WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:05.559 This week's episode of the trip Cast is sponsored by 2 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:09.880 the Austin Board of Realtors, Unlock MLS, and the Texas 3 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:17.600 Tribune Membership Program. Hello and welcome to the Texas Tribune 4 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:21.960 trip Cast for May thirteenth, twenty twenty five. We are here. 5 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.039 We are in the stretch run of the legislative session. 6 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:30.440 I am joined as usual by co host Eleanor Klibanoff. Hello, Eleanor, 7 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:34.000 Hey Matthew, how are you. I'm doing well. We had 8 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:37.280 some fun on slack at eleven o'clock on Friday night 9 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.320 as you were hanging out in the House chamber. How 10 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:40.920 is your session going so far? 11 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.479 You know, I'll be honest, the last four days last 12 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.960 from Friday on have been a little rough. I cover 13 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:51.640 as we've discussed women's health. I also cover you know, 14 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.159 LGBT issues, and there has been. 15 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:55.079 A couple of bills. 16 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:57.719 I was following that we're supposed to come up Friday night, 17 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:00.600 so I stayed till midnight waiting for them to come up. 18 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:03.200 They did not come up, which meant that not only 19 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:05.840 was my Friday night somewhat ruined, but then my Saturday 20 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:07.959 was also ruined because that's when they came up. So 21 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.280 you know, got to watch Friday night, got to watch Saturday. 22 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.000 Then they came up for third reading yesterday, so what 23 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:16.439 a what a fun stretch. 24 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.359 Eleanor was really enjoying my running commentary on random bills 25 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.920 that I found interesting at eleven o'clock Friday. Human composting Bill, 26 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.040 look it up HB twenty two hundred. 27 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.159 Matthew is like just walking around the office, walking into 28 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:33.719 people's offices, being like human composting Bill. 29 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:35.640 Let's discuss he's. 30 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.400 Really desperately fighting the urge to assign someone a story 31 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:40.760 on the human composting bill. 32 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:43.680 For those wondering at home, as I'm sure many are, 33 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.680 human composting is the idea of when you die, being 34 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:50.400 allowed to just like throw your body into the woods 35 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:54.159 so you can sort of return to the earth. And yeah, 36 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:56.239 they want to legalize it in the house, or at 37 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:59.159 least someone does I care ever the author. 38 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:01.359 Is, which, as I said, I've just been doing that. 39 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:04.319 Didn't realize that was a crime, you know, but now 40 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:07.359 apparently it is. It has been illegal to just fling 41 00:02:07.400 --> 00:02:08.400 bodies into the woods. 42 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:10.879 The other fun thing about the legislative sub session right now, 43 00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:13.680 as we have reached the time where it is like 44 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:16.280 truly painful to walk the two and a half blocks 45 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:18.039 to the Capitol because it is now one hundred and 46 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:19.439 five degrees outside. 47 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:22.479 Yes, and then also it is still arctic chill inside 48 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:22.879 the chamber. 49 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:23.360 Somehow. 50 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:28.280 Yesterday on the House floor, Chairman Garan, Charlie Garran was 51 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:33.719 handing out heated blankets too, because we're like all the members, 52 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:37.000 particularly the women, have their space heaters going, and so 53 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:38.800 he was handing out heated blankets to try to, you know, 54 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:41.199 lift the pressure on the grid a little bit from 55 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:42.680 the chamber itself. 56 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:46.560 So they weren't electric blankets or were they electric. 57 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.439 Blankets, They definitely were heated. 58 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:51.319 I'm sorry I started to throw you this. 59 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:53.360 Yeah, I'm benest. I didn't look at that closely. He 60 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:54.120 had like a whole cart. 61 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:56.400 He was like handing them out, especially to the women, 62 00:02:56.439 --> 00:02:58.599 which you know, as we know, buildings do tend to 63 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.319 be sort of air conditioned to the level of men 64 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:04.759 in full suits, and so the women tend to have 65 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:08.000 their blankets and stuff. So now they've upgraded to some 66 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:09.960 blankets that are heated somehow. 67 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:15.120 Okay, yeah, okay, very good. Well we are not talking anymore. 