WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — Texas must build over 300,000 homes to meet updated housing affordability, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced on Tuesday, August 27.

It’s a crisis that’s been years in the making. And while Wichita Falls maintains a relatively static population of just above 100,000, local developers say an imbalance of supply and demand stays relevant.

“The costs have made it hugely, hugely unobtainable for a vast majority of people,” President of RJ Wachsman Homes Tanner Wachsman said. “There’s a statistic out there, and it’s promoted by the National Association of Homeowners, that says for every $10,000 that you add to a home, you price out that many people or more across the state, across the country.”

According to Hegar, the US is experiencing its fastest-ever deterioration in housing affordability after years of underinvestment since 2008.

For Texas, in particular, Hegar pointed to elevated prices and high interest rates.

“Texans continue to suffer from elevated prices and high interest rates that put significant upward pressures on the costs of borrowing and home ownership, and so this report covers an immediate issue,” Hegar said. “Simply put, our state, which is generally well regarded for its low cost of living, is facing the pressures of a decline in housing affordability as our population and demand for housing continue to rise.”

Now, the Lone Star State is over 300,000 homes short, and despite Wichita Falls’ reputation for affordability, Wachsman said it’s not good enough.

“Just because we have the most affordable statistics does not negate the fact that we’ve had a doubling in equivalent home prices since 2008 and before,” Wachsman said. “And so for the people trying to… Start their lives… It’s much, much more difficult to approach.”

And despite Wichita Falls’ relatively static population, Wachsman said there’s still a demand for more homes.

“We have been a boomtown; there were lots and lots of homes that were created, especially in the 60s and even earlier, where they were producing these homes to meet demand,” he said. “But as time went on, these houses, they don’t last forever. Now, we’re seeing a lot of that housing inventory fall off