March 29, 2018

Fiscal Notes: Texas Housing Prices on the Rise

(AUSTIN) —In this month’s edition of Fiscal Notes, released today, the Comptroller’s office examines rising Texas home prices, fueled in part by higher costs for labor and land. In a state that has long touted its low cost of living, affordable housing is getting hard to find in some areas.

“In recent years, average Texas home prices have begun climbing faster than those of the nation – and faster than our personal income,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “The rise in prices isn’t uniform, and homes in many areas of the state remain a bargain by national standards. But when coupled with high property taxes, the soaring cost of homes in some of our largest cities is a cause for concern.”

The March issue of Fiscal Notes also highlights Texas manufacturing. Hegar recently completed one of his Good for Texas tours, meeting with manufacturers around the state to announce the results of a Comptroller study on their industries. The agency estimates that manufacturing contributes $218 billion annually to Texas’ gross state product and employed about 845,000 Texans in 2016.

Fiscal Notes is available online and also can be received by subscribing via the Comptroller’s website.

Fiscal Notes helps promote and further explain the Comptroller’s constitutional responsibility to monitor the state’s economy and estimate state government revenues. It has been published since 1975, featuring in-depth analysis concerning state finances and original research by subject-matter experts in the Comptroller’s office.