Austin Approves Initiative To Spur Home Development

Austin can no longer be considered a hidden gem. The Texas capitol is on the short list of the hippest, most popular cities in the nation, and its suburbs are booming, too. The metro cracked two million residents this year.

But homebuilding is so slow in Austin that only six new single-family homes were built in the last year, the Post-Bulletin reports.

The city is seeking to change that. The Austin City Council this week voted to approve the Austin Home Initiative, which will incentivize the construction of owner-occupied and rental residential housing units through the end of 2019. The act is basically a five-year pause on property tax.

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