County, home prices are up more than 55% from the year before.19

  • Rent in San Antonio is up over 20% from one year ago, placing San Antonio in 10th place nationally among metros with the fastest-rising rents year-over-year.20

  • Towns surrounding city centers are also suffering from immense pressure on both home prices and infrastructure capacity as a result of restrictive policies: In Bastrop County, the median home price reached $443,835 in February, a 61% year-over-year increase. 4

  • The median sale price of a San Antonio home in July was $341,600, an increase of 15.4 percent from a year earlier.20

  • Minorities in Texas are far more likely to have trouble purchasing or renting a home due to high prices.17

  • Dallas-Forth Worth’s housing production lags demand by 85,000 units.22  

  • Rents in the Dallas suburb of Denton have increased 26.7% since pre-pandemic levels.21 

  • Between 1990 and 2019, the quantity of affordable single-family homes in Austin fell from 20% of all homes to only 2%.18

  • Studies show reducing housing costs can reduce homelessness by almost half in expensive cities where residents spend more than 30% of their income on housing and housing costs.7 

  • High housing costs not only affect individual families — they also limit Central Texas’ growth and economic potential. In Austin, 65% of renters surveyed recently said they planned to leave the region due either to the cost of housing (35%), job security (32%), or the length of commute (12%).6


Your leadership on workforce housing cannot be overstated. We appreciate the Legislature’s genuine dedication to address the state’s housing shortage as outlined in both House and Senate priorities and interim charges. Fidelity to your oft-stated principles, namely, allowing the free market to work and balance the supply and demand for housing, requires changing the restrictive land use environment we live in today. The interim charges set forth by the legislature hit the issue of housing squarely on the head: “Identify viable, free-market solutions in lieu of governmental regulation to help Texas meet the current and future housing demands of a growing statewide population.2” Directly responsive to the House and Senate charges, proposals are moving through the legislative process from simplifying the building of Accessory Dwelling Units, also known as ‘granny flats;10 to expediting the review and issuance of building plans by opening the market to third-party reviewers;11 to allowing development in areas where cities most need it; among other important workforce housing bills this session.


Public polling demonstrates that Texans are increasingly concerned about their ability to afford to live in the state. In a University of Texas poll released in April 2022, almost 9 in 10 Texans say they have noticed the rising cost of living, and more than half (55%) say that price increases have significantly impacted their current household finances.14 In a Texas Lyceum Poll in March 2022, 40% of respondents said their opportunities for home ownership are either “poor” or “terrible.”15 Moreover, 50% of Texans surveyed agreed with the statement: “I spend too much of my income on housing,” an increase of 6 points from the 44% who responded similarly when asked the same question in the 2020 Texas Lyceum Poll.15 Additionally, 43% percent of Texas homeowners said that they are currently spending too much of their income on housing; the same was true of 66% of renters.15 And 57% percent of those who live in an urban environment say that they spend too much of their income on housing, but so too do 49% of suburbanites and 40% of those living in a rural area.15


In order to meet the needs of Texans, we must look toward actionable solutions like those proposed above. These are imperative to meet the state’s housing needs and ensure we continue to attract and retain the talent needed to fuel and strengthen the state’s exemplary, nation-leading economic growth. Every legislative session that passes without addressing the increasing shortage of safe, affordable, attainable housing in Texas, our workforce risks leaving our job centers, or our great state entirely. If the second largest state in the nation prematurely hinders economic growth by stalling the production of houses for our workers, economic growth will decelerate and reverse.


We believe immediate action must be taken now - in the closing days of this legislative session - to rein in a housing crisis that is spiraling out of control. Texas’s Workforce is struggling and we have limited time to undergird our state’s economic prosperity, considering the key role workforce housing plays. The solutions outlined above are necessary steps to begin to address this crisis. If left unresolved, this issue poses a significant threat to the people of Texas and Texas’s economic future.


