Round Rock's population, home prices limit affordable choices

When Round Rock resident Letretia McGraw first moved into her public subsidized housing unit off Lance Lane in Round Rock in 2012, she was not happy about the change. To the 40-year-old single mother, public housing was where people went to put their lives on hold.

"Whenever someone mentioned public housing, I would cringe. I didn't want to see myself in public housing because I saw it as a dead end. I saw it as a place where nothing 'lived,'" she said, adding that "living" for her means leading a fulfilling life. "My first mindset was, 'I've got to get out of here.'"

In the years before the move, McGraw said she battled a prolonged case of depression that set in after the death of her son in 2006. Her father died in 2009, and she said she struggled to stay employed. In 2012 her application was accepted for a public housing unit operated by the Round Rock Housing Authority.

McGraw moved into her two-bedroom unit with her daughter—who is now 17—in December 2012. Her rent, which she said was more than $400 a month at her former apartment complex, is now $187 a month. With her housing situation stable, McGraw said her life is improving gradually.

The price of prosperity

Many Round Rock residents in need of affordable housing, however, are not as fortunate. McGraw is one of hundreds of Round Rock residents who receive some form of assistance through the RRHA, and she is one of many more who have struggled to find affordable housing in the city during the current economic boom.

According to the city of Round Rock's draft five-year consolidated plan for housing and community development, the housing needs of low-income individuals and families with children are high because of rising property values and a lack of public transportation. The plan, which was released May 12, also noted that with the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment on the rise, few low-income individuals or families can afford a unit in Round Rock.

According to the city's draft plan, the number of apartments in Round Rock with monthly rent between $1,000 and $1,249 rose 797.8 percent between 2000 and 2012, and the number of apartments renting for more than $1,250 per month rose by 1,595.5 percent in the same timeframe. The number of apartments in Round Rock renting for $500–$699 or less than $500 fell by 65.6 percent and 65.4 percent, respectively, from 2000 to 2012.

Home values have risen as well. Preliminary numbers from the Williamson Central Appraisal District show the average market value of a home in the Williamson County portion of Round Rock rose 10.9 percent from 2013 to 2014.

According to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 28.2 percent of Round Rock households spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing as of 2011.

Roughly 9.6 percent of households—representing 13.5 percent of all renters and 7.2 percent of all homeowners—spent more than half of their income on housing.

Part of the reason area housing has become and remains expensive is because it is in short supply, said Michael Nguyen, president and CEO of low-income housing developer Atlantic Housing. The Dallas-based nonprofit is targeting Round Rock for low-income housing development. Nguyen said Round Rock's explosive growth—coupled with a lack of affordable housing builds in the past decade—has meant that the low-income housing that exists is expensive and vacant less often.

"You have a limited supply of housing and you have this extraordinary demand," Nguyen said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to identify there is a tremendous pent-up need."

More residents affected

As the price of area housing increases, a greater number of people who previously made enough to get by without public assistance are seeking help. RRHA Executive Director Deborah Williams said climbing rents have made it harder for low- to moderate-income families to find safe, affordable and well-maintained places to live. In addition, the RRHA has seen an uptick in applications for public housing and rent assistance, she said.

The RRHA operates 100 publicly owned housing units at three developments throughout Round Rock, and the agency owns, maintains, and leases the rent-subsidized units to preapproved tenants.

The RRHA also administers HUD housing choice vouchers, which are rent assistance payments from the federal government to help low-income renters keep their housing costs down to 30 percent of their income. Recipients use the vouchers to rent housing from private landlords.

Both programs have long waiting lists that are opened when the wait is less than one year long. When the RRHA opened its housing waitlist in 2009, it received roughly 300 applications over the course of three months. When the RRHA reopened the waitlist last October, it received roughly 500 applications in one month. The peak household income of applicants also rose.

"In '09, we probably didn't have anyone [making] more than $25,000 as a household, but last year we had [applicants making] up to $50,000," Williams said.

Those seeking help

The number of families that include educated, working adults who are seeking housing assistance seems to be rising, said Debbie Hoffman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Williamson County. Those in need are not limited to the extremely poor, she said.

Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for families in need and runs outreach initiatives related to housing access, has lately gotten inquiries from nurses and teachers, Hoffman said. Nguyen said the residents of Atlantic Housing's units often include medical clerks, bank tellers, teachers, firefighters and retail workers.

"When we talk about low-income housing, we aren't talking about people who aren't employed, who aren't skilled, who aren't educated," Hoffman said. "They're in a professional position. It's a shock to some people that these people qualify."

Those receiving housing assistance in Round Rock are also likely to be older, disabled or both. Eight of the RRHA's public housing program participants are disabled but not elderly, and so are 40 of those who receive vouchers, according to RRHA data.

"We have experienced the overflow of the mental institution population because they're trying to get people out of the institutions and into the community," Williams said.

According to RRHA data, 29 percent of households in RRHA-owned public housing and 64 percent of voucher households are female-headed families with children.

Priced out

If the affordable housing shortage in Round Rock continues unabated, there is a chance that some low-wage workers will be forced to relocate, Nguyen said. Round Rock's strong economy provides its residents with plenty of jobs, but the benefit of those jobs could be lessened if low-wage workers have to live outside of town.

"The number of those jobs is essentially more than the amount of [affordable] housing available in the city, so what's happening is those folks are moving farther and farther away where they could afford a rental or a home and they're commuting," Nguyen said.

Round Rock Mayor Alan McGraw said it is possible that recent trends could make the city unaffordable for some people. However, he said Round Rock's growth and affordability are determined to a large extent by regional trends. The mayor said he does not want Round Rock trying to control rents. He said it is unlikely the city will self-fund low-income housing units.

Complicating the problem is the city's goal of keeping multifamily units capped at 20 percent of Round Rock's housing stock. Single-family homes are usually purchased instead of rented, and homeowners tend to stay in one place longer than renters. That stabilizes a city's tax base, the mayor said.

That goal, however, means no low-income, multi-family housing can be built within city limits until single-family home growth balances the ratio. Nguyen at Atlantic Housing said the ratio is misguided.

"You're putting blinders on and choosing to ignore the real needs of those who work within your city," Nguyen said.

Round Rock City Council rejected a proposal by Atlantic in February to build affordable apartments on Sunrise Road.

Mayor McGraw said council had misgivings about Atlantic's nonprofit status, which gives the organization certain property tax exemptions. He added that multifamily housing is not a cure-all. The city might, however, consider a development of affordable, single-family homes if a company wanted to create one, he said.

Mayor McGraw also said housing is not the only factor residents use to determine affordability. Round Rock has intentionally low utility rates and taxes, he said.

Looking to the future

Round Rock's consolidated plan states that the city should receive $2.5 million in HUD Community Development Block Grants over the next five years. About $250,000 will be for repairs and changes to existing public housing. About $124,000 will go to services and housing assistance.

For those already taking part in the city's existing housing assistance programs, the help can make a significant difference. Letretia McGraw said having a home to call her own—even a temporary one—is helping her to "live" again.

"It is temporary. It's a place you go to build and reorganize," she said. "I don't feel stuck anymore."