AUSTIN, Texas — It’s been a little over a year since the city of Austin made changes to its Land Development Code, which now allows multiple homes to be built on one lot.
The city just released a report from the first six months of implementing Phase 1 of the HOME Initiative. It said the applications it has received for HOME Phase 1 could result in 300 new housing units.
Cody Carr, the founding principal of Carr Residential, a family-owned homebuilding business in Austin, is one of the first developers to make use of the city’s recent changes to the Land Development Code.
In South Austin, he just finished construction of three homes on a 16,000-square-foot, single-family lot that used to hold just one single mobile home.
Carr said these new changes reduce the number of regulations and makes it easer for homebuilders to develop more.
“Whereas we might have had to produce [a] $700,000-plus home, we’re able to produce something in the $500,000 range. And so, to me, that’s a big difference,” Carr said.
But it’s not just the developers reaping the benefits. Carr said homeowners who used to wrestle with the complicated process of applying to build on their own lot now have it a lot easier.
“Because the process is more simplified, it’s just creating a better environment for housing and to get work done,” Carr said.
The first phase of the HOME Initiative also allows for tiny homes to be built on these lots. According to the city’s report, there were no applications for tiny homes in the first six months, but Carr said in the later portion of the year, he’s seen more of these tiny home-type structures popping up.
He said it’s also been a smart way for homeowners to earn more passive income.
“That type of situation, from a financial perspective, might be feasible for a lot more people now, and I think that’s exciting,” Carr said.
The city’s report found that in the first six months, there were 103 applications submitted for two-unit projects with 72 approved, 16 applications for duplexes with five approved and 40 submitted for three-unit projects with just 22 applications approved.
The city also said that the Austin Board of Realtors (ABoR) reported a median home price of $540,000 for all home types. The Housing Department said in the future, it will be working with ABoR to break the median home price down into specific home types.
The city will be releasing a 12-month analysis on the implementation of HOME Phase 1 on Feb. 5, 2025.
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