Thank you for your attention and commitment to this important issue.

Sincerely,

  1. Tom Aldred, Executive Director, Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute

  2. Greg Anderson, Director of Community Affairs, Austin Habitat for Humanity

  3. Dr. Matt Angle, CEO of Paradromics

  4. Dr. Lauren Ames Fischer, University of North Texas, Assistant Professor, Urban Policy and Planning

  5. Jason Arechiga, Senior Vice President, The NRP Group LLC

  6. Francisco Arredondo, Owner of North Arrow Studio

  7. Mason Ayer, CEO of Kerbey Lane Cafe, Board Member at Austin Chamber of Commerce

  8. Linda Avey, Co-Founder of 23andMe, CEO of Precise.ly

  9. Tom Bacon, Managing Partner, Civicap Partners

  10. Charles Blain, President, Urban Reform Institute

  11. Hayes Barnard,Founder, Chairman and CEO of GoodLeap and GivePower

  12. Nathaniel Barrett, Owner of Barrett Urban Development 

  13. Isabelle Boemeke, Executive Director, Save Clean Energy Now

  14. Claire Boucher, Musician A.K.A. Grimes

  15. Zach Biderman, Owner of 5 Pet Services

  16. Randy Birdwell, Homebuilding Industry Director, Associate Professor of the Practice, Senior Fellow, Construction Science, School of Architecture, Texas A&M University

  17. Ashley Brundage, Executive Director of Housing Stability and Senior Vice President of Community Impact, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas 

  18. Cody Carr, CEO, Carr Residential 

  19. Tara Chapman, Owner of Two Hives Honey

  20. C.K. Chin, Partner at Wu Chow Restaurant, Swift’s Attic Restaurant and Native Hostel

  21. Genevieve Collins, Texas State Director, Americans for Prosperity

  22. David J. Crawford, Former CEO, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity

  23. Jay Crossley, Founder & Executive Director of Farm&City

  24. Will Davis, CTO and Co-Founder, Tudu

  25. Audrey Dahlkemper, Former Advocacy Director, University of Texas Habitat for Humanity Chapter

  26. Matthew Ditlow, President, Seven Bridges Development

  27. Charley Dorsaneo, Land Use Attorney, Drenner Group, PC

  28. Cooper Drenner, Incoming Chair, Real Estate Council of Austin

  29. Chris Whit Ewen, Founder, Brandocular

  30. Matthew J. Festa, J.D., M.A, M.P.A, Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston

  31. Felicia Foster, Principal Owner, Barron Custom Design

  32. Tory Gattis, Founding Senior Fellow, The Urban Reform Institute – A Center for Opportunity Urbanism

  33. James Gallagher, CEO, GreenLite Technologies

  34. Matthew Garcia, Owner of Matt Garcia Design

  35. Wayne Gerami, Chief Operating Office, Austin Habitat for Humanity

  36. LP Giobbi, Musician, North American Music Director for W Hotels, Co-Owner of Animal Talk, Founder of Femme House

  37. Dr. Vance Ginn, Former Chief Economist of White House's Office of Management and Budget, President of Ginn Economic Consulting

  38. David Goswick, Co-Founder, HOUSE X WORLD

  39. Alan Graham, CEO and Founder, Mobile Loaves & Fishes

  40. Brandon Graham, Builder, Founder of Skybox Homes

  41. Dan Graham, Notley, Partner

  42. Ki Gray, Owner of Kiligray Development

  43. Adrian Grenier, Producer, Director and, Actor in Entourage, Drive Me Crazy, The Devil Wears Prada. 2017 Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Program

  44. Jared Haas, Owner of Black Rabbit Design-Build

  45. Dr. Amanda Hager, Associate Professor of Instruction at University of Texas at Austin, Department of Mathematics

  46. Dara Harmon, CEO of Austin100

  47. Michael Harper, Director of Business Development, ICON Technology

  48. Dr. Julie Ann Hartell, Assistant Professor, Construction Science, School of Architecture, Texas A&M

  49. Sohail Hassan, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Market Space Capital Private Equity Real Estate Firm

