AUSTIN, Texas — City leaders in Boston hope to boost housing affordability with a little help from Austin.
During a recent city council meeting, Boston leaders ordered a hearing to explore how planning, development and zoning changes increased home production and affordability in Austin.
The hearing would invite members of the Austin City Council to share insights into Austin's efforts to increase housing supply and stabilize prices.
According to Boston.com, the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in 2024 is more than $2,700. Some Boston neighborhoods even saw the price of a one-bedroom apartment jump more than 27% from 2023. Despite Austin seeing a recent bump in rental prices, prices have still dropped nearly 10% from May 2023.
A 2023 housing report card shows Boston's market has been strained by the shortage of affordable housing. Data shows Boston only produced half of the targeted new units set by the Metro Mayors Coalition, and that nearly half of the city's renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
Meanwhile in Austin, 2023 saw a much needed shift in affordability with the median home price falling by nearly 9% from 2022. Inventory was also at a 13-year high, but experts say some of it is because Austin home prices are still a bit too high.
Austin leaders passed a measure to end 2022 to make it easier for developers to get homes on the market, which led to officials approving more new housing permits than any other metro in the country.
While experts attribute the housing cooldown to market corrections nationwide, concerns remain about Boston's affordability issues.
"It's very difficult to have them build middle income and workforce housing," Boston City Council Member Liz Breadon said. "There's lots of tax incentives and subsidies for low income housing and an incentive to build luxury housing ... midde income housing is where we're really in a deficit because workers are not able to stay in the city."
