2023 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GUIDE
COST-OF-LIVING CRUNCH
A ordability in Austin has become a top political issue as the cost of living in the city has risen.
PRICES HOME
Austin home prices hit record highs in 2022, but the market appeared to cool toward the end of the year as prices and sales activity dipped.
Mackenzie Kelly District 6
Leslie Pool District 7
Paige Ellis District 8
Zo Qadri District 9
Alison Alter District 10
$633K
$700K
$600K
SOURCE: AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY IMPACT
Did not respond
$500K
$574K
Did not respond
$400K
$423K
$410K
$390K
$300K
Did not respond
$369K
0
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
parks and on preserved land,” Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis said. Movement on mobility Council will also be responsible for some management of the Project Connect transit system. While new members generally support the program, its estimated cost—funded by years of a voter-approved tax increase—rose from $7.1 billion to $10 billion last year. “Project Connect is a mess, and we need the sense of urgency about how we’re going to proceed,” Watson said. Transportation planners have said a recalibration of the program inspired by its growing price tag will be detailed this spring. The project is closely linked with the a ordability question as rail lines and improved bus routes will likely be a draw for new housing additions. Austin is also allocating millions of dollars for anti-displacement e orts across the system. The Texas Department of Transportation’s expansion of I-35, another multibillion-dollar project
progressing this year, has received more mixed reviews from City Hall. While Austin’s in uence on that work is limited, council could promote changes such as caps and stitches bridging East and West Austin across the highway—designs that could cost the city hundreds of millions. Some members, including District 10 Council Member Alison Alter, support the project with added caps and stitches. That full slate of activity plus an infusion of energy from new members could preview a more active City Hall in the year to come, said Steven W. Pedigo, director of The University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ Urban Lab. “I wonder if we see this body kind of embrace that narrative of wanting to ‘prove’ to the general public and the [electorate] that they can be e ective … and actually moving policy forward for the city,” he said.
HIKES RENT
As of January 2023, the average rent in Austin was 8% to 30% higher than in other large Texas metro areas: 1. Austin $1,620 2. Dallas/Fort Worth $1,489 3. Houston $1,250 4. San Antonio $1,200
$1,800
$1,604
$1,600
$1,400
$1,200
$1,315 $1,305
$1,250
$1,000
$1,183
$1,175
0
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Average city annual charges*
COSTS CITY
Property taxes Austin Energy Austin Water
Austin Resource Recovery Other fees
FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23
0
$3K
$2K
$5K
$1K
$4K
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
SOURCES: APARTMENTDATA.COM, AUSTIN BOARD OF REALTORS, CITY OF AUSTIN COMMUNITY IMPACT *Charges for the “typical” ratepayer are based on median home values and city service use. Baselines vary year to year, and property taxes include exemptions.
Drainage Charge Update For City of
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NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION • JANUARY 2023
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