  50. Ali A. Hussain, Co-founder Vixul Inc and Flux7 Lab

  51. Ben Johnson, Founder and President Spruce Health

  52. Lauren Kell, President, University of Texas Habitat for Humanity

  53. Josh Kelly, President of Media Shark Publishing

  54. Kam Kronenberg, President of Downstream Investments LLC

  55. Avril Johnnidis, Founder of Zoë Life Centers

  56. Dan Keshet, Founder, Texans for Housing

  57. Liz Lambert, Partner of MML Hospitality and LMD Design

  58. Andra Leimandt, CEO of The Kindness Campaign

  59. Dr. Hannah Lebovits, The University of Texas at Arlington, Assistant Professor, Public Affairs and Planning

  60. Kimberly Levinson, President of the Downtown Austin Neighborhood Association

  61. Joe Lonsdale, Partner at 8VC and Co-Founder of Palantir

  62. John Mackey, Founder (Fmr CEO) of Whole Foods, CEO of Healthy America 

  63. Daniel Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Engineering

  64. Kristin Marcum, CEO, ECPR

  65. Eduardo Margain, Co-Founder and Alternate Governor of Austin FC, Managing Partner and Founder of Pixiu Investments

  66. Felicity Maxwell, Board Member of AURA and Co-Founder of Fibercove

  67. Garry Merritt, CEO of Great Springs Project

  68. Brendan McCord, President of Acrisure, Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program

  69. Patrick McKenna, Founder of One America Works, Partner at Comeback Capital

  70. Rory McNeil, Owner of Roar Salon

  71. Seth Mearig, PE, Vice President, BGE Inc, Construction Management and Engineering

  72. Terry Mitchell, Founder, Momark Development

  73. Shiv Mistry, Advocacy Director, University of Texas Habitat for Humanity Chapter

  74. Dr. Robert Mohr M.D., President Board of Directors AAEM-LG, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Penn St Hershey Medical Center

  75. Maleka Momand, CEO of Esper

  76. Philip Morgan, CEO of The Morgan Group

  77. David Mosrie, Owner of Dwell In Austin Real Estate & CEO of Evok Homes

  78. Roberto “R.C.” Rondero de Mosier, Adjunct Professor, St. Mary’s University School of  Law

  79. Sharad Mudhol, Principal, SmartDigs Austin Home Builder

  80. Jordan Myska Allen, CEO of Circling Studio

  81. Luke Nosek, Co-Founder of PayPal, Co-Founder of Founders Fund, Managing Director of Gigafund

  82. Nicole Nabulsi Nosek, Chair of Texans for Reasonable Solutions

  83. Donald Park, Co-Founder & President, Ionic Partners

  84. Tony Pham, Coordinator, Walkable Arlington

  85. Marla Ponton, PE, Senior Business Development Manager, KW Landscape Architects

  86. Roger Plourde, Managing Principal of Ivy Companies

  87. Bill Perkins, President and Founder of SkyFi, CIO of Skylar Capital Management

  88. Dr. Rosalie Singerman Ray, Assistant Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, Texas State University at San Marcos

  89. Chris Peterson, Owner of Rivendale Homes Texas

  90. James Quintero, Policy Director, Government for the People campaign, Texas Public Policy Foundation

  91. Justin Rezvani, Founder and CEO of ZION, Founder of the Amplify, Author of Unapologetic Freedom: How Bitcoin Defeats Censorship, Ensures Sovereignty, and Reclaims Our Liberty Forever

  92. JD Ross, Co-Founder of OpenDoor, Co-Founder of Royal.io 

  93. Brian J. Robertson, Founder of Holacracy

  94. Avik Roy, President of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, Senior Advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center