68 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:21.400 I don't think about human composting or blankets this session. Instead, 69 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.800 this week's episode, we are talking about housing. When people 70 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:29.680 talk about Texas's staggering growth in the past generation, they 71 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.800 bring up, you know, low regulation, the job incentives and 72 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:38.199 everything like that, but almost always the conversation turns quickly 73 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:42.439 to housing and the affordable affordability of housing in Texas. 74 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:45.280 I remember living in Dallas more than a decade ago. 75 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:48.439 The person who I who's cubicle was next to me 76 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:51.879 was British and she had like moved from this like 77 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:55.400 tiny flat in London to this like four thousand square 78 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:58.039 foot house in the suburbs of Dallas and was like, 79 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:03.360 Texas is the most amazing place. Yeah, but these days 80 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:07.159 maybe not as amazing at least from the affordability standpoint. 81 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:11.240 Places like Austin you can just not no longer legitimately 82 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:14.919 claim for them to be legit inexpensive anymore. Big cities 83 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:18.720 and small towns have seen prices skyrocket. The medium sale 84 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:22.040 median sales price for a home in Texas is three 85 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:25.839 hundred and thirty nine thousand dollars, which you know, sounds 86 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:29.360 somewhat affordable, but that's forty four percent higher than what 87 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:31.680 it was in March of twenty nineteen, when it was 88 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.000 two hundred and thirty five thousand dollars. This is an 89 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.079 issue that's gotten the attention of state lawmakers. Dan Patrick, 90 00:04:37.120 --> 00:04:40.079 the Lieutenant Governor, Dustin Burrows, the House Speaker, have been 91 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.120 listing housing prices as a priority this session. And so 92 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:44.879 we're going to talk about this today, and we are 93 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:49.319 joined by two experts on the topic. First off, Josh Fector, 94 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:54.000 urban affairs reporter for the Texas Tribune. Hello, Josh, Hey, guys, 95 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:56.319 thank you for being here, Thank you for sitting through 96 00:04:57.040 --> 00:05:00.839 all that random stuff going on here. And then we 97 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:05.240 have Emily brisilera dove who's a policy advisor for the 98 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:07.399 think tank Texas twenty thirty six. 99 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:09.519 Hello Emily, Hello, Thank y'all for having me. 100 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:12.439 All Right, Emily, I'm going to start with you, and 101 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:14.160 it's going to be a very simple and also a 102 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:18.240 very complicated question, which is how have we gotten here? 103 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:22.879 What has caused Texas to become so much more significantly 104 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.000 unaffordable in the last five years or so. 105 00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:30.279 Yeah, So the struggles that Texas is having with housing 106 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:33.839 affordability are not unique to the state. You know, the 107 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:37.839 pandemic caused some pretty crazy swings and prices that we 108 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:42.720 saw all across the country. But you know, our affordability issue, 109 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:46.399 it is, in some ways, it's a great problem to have. 110 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:48.959 It's indicative that people are coming here that we are 111 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.360 a very business friendly state. But what we need to 112 00:05:52.360 --> 00:05:56.199 do is ensure that families are as welcome here and 113 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:01.560 as able to thrive as our businesses are. Josh has 114 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:05.160 heard all of my one liners before, so some of 115 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:08.319 this is going to be to us, I know. So 116 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:09.079 he put, you know. 117 00:06:09.079 --> 00:06:10.160 Feel afraid to recycle? 118 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:14.560 Okay, great, that's good to hear, you know, posting today, 119 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:17.759 And I want to come back to that because I'm 120 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.000 pretty sure I've been to one of those graveyards and 121 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:22.360 now I want to know where the heck I was. 122 00:06:22.759 --> 00:06:24.920 Okay, they were just throwing bodies into the woods. 123 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.240 It was my yes, and like they put a tree 124 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:27.839 on top of you. 125 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:33.839 Okay, we're changing the subject of this, Like did you 126 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:34.720 go for a funeral? 127 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:37.240 It was like and to be clear, we didn't get 128 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:39.560 out and walk around, but it was my best friend. 129 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:44.160 She was like, hey, here is this innovative graveyard and 130 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:46.920 it was out east and we just kind of drove 131 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:51.399 by and and they just yeah, but now I don't know. 132 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:53.560 I'm gonna have to look at the first story. 