At the July 19 summit, Austin Board of Realtors CEO Emily Chenevert said that local policy leaders have not prioritized housing to the extent they need to.
“They have made it extremely hard across the region to respond to the unprecedented demand that we experience,” she said.
In an interview with Community Impact Newspaper, Chenevert talked about specific fees that are impacting developers. One of them, the Parkland Dedication fee, could double under a new proposal in the city of Austin budget.
“At the end of the day, we're just looking for balance,” she said.”What efficiency can you gain in the department so that you don't have to raise those fees to acquire the land that we need to make this a happy and healthy community?”
As more people move to Austin for jobs and new opportunities, the housing market continues to be a pressing issue for homebuyers and renters.
According to a report released earlier this month, per-unit development fees for suburban areas are over $18,000; the average for Texas metro areas is $10,073. Per-unit development fees for infill-style developments are around $41,303; the average for Texas metro areas is $14,401.
One of the costliest things for housing development is delays.
According to Renee Zahn, senior director of Greystar, her rental agency has just under 50,000 units under construction with another 45,000 awaiting permits. She said that permitting time is taking about 14-20 months, so the timeline of projects is “really making things challenging.”
David Glenn, senior director of government affairs at the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, added that another significant aspect is the availability of permits amid labor shortages within city management.
“As many people as we have out there swinging hammers and building houses, if there are no city staff to go in and review these projects and approve them, we are still going to see delays,” he said.
Glenn also addressed how fees are impacting developers, and a persistent problem with transparency when it comes to fee structures.
In an analysis of the median income of a 2019 renter, nearly 9% of their income goes to fees before labor and materials, he said. That number jumps to 20% for infill-style projects.
“I think one of the interesting things is, you know, [as the] researcher whose job it was to look for these numbers day in and day out....you had a really hard time tracking these fees down," he said. "You reach out to cities to verify them, and if the researcher, or Ph.D. student can't do it, what chance do we stand as builders or even a mom-and-pop trying to build?”
Chenevert told Community Impact Newspaper that the old practice of leaving developers in the dark, when it comes to affordability, directly correlates with affordable housing.
“I think the impact to consumers is one of affordability. When developers have certainty in the process, they can deliver a more affordable product at the end of the day,” she said.
Despite any strains on the current housing market, Chenevert said she is hopeful about the future.
“We wouldn't be having tough conversations about our need for housing if we didn't have the demand and the economic development that we have here; so we are in an incredibly strong local economy," she said. "We're blessed to be in that position.”
