Texas housing market has declined in affordability since 2000 

SAN ANTONIO – Income data from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development was used to assess affordable housing in the major Texas metros. Results demonstrated costs are climbing faster than salaries and all metros are less affordable now than they were in 2000. 

Austin saw the most significant change of any other area. In 2000, a typical home in the Austin area cost $177,000 while the typical salary was $58,900. That number for a typical home has jumped to $485,000 against a $122,300 salary, resulting in a 16 percent decrease in affordability. 

San Antonio showed a 161 percent increase in the cost of a home, climbing from $113,5000 in 2000 to $296,000 last year, while there was a 105 percent increase in median income over the same period, from $43,100 to $88,6000. This shows home affordability in the area decreased by approximately 12 percent. 

In the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, typical home values ascended 192 percent to $377,000 while salaries only saw a 74 percent jump to $105,000, resulting in a 49 percent decrease in affordability. This was the widest gap measured by the data. 

In Houston, a 65 percent increase in salary to a $93,000 median income was met with a 149 percent increase in typical home costs of about $310,000. That means affordability in that metro decreased by around 34 percent since the year 2000.