133 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:57.800 Maybe they're trying to fan it. I don't know anything 134 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:01.079 about human composting. That's next week's episode. Tune in. 135 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:05.680 Yes, Yes, for those of us that are still alive, Yes, 136 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:10.519 we need houses. Housing. Housing affordability is fundamentally a supply 137 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:14.800 of supply problem, you know. The Controller. The Controller last 138 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:18.240 summer put out this great report about housing affordability, and 139 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:24.240 there is just a really wonderful housing coalition that is 140 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:28.000 united around kind of working on this issue. And the 141 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:30.959 kind of stat that we like to use is Texas 142 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.399 needs about three hundred, three hundred and six thousand homes 143 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.720 to adequately house its population. That's a big barrier, but 144 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:41.399 we are making strides towards accomplishing it. 145 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.800 Josh. What Emily is talking about here is is a 146 00:07:44.839 --> 00:07:47.360 supply issue. Right When a lot of people talk about 147 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.480 the housing problems, not just in Texas as you described, 148 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:52.680 it's it's sort of all over the place. What they're 149 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:56.279 talking about is just there's not enough homes to meet 150 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:57.319 the demand. 151 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:01.360 Right, right, So Texas it should be not builds a 152 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.920 ton of housing. We build way more housing than a 153 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:08.879 lot of our peers, we build more per capita. Our 154 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:12.279 metro areas tend to build more. And that's really what, 155 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:15.560 you know, a big source of like why we've been 156 00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:18.759 able to keep housing prices as low as they are, 157 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:23.160 but they are, you know, we're just simply. 158 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:24.839 Not building enough to meet demand. 159 00:08:25.160 --> 00:08:27.439 And there are a couple of reasons for that that 160 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.040 we can get into that Texas lawmakers are trying to solve. 161 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:34.039 But basically it just boils down to, you know, when 162 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.440 people come here, you know, they're competing with folks who 163 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:42.919 are already here for housing, right and so you know, 164 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.720 if you don't have a place for that demand to go, 165 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:49.240 you're going to see rice prices rise as rapidly as 166 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:51.799 they did in say like Austin Round Rock, or as 167 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.679 long as much as they have in DFW or Houston. 168 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:58.080 How much of this is a city problem, how much 169 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:01.679 of this is an Austin problem, or how much your 170 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.240 people feeling this in the other parts of the state. 171 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:09.360 So there are few places in Texas where you know, 172 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:13.080 that have been untouched by the housing affordability crisis. 173 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.200 Prices have risen pretty much everywhere. 174 00:09:16.919 --> 00:09:21.879 A lot of this can stem from what lawmakers have 175 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:25.200 basically identified and what is kind of acting policy du 176 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:29.720 jour the really sort of attract thing to housing policy 177 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:34.559 advocates that sounds very dry and boring to everybody else, 178 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.960 which is basically that there are local regulations that get 179 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.720 in the way of building enough housing. 180 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:42.120 Right. 181 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:47.639 There are regulations that say that single family homes have 182 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:50.120 to go on a certain amount of land. Right, So 183 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:53.279 that means that there's a bare minimum that you're going 184 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:57.519 to have to shell out for land if you want 185 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:01.519 to buy a home, right, and as prices grow, you 186 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:04.879 it's tougher to afford, you know, a new home that's 187 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:08.039 built on that. Right, So lawmakers are looking at ways 188 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:13.759 to basically reduce how much land cities require to be 189 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:18.840 built on. You know, how much land cities require single 190 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:21.039 family homes to be built on, for example, Right, then 191 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:24.480 there are bills that would make it easier to build 192 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:28.039 accessory dwelling units, additional dwelling units in the backyards, or 193 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:31.600 single family homes. These are you know, things that used 194 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.559 to be sort of common in the early twentieth century 195 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:37.759 but slowly got sort of phased out in cities. A 196 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:42.080 lot of Texas cities technically do allow those kinds of 197 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:45.679 homes to be built, but there are rules that sort 198 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.200 of discouraged them from being built, or you know, processes 199 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:50.840 that are difficult to navigate. Then there are bills that 200 00:10:50.879 --> 00:10:56.000 are basically, you know, trying to allow say like more 201 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:59.039 mixed use development in places that don't already allow it. 202 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:02.039 So think of you know, those mixed use developments you 203 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:05.919 see on South Congress and First and where shops in 204 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:10.360 the bottom, you know, apartments on top. And basically the 205 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.519 name of the game here is like they're just trying 206 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:16.080 to open the spigot, right, They're trying to make it 207 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:21.480 easier to build homes and basically lessen the guardrails to 208 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:26.080 or the hurdles to building homes. And I rattled off 209 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:27.679 a couple but I'm trying not to monologue. 