Pinthouse Pizza
House Austin First
RECEIVED Thu., March 24, 2022
Dear Editor,
Thank you for addressing the number one issue facing Central Texas in the recently published editorial “Austin at Large: People Can’t Live at the Bank” [News, March 18] discussing the Austin housing market and calling on local elected officials to prioritize an urgent response to the conditions of our market. We are echoing the call you’re making.
ABoR takes this seriously and REALTORS® are working to help homebuyers and tenants—across all price points— a challenge greater than it’s ever been. With collective community action something can be done to address this complicated issue.
We must prioritize housing policy as the most important issue facing our community. We can’t continue to get bogged down in competing priorities without a clear roadmap of what matters most and who’s on first. Imagine Austin was our guide, but it’s been nearly a decade since we adopted that shared vision. The vision statement said we would be a city “of ‘complete communities' that is natural and sustainable, prosperous, livable, mobile and interconnected, educated, creative, and which values and respects all Austinites.” By my count, that’s about nine things – none of which states we’ll be a community with adequate housing supply.
Who will set our new North Star, and will they be bold enough to name housing the No. 1 priority? Voters will elect our next mayor this fall, and we hope they identify the candidate committed to addressing the housing affordability crisis. There is no “silver bullet” fix, but an “all of the above” strategy can go a long way to ensuring our market remains healthy, maintains a competitive affordability edge, and helps more people access the market.
We encourage voters to consider how their actions will impact this region in the short and long term. Choose the candidate that wants to house Austin first.
Thank you for addressing the number one issue facing Central Texas in the recently published editorial “Austin at Large: People Can’t Live at the Bank” [News, March 18] discussing the Austin housing market and calling on local elected officials to prioritize an urgent response to the conditions of our market. We are echoing the call you’re making.
ABoR takes this seriously and REALTORS® are working to help homebuyers and tenants—across all price points— a challenge greater than it’s ever been. With collective community action something can be done to address this complicated issue.
We must prioritize housing policy as the most important issue facing our community. We can’t continue to get bogged down in competing priorities without a clear roadmap of what matters most and who’s on first. Imagine Austin was our guide, but it’s been nearly a decade since we adopted that shared vision. The vision statement said we would be a city “of ‘complete communities' that is natural and sustainable, prosperous, livable, mobile and interconnected, educated, creative, and which values and respects all Austinites.” By my count, that’s about nine things – none of which states we’ll be a community with adequate housing supply.
Who will set our new North Star, and will they be bold enough to name housing the No. 1 priority? Voters will elect our next mayor this fall, and we hope they identify the candidate committed to addressing the housing affordability crisis. There is no “silver bullet” fix, but an “all of the above” strategy can go a long way to ensuring our market remains healthy, maintains a competitive affordability edge, and helps more people access the market.
We encourage voters to consider how their actions will impact this region in the short and long term. Choose the candidate that wants to house Austin first.
Emily Chenevert