City of Austin celebrates completion of affordable home project, calls for more

AUSTIN (KXAN) —  As part of a broader plan to expand affordability, city leaders and project stakeholders celebrated on Wednesday the completion of a South Austin affordable townhome development. 

The city of Austin wants home ownership to become a reality for more people. In 2024, through the Ownership Housing Development Assistance program, the city awarded $9 million to developers planning to produce affordable homes. Around one-third of that went to Industry ATX to build around two dozen affordable town homes. 

“It's been a struggle trying to find a house, let alone a house that you want,” said Joshua Davis, who will move into one of the town homes with his partner, Noel Zamora, on June 30. 

“We were thinking that we were not going to be living in Austin, due to how the prices are so high,” Zamora said. “These are just like our dream home,” he continued. “We’re just very excited to move in.”

The homes are available to families earning at or below 80% of the area’s median family income for a family of four. As of June 1, that threshold rose from $126,000 to $133,000, meaning a family earning just over $100,000 annually can now qualify for affordable housing such as the new townhomes.

“The median family income increase is a good thing,” said James May, the Housing and Community Development Officer for the city. “That means that more people are moving here, more people with incomes, higher incomes, are moving in to start jobs and buy houses.”

“[The median increase] does increase the number of people that qualify for a median family for the 80% median family income. It means that we need more units in this income bracket,” he continued. 

In February, a report found that Austin had the highest concentration of new affordable housing units being developed in the country.

For renters, the city reported granting nearly $70 million in 2024 to expand affordable rental projects and increase the availability of permanent supportive housing for Austin’s homeless. 

“Moving more people into affordable units, both rental and ownership, is how we're going to make sure that Austin remains affordable for generations,” May said.