210 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:28.360 I swear. 211 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.759 Excellent. Okay. So I want to talk a little bit 212 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:36.279 about just like the political moment we're in right now, 213 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:42.320 because it's an interesting situation. Right. Housing seems to be 214 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:46.799 one of those areas where it sort of crosses partisan 215 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:52.320 lines in an interesting and unusual way. Right, we mentioned 216 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:57.240 one of the bills that recently just passed, I believe 217 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:03.559 SB twenty three or is it three, the the UH 218 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:08.519 hold HB twenty four excuse me, that would allow, you know, 219 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:11.519 take away some of the kind of make it easier 220 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:14.200 to pass certain zoning changes and things like that. When 221 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.399 that one bill came up, you know, it was made 222 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:26.279 a priority by the House leadership. It it passed, I believe, Josh, 223 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:30.320 your story said with majorities by with a majority of 224 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:34.399 Republicans and Democrats. But you had, you know, John Bryant, 225 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:37.159 a Democrat, speaking up against it. You had some Republicans 226 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:39.879 speaking up against it too, And you know, this idea 227 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:45.519 of sort of melding sort of free market capitalists with 228 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:48.840 people you know who live in cities and are concerned 229 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:54.679 about affordability that more frequently align with Democrats, sometimes going 230 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:58.639 against you know, neighborhood groups that are you know, supported 231 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:02.240 by Democrats or or environmentalist groups and things like that 232 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:04.360 that are opposing it. I mean, can you just talk 233 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:08.120 a little bit, Josh about kind of the interesting alliances 234 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:09.759 that have popped up around this issue. 235 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:14.200 Yeah, everybody has reasons to like these bills, and everybody 236 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:19.240 else that has reasons to hate them. Democrats, you know, 237 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.159 have traditionally sort of been sort of like the Party 238 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:23.919 of Local Control. 239 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:25.559 For example, there's. 240 00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:26.440 Been a big. 241 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:29.000 You know, if you've been paying attention to the legislature 242 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:32.000 for the past decade, Republicans have really tried to sort 243 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.480 of like sap authority away from like the blue or 244 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:40.600 urban areas, right, And you know, Democrats traditionally have been 245 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:45.879 on the side of basically trying to play defense against 246 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:49.320 any kinds of measures like that. And you know, on 247 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:51.639 some of these land use bills, at least in the Senate, 248 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:54.960 we haven't seen a lot of these bills go through 249 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:59.200 the House yet. On some of that, you know, like 250 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:02.519 that local control divide is being sort of tested in 251 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:08.360 the legislature, right, So Democrats, who sometimes would be you know, 252 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:13.960 very wary of like GOP attempts to like curtail cities authority, 253 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:18.480 are kind of embracing some of these some of these proposals, right. 254 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:22.039 And in the House, on that bill that you just 255 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:24.440 mentioned should be twenty four, that's a bill that housing 256 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.519 advocates of pretty much billed as being something that would 257 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:31.000 enhance local control, but you also had Democrats who were 258 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:34.399 voting against it. And so, like, I find some of 259 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:41.000 the the crosswinds they're kind of fascinating. But you zooming 260 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:44.399 out from that, you know, Republicans like the stuff because 261 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:47.840 you know, it is an unleash the free market sort 262 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:53.440 of move, it's a deregulatory move. Democrats like these things 263 00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:57.360 because you know, they're trying to enhance cities, they're trying 264 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:01.399 to make those cities more affordable and you know, just 265 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:03.440 make it easier to live there, and there are environmental 266 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:06.279 reasons that you might want to do it. But then 267 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.919 you also have you know, Republicans and Democrats who don't 268 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.279 want their neighborhoods, you know, being messed with, don't want 269 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.679 new housing near their neighborhoods, which is kind of an 270 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:21.159 omnipartisan and it's not These things don't break cleanly along 271 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:25.000 partisan lines. So that's been sort of refreshing to cover, 272 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.960 honestly in the legislature, where so many things boil down 273 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:30.840 to just pure partisanship. 