  95. Ben Rubenstein, Co-Founder of Yodle, Co-Founder of Opcity, CRO of Realtor.com, Co-Founder of Setpoint

  96. Kirk Rudy, Co-Founder of Endeavor Real Estate Group

  97. Nathan Ryan, Chair, Economic Prosperity Commission, City of Austin

  98. Bryan Schramm Ownerz, Schramm General Contracting and Design Consulting

  99. Ben Siegel, Owner and Manager, Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden

  100. Ford Smith, Founder & CEO for Ultranative

  101. David Smith, CEO of United Way for Greater Austin

  102. David Steinwedell, President and CEO, Affordable Central Texas

  103. Michael Strong, CEO of The Socratic Experience

  104. Phyllis Snodgrass, Former CEO of Austin Habitat for Humanity, Former COO of Austin Chamber of Commerce

  105. James Michael Tate, Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University, Department of Architecture

  106. Beau Theriot, Owner of The OASIS Restaurant at Lake Travis

  107. Jake Thomas, Executive Director, YIMBY Ft.Worth

  108. David Thompson II, Co-founder, Aligned Wealth Partners

  109. Ben Tolson, Managing Partner, Aquila Commercial Real Estate Agency

  110. Scott Turner, Owner of Turner Residential

  111. Magatte Wade, CEO of Skin Is Skin, Board Member of Conscious Capitalism, Board of Trustees of the John Templeton Foundation

  112. Brita Wallace, Owner of Digs Infill Development 

  113.        Peter Wang, Co-Founder & CEO of Anaconda

  114. Greg Weaver, Executive Vice President of Catellus Development Corporation

  115. Debbie Weems, FACHE. Managing Partner, Highland Advisors

  116. Dr. Jake Wegmann, Professor at University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture

  117. Noah Wright, CEO & Owner, 787 Realty

  118. Selena Xie, President, Austin EMS Association

*The organization the individual belongs to does not indicate an endorsement from the organization itself.

Citations

1 Texas Water Development Board. 2021 Regional Water Plan - Population Projections for 2020-2070, State, Region, and County Summary. Retrieved May 10, 2022, from https://www3.twdb.texas.gov/apps/reports/Projections/2022%20Reports/pop_region

2 (2022, Apr 14). Texas legislature releases interim charges related to affordable housing. Affordable Housing News. Retrieved May 20, 2022, from https://taahp.org/texas-legislature-releases-interim-charges-related-to-affordable-housing/ 

3 Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers. Texan Housing Facts. Retrieved May 10, 2022 from https://taahp.org/texashousingfacts/

4 Pitcher, Michelle (2022, March 31). Austin Metro Population wave continues to rise. Austin Business Journal. Retrieved May 10, 2022 from https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2022/03/31/how-many-people-are-moving-to-austin-each-day.html

5.5 2021 Regional Water Plan - Population Projections for 2020-2070 State, Region, and County Summary, March 28, 2019. Available at https://www3.twdb.texas.gov/apps/reports/Projections/2022%20Reports/pop_region

6 Austin Community Foundation Housing Report. Producing, Protecting and Preserving Housing Affordability in Central Texas, Retrieved May 10, 2022 at https://www.austincf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HousingReport-web.pdf

7 The State of Homelessness in America. The Council of Economic Advisors Report to the President, September 2019. Available at https://www.nhipdata.org/local/upload/file/The-State-of-Homelessness-in-America.pdf

8 Glynn, Chris (2018, Dec 11). Homelessness Rises Faster Where Rent Exceeds a Third of Income. Zillow.com Retrieved May 11, 2022 from https://www.zillow.com/research/homelessness-rent-affordability-22247/

9 Furth, Salim and Gray, Matthew (2019, May 1). Do Minimum-Lot-Size Regulations Limit Housing Supply in Texas? Mercatus Center. Retrieved May 1, 2019 at https://www.mercatus.org/publications/urban-economics/do-minimum-lot-size-regulations-limit-housing-supply-texas

