Cities should loosen zoning without targeting single- family neighborhoods as the problem.
When lawmakers return to Austin early next year, housing affordability — most notably reducing property tax burdens — will be a top priority. Gov. Greg Abbott also has signaled that he wants to do something about the impact of institutional investors buying up residential properties for rental on the supply and cost of single-family homes across the state.
There is also growing pressure to reform land use policies. A growing chorus of real estate experts, urban planners, cities and elected officials now say Texas also should adopt more flexible land use and zoning policies to ease housing availability and affordability crunches. A popular policy prescription involves reducing minimum lot sizes to permit multiplexes and townhomes to be built next to single-family dwellings, which advocates say would expand housing supply and stabilize housing prices.
