New Braunfels Edition | July 2025

Real estate

BY HANNAH NORTON

Texas allows denser neighborhoods to be built in largest cities

The debate

“There’s nothing in this bill that says it has to be aordable—simply an idea or a belief that because the developer saved money on the dirt, that he or she’s going to pass that on to the homeowner.” REP. RAMON ROMERO, DFORT WORTH

In an eort to make housing more aordable in large cities, Texas lawmakers passed legislation allowing smaller homes to be built on smaller plots of land. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law June 20. “This bill is designed to help the average Texan achieve the dream of homeownership,” bill sponsor Rep. Gary Gates, R-Richmond, said before House lawmakers approved the nal measure June 1. Under Senate Bill 15, large Texas cities will be prohibited from requiring that homes in new neighborhoods be built on more than 3,000 square feet of land. Proponents of SB 15 said it would help more Texans purchase homes by increasing housing stock, while some lawmakers expressed concerns that the bill would take local control away from cities. The state comptroller’s oce reported in August that Texas’ population growth has outpaced homebuilding since 2020, resulting in a widespread housing shortage. Up For Growth, a national housing policy organization, estimated in 2023 that Texas needed about 306,000 more homes to meet demand. SB 15 will take eect Sept. 1, applying to cities with at least 150,000 residents located in counties with populations of at least 300,000— including parts of Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Bexar, Travis, Collin, Denton, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Williamson counties. Those cities will not be allowed to require that residential lots be larger than 3,000 square feet, wider than 30 feet or deeper than 75 feet,

The local impact Senate Bill 15 changes neighborhood zoning regulations for cities with at least 150,000 residents located in counties with populations of at least 300,000.

“One of the biggest costs of housing is the cost of land. ... By reducing the lot size, not only does it reduce the cost of housing, but you have lower-cost electricity [and] water.” REP. GARY GATES, RRICHMOND

McKinney

Frisco

Plano

Fort Worth

Austin

Houston

San Antonio

Also of note

SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE COMMUNITY IMPACT

In response to housing shortages, these laws also take e ect Sept. 1: • House Bill 24, which seeks to limit landowners’ ability to stall or stop new housing development projects • SB 840, which would allow residential and mixed-used properties to be built on land zoned for commercial use “The cost to build versus what the average Texas family can a ord has never been wider, and it’s growing,” Greg Anderson, director of community a airs for Austin Habitat for Humanity, told senators in March.

according to the bill. The regulations apply only to land larger than 5 acres that has not been mapped or platted, such as new neighborhoods. Gates told House members May 27 that while SB 15 limits large cities’ zoning authority, landowners and developers will have more freedom. “If a developer wants to build on a bigger lot, nothing stops them from doing that,” he said. “It’s not mandating that a lot be that size.”

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