10 Centopani, Paul (March 24, 2021). How accessory dwelling units could relieve the inventory squeeze. National Mortgage News. Retrieved May 11, 2022 at https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/how-accessory-dwelling-units-could-relieve-the-inventory-squeeze

11 Ucles, Elizabeth. February 6, 2020. ‘Shot Clock Bill’ increases Frisco development plan denials, creates smaller case backlog. Community Impact retrieved May 11, 2022 at

https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort-worth/frisco/2020/02/06/shot-clock-bill-increases-frisco-development-plan-denials-creates-smaller-case-backlog/

13 Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, Center for Transit-Oriented Development. Mixed-income Housing near Transit: Increasing Affordability With Location Efficiency. Center for Transit-Oriented Development. Retrieved May 11, 2022 at https://ctod.org/pdfs/tod201.pdf

14 Henson,Jim and Blank, Joshua. New UT/Texas Politics Project Poll: Texans’ attitudes on population growth and the state’s future take a negative turn amidst economic troubles. The Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022 at https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/new-uttexas-politics-project-poll-texans%E2%80%99-attitudes-population-growth-and-state%E2%80%99s-future-take

15 Shaw, Daron and Blank, Joshua. The Texas Lyceum Poll Finds Texans Are Deeply Concerned About Cost of Living. March 20, 2022. The Texas Lyceum.Retrieved May 10, 2022 at https://tel.memberclicks.net/assets/Board_Meetings/PubCon%202022%20Press%20Release%20.pdf

16 Glock, Judge and Keene, Robert (2022, March 31). Report on Housing Prices. Cicero Institute. Retrieved May 11, 2022 at https://ciceroinstitute.org/research/report-on-austin-housing-prices/

17 Producing, Protecting and Preserving Housing Affordability in Central Texas. Austin Community Foundation Housing Report. Retrieved May 14, 2022 at https://www.austincf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HousingReport-web.pdf

18 Jiao, Junfeng & Conrad, Josh (2021, Nov 9). Better Data Analysis Can Help Austin’s Affordable Housing Crisis. University of Texas News. Retrieved May 22, 2022 at https://news.utexas.edu/2021/11/09/better-data-analysis-can-help-austins-affordable-housing-crisis/ 

19 McGlinchy, Audrey (2022, April 22). The value of your Travis County home has gone up a lot. That doesn’t mean your property taxes will. KUT 90.5. Retrieved July 24, 2022 at https://www.kut.org/austin/2022-04-28/the-value-of-your-travis-county-home-has-gone-up-a-lot-that-doesnt-mean-your-property-taxes-will?_amp=true 

20 Iszler, Madison (August 30, 2022). “‘Miserably hard’: Double-digit rent increases leave more San Antonio residents struggling to keep up.” San Antonio Express-News.  https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/San-Antonio-rent-17408291.php

https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/San-Antonio-rent-17408291.php

21 (September 26, 2022). “Apartment List National Rent Report” https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/national-rent-data

22 Hethcock, Bill (August 29, 2022). “Study explores why DFW's housing market is under supplied and overpriced" WFAA. https://www.wfaa.com/article/money/business/study-explores-why-dfws-housing-market-is-under-supplied-overpriced/287-4e48e903-d86d-48fc-895e-86948bb34858

23 Hethcock, Bill. (2022). North Texas home affordability is dropping: Here’s who's priced out. Dallas Business Journal. https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2022/09/14/home-affordability-dallaas-realtyhop-yardi.html 

24 Hethcock, Bill. (2022). Risk of falling home prices could make it better to rent than buy in Austin, new study says. https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2022/09/19/home-price-corrections-dallas-rent-vs-buy.html 


To sign on to this open letter to support more housing, email Nicole@texansforreasonablesolutions.org with your Name and Relevant Position(s).