274 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.000 Emily, what's that like for you? I mean, navigating these 275 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:38.039 like you're sort of moving between different factions even within 276 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:39.720 each of the parties on this issue. 277 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:45.080 Yeah, housing policy is I think foundational for pretty much 278 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:48.759 every other area of policy that Texas twenty thirty six 279 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:52.879 in particular works on, and so for that reason it is, 280 00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:56.519 it's incredibly important and I think the understanding of that 281 00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:00.559 importance is increasing in the legislature. But it's also really 282 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:04.919 a fun area to work on. It's a very optimistic 283 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.080 area of policy. You know, fundamentally, you know, what we're 284 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:11.039 trying to do at TEX twenty thirty six is increase 285 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:14.480 opportunities for homeownership. Some of the ways you can do that, 286 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.399 as Josh said, Josh said, we're you know, getting some 287 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:21.360 of this like extraneous regulation out of the way, improving 288 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:23.879 the diversity of the housing stack and that kind of thing, 289 00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:29.279 and the inevitable I believe result of these bills is 290 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:33.679 cities that are more beautiful, more walkable, better for people, 291 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:38.039 more efficient, allows people to work closer, to live closer 292 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:42.320 to where they work, which is good for cities. And so, 293 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:47.000 you know, do messages need to be tailored depending on 294 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:50.200 who you're in front of. Yes, but that's pretty much 295 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:56.159 the case for any any area of policy. And yeah, 296 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:01.639 you know, there are a couple of leaders in the 297 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:05.279 Capitol who are have just done a tremendous job at 298 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:09.279 getting this stuff start, you know, shifted forward, and so 299 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:12.400 it's kind of like following their lead. 300 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.960 And who would those leaders be? Who do you point 301 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:17.279 to is really taking charge. 302 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:20.279 On this, Yeah, I would say, and Josh, you can 303 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.720 chime into. I think Senator Paul Bettencourt, who's the chairman 304 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:27.279 of the Local Government Committee, has done a tremendous job 305 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:32.079 of embracing the approach of reforming land use, which you 306 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.559 know last session was kind of the first attempt to 307 00:17:34.599 --> 00:17:38.200 do this on any kind of comprehensive level. So really 308 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:40.920 look to him for for a lot of leadership there. 309 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:46.200 Senator Brian Hughes, he's the one that has the companion 310 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:49.720 to HB twenty four, which I think is the most 311 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:52.480 important thing that we'll do for housing affordability of this session. 312 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:56.759 Chairman Gary Gates in the House, I think he's I 313 00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:00.880 think he's a first time chairman for he's a first 314 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.720 time chairman for the Land and Resource Management Committee and 315 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:06.200 has also just done a great job at shepherding this 316 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:10.039 stuff too. And those are you know, they're Republicans. 317 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:14.519 So, Josh, I was not going to make it through 318 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:18.119 this podcast without bringing up our favorite topic of conversation 319 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.759 these days, which is Abundance, the book by Ezra Right, 320 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:25.759 that book which which we both read. You know, I 321 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:27.160 know a lot of people have been reading right. It 322 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:30.119 sort of makes the case of like really kind of 323 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.119 redirecting particularly. You know, these are two liberal authors, more 324 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:37.880 closely ideologically aligned with the Democratic Party, but really trying 325 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.039 to push them toward a more like agenda, toward building 326 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:43.640 and producing more and everything like that. And in that 327 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.440 book they point to Texas a lot, and in interviews 328 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:49.119 after that book they point to Texas a lot and say, 329 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:52.079 you know, you know, look at Texas. Look at what 330 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:56.960 Texas is doing. Texas has state leaders who are vocally 331 00:18:57.079 --> 00:19:01.480 and openly at times opposed to different types of green energy, 332 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.839 but they are Texas is producing more new green energy 333 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.920 by far than California, where you know, leaders are falling 334 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:13.240 all over themselves to talk about how much they support it. 335 00:19:13.480 --> 00:19:16.200 They point to housing in the same way. Look at 336 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:18.359 how much easier it is to build a house or 337 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:21.720 an apartment complex in Texas than it is in California, 338 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.440 where things are so much more expensive. It's interesting, though, 339 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.000 to be seeing that national discourse, Josh, while we are 340 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:32.440 also seeing Texas sort of be like, we really need 341 00:19:32.440 --> 00:19:33.599 to address this problem. 