Demand for Housing Destroying Austin’s Older Stock

Austin’s fast growth, combined with increasing demand, lack of diverse housing and limited supply, means much of the older housing stock in Central Austin is being torn down at a rapid clip. Specifically, 1,773 residential demolitions took place in Central Austin between 2010-2017, versus the 1,900 houses that were razed between 1980-2009, according to a Community Impact Newspaper analysis.

Glen Coleman with South Llano Strategies said people are fed up with sprawl and long commutes, so they want to live in the center of the city. However, “if we are systematically bulldozing affordable houses in favor of unaffordable housing, then that’s bad,” he told Community Impact. Given that the smaller, more affordable homes are being demolished and replaced by larger, more expensive homes, property tax bills increase, and Austinites are being forced out of what were once affordable neighborhoods.

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