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The final state we will be exploring the relationship between housing starts and low-income housing in is Texas. In Texas, about 49% of renting households are cost-burdened, suggesting there is still much to be done to make housing in the Lonestar state more affordable.
In fact, to afford a 2-bedroom apartment at the current market rate of $1087, a Texan household must work a total of 115 hours per week to make ends meet.
By the numbers
Between 1995 and 2014, the number of housing starts in Texas increased by 105%. However, the number of homes financed via LIHTC declined by 96% for the same period.
This suggests that while the construction of new homes in Texas has ramped up significantly in the past couple decades, this new construction has done little to mitigate the housing crisis facing the state.
In 1995, 36% of the housing starts in Texas were financed by LIHTC in an effort to increase the supply of affordable housing. However, in 2014, this figure fell to 0.6%.
Evidently, the increase in new construction alone is not a viable policy solution to the housing affordability crisis facing the state of Texas.
As seen in Texas, Washington, California, and New York, increasing the number of housing starts does not necessarily equate to more housing that is affordable for low and middle income Americans.
Next week, we will take a look at what policies on both a state and federal level can help create housing that is more affordable.