342 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:36.160 Yeah, and some of the. 343 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:42.079 I think it was Jerusalem Denzlis said something recently where 344 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:46.279 it's like what the Median sales price gets that three 345 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:49.200 hundred and thirty k, and Texas leaders declare that like 346 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:53.759 a crisis. Right, It's like it's we are we're really 347 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:57.400 far ahead of the rest of the country on those 348 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:01.039 like things look expensive here to to folks who live 349 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:04.400 here and they are renters are spending a lot more 350 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:09.640 on housing than they were, you know, even five years ago. 351 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:13.160 It's harder to buy a house here, but like we're 352 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.440 doing better than a lot, you know, most of the nation, 353 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.559 certainly our peers in California and New York and Florida, 354 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:23.319 and you know, it's been really interesting to see kind 355 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:27.319 of where Republican lawmakers have have kind of gotten out 356 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:30.039 ahead of this, right, they don't want to wind up 357 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:34.160 in a place where they are and the median sales 358 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:40.920 price is seven hundred k in California and where people 359 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:44.400 are fleeing the state and where you know, their their 360 00:20:44.440 --> 00:20:49.480 economic miracle is you know, jeopardized. So they're really trying 361 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.359 to you know, get out ahead of that. And because 362 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:54.599 once you get there, as California has found and have 363 00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:57.480 New York has found, it's a lot it's very difficult 364 00:20:57.480 --> 00:20:58.039 to unwind. 365 00:20:58.759 --> 00:20:58.839 Well. 366 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.240 I feel like housing is kind of like it's like traffic. 367 00:21:01.240 --> 00:21:03.279 It's like wherever you live, you feel like this is 368 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:06.720 the worst it could be, right, Like this is so expensive, 369 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:09.039 like I used to live, as I've talked a lot 370 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:11.000 on this podcast about I used to live in Louisville, Kentucky, 371 00:21:11.079 --> 00:21:13.839 where you know, you could buy like a nice house 372 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:17.759 for maybe you know, two hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. 373 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.640 But even then, like we talked a lot about, like 374 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:22.240 housing prices are increasing, right, and now it's like people 375 00:21:22.519 --> 00:21:25.440 are spending almost three hundred thousand dollars on like and 376 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:28.240 it's like it there is always a pressure to like 377 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:32.920 bring that number down or it feels very like heavy 378 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:36.440 no matter likes as long as it's increasing, I think 379 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:38.759 people are sort of discontented with that. 380 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:43.000 And you know, to be clear, like these bills fundamentally, 381 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:48.839 they're just attempting to allow market forces to work on land. 382 00:21:49.480 --> 00:21:52.640 And if you love your small town and don't want 383 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:55.839 it to change, then like let's make sure that people 384 00:21:56.039 --> 00:21:58.480 can live where they want to live and that they're 385 00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:02.400 not spreading out trying to find cheaper housing. So you know, 386 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:06.119 I think that there has been some pretty successful fear 387 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:08.880 mongering over what the effects of these bills will be 388 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:12.440 and you know, if you live in a town or 389 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.680 a city that does not have a six story apartment building, 390 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.759 one is not going to pop up as a result 391 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:22.160 of these bills. It's going to be gradual. As land 392 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:26.039 prices increase, we should ensure that the most appropriate housing 393 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:30.279 for that land is legal. And you know, these don't 394 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:34.880 they're pretty I mean, I kind of think they're almost 395 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:38.039 light touch bills. They're just removing barriers and we're going 396 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:39.839 to see what the market produces. 397 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:42.319 I want to get into the weeds here about what 398 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.640 those bills are. But first let's pause and hear from 399 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:50.519 our sponsors. Unlock MLS delivers Central Texas's most reliable real 400 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:55.880 estate marketplace, prioritizing data, integrity and accessibility for home buyers, sellers, 401 00:22:55.880 --> 00:22:59.759