Austin families are getting priced out. These state laws could help them stay
Austin's soul has always been its people, from the chefs preparing fantastic food to the musicians who make us the live music capital of the world. But as the city grows, we face a hard truth: Many of our people, including artists, teachers, nurses, service workers and young families, can no longer afford to live here.
At Austin Habitat, we hear it daily: Families with steady jobs and deep roots are being priced out of the neighborhoods they helped shape. While demand has increased home prices, so has the lack of diverse housing options. Smaller, modest homes, backyard cottages, and condos — once common in Austin — have become rare.
Austin school district teacher Steven Caplan does yard work in October 2023 in front of his Austin Habitat for Humanity home. Teachers, nurses and service workers are having difficulty finding housing they can afford in Austin.
To preserve Austin's identity, it's imperative we make room for everyone who gives this city its character and charm.
That's exactly what we're doing through a powerful new partnership in Northeast Austin. In collaboration with Travis County, Austin Habitat is building 48 affordable homes in Whisper Valley, a sustainable, mixed-income community. It's a bold step toward restoring balance in our housing system. Already, momentum is building — proof that local leadership matched by statewide support drives real change.
This fall, we'll host the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project and build 25 of those 48 affordable homes in one week with volunteers and future homeowners. It's community in action, proof that partnerships can be compassionate, creative and focused on the shared belief that everyone deserves a home.
Adrianne Todman, then serving as acting secretary of Housing and Urban Development, participates in January at an Austin Habitat for Humanity wall-raising ceremony in Prospect Heights. Austin Habitat will hold an event this fall to build 25 homes in another community called Whisper Valley.
And we can do more. By embracing common-sense solutions such as allowing homeowners to build backyard homes, converting vacant offices into housing, or empowering faith-based groups to build on their land, we can open doors for more families while preserving the character that makes our neighborhoods special.
This session, the Texas Legislature has a chance to act on four bills that would give cities the tools to create homes while preserving character and meeting local needs:
• Senate Bill 673/HB 1779 to legalize backyard homes
• SB 844/HB 24 to end landowner vetoes in housing decisions
• SB 840/HB 3404 to enable housing near offices and shopping centers, and
• SB 854/HB 3172 to empower faith groups to build housing
Polling by Texans for Housing shows most Texans support these exact solutions — including 61% who favor allowing backyard homes, strong majorities backing housing near businesses and empowering churches and nonprofits to build homes and a majority against landowner vetoes.
These ideas aren't controversial. They're practical. What they require is the willingness to imagine an Austin where opportunity is shared and neighbors are welcomed, not pushed away.
Because at the end of the day, this isn't just about housing. It's about community. It's about ensuring our kids can grow up and stay here, that our teachers and nurses aren't forced to move away.
The choice is ours. We can cling to outdated policies that exclude, or we can lean into a future where Austin thrives because everyone has a place here. Preserving Austin doesn't mean freezing it in time. It means ensuring the people who make it vibrant, diverse, and resilient can keep calling it home.
I urge lawmakers to act. Austinites should contact their representatives and say clearly: We need these housing bills passed now. Because the future of our city depends on it.
Michele Anderson is the CEO of Austin Habitat for Humanity.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: We can't preserve Austin without building for its people | Opinion
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