A new report shows Texas is among the worst states in the country for renters looking for an affordable place to live.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition found Texas tied for sixth place for states with the least amount of available rental housing for low-income families.
Clare Losey, an assistant research economist for the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, has published several articles on affordability in the Texas housing market.
Losey said there are several major factors impacting affordability, including costs and trends related to land, laws, labor, lumber, and lending. She also said Texas remains relatively affordable compared to other parts of the country and that city and state leaders should consider policy changes to allow for more developer incentives, inclusionary zoning and higher density housing.
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"We as a state are going to have to very carefully consider, or reconsider if you will, the types of housing that we're seeing on the ground. For example, our traditional single-family low-density housing model is probably not going to work into the foreseeable future. It's already not working right now, especially in larger cities and rapidly growing areas," Losey said.
NLIHC is advocating for lawmakers to invest more resources into addressing the affordable housing crisis. You can read state-specific data from the report here.
