Is Affordable Housing Just a Myth These Days?
Edder Martinez, Editor-in-Chief
On the outermost edge of the south side of San Antonio, a new suburban community is in the works. Rows of compact 1000 sq ft lots are under construction at “affordable prices.” These homes can cost you anywhere from 190k-260k depending on the size of the home. Some praise this move as a step toward affordable housing, while others point at this development as a symptom of San Antonio’s inflating housing market.
The San Antonio housing market is still more affordable than most other cities, and the situation is becoming concerning. Interest rates for homes have recently increased after the low during COVID-19, and homes are becoming more inaccessible. While wages remain stagnant, the cost of living has been rising too high for some San Antonians. For many current homeowners in the city, you may have noticed the value of your home has increased dramatically in the past ten years. These cheap homes are becoming less common to find at the detriment of San Antonians. There are many reasons for this change.
The city’s landscape has quickly changed for better or worse, but there is no denying this has come with several growing pains. Neighborhoods In Midtown have changed completely, and what was once an empty neighborhood where a historic brewery once stood is now the center of the trendy Pearl district. What is concerning about these new projects is that they have set a precedent. These upscale and expensive neighborhoods have consequently affected the value of the surrounding areas and have led to the displacement of residents due to increasing rent or property taxes. The median property values in San Antonio have nearly doubled in the past 10 years, and the homelessness rate has increased by 5.3% in the last year.
Now how may San Antonio go about fixing these issues in the city? The city would need to rethink its base to be able to build more housing. If you want to fix a housing problem what would be the most Ideal solution? Build more housing, and if you want to make that housing as accessible as possible, ideally this housing should be affordable. Most housing here In San Antonio is single-family homes, and the market lacks variety. These homes should have their place in the city, but they dominate the landscape and take up a lot of space. Parking lots also take up a lot of space. Commercial buildings have parking minimums that as a result have led to unnecessary parking spaces.
The city should rethink zoning laws to allow for denser housing that is allowed for commercial use. Many San Antonians may have an issue with dense apartments and condos but they do work and are in demand. The Pearl Is a good example of such. It is a dense medium-height building with several businesses serving the community the only issue is price, But if we make more communities like the Pearl at a more affordable scale that’s accessible it should eventually help house more people than simply building more large single-family homes. Removing parking lots and integrating mixed use and residential lots into commercial areas can relieve the strain on the market.
Zoning laws may not sound like the exciting solution but its such an important reason to why San Antonio is made the way it is. Figuring out solutions on how The city and its developers are able to build more affordable housing at a large scale is critical.
