Bisnow
By: John Krukowski, December 10, 2024
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar didn’t mince words when he addressed a state Senate panel that convened in November to discuss the state’s growing housing crisis.
“The trend of decreasing affordability has been a concern for me,” Hegar said. “I see it as one of the greatest threats to Texas economic success in the years to come.”
Hegar is responsible for managing the finances of one of the fastest-growing states in the country, and earlier in 2024, his office issued “The Housing Affordability Challenge,” a report that became a must-read document for people involved in real estate and public policy in the state.
It warned that median home prices rose a staggering 40% between 2019 and 2023, while the supply of affordable housing — which has long been a catalyst to growth and a point of pride for a state known for its relative affordability — has been in nearly constant decline since the Great Recession.
Multiple factors, including extraterritorial jurisdictions that give local governments wide latitude to stop construction projects, are blamed for the problem. But most agree on when and why the crisis began.
“Today’s high housing prices and low supply levels stem from a dearth of housing investment following the housing bust and financial crisis of 2007-08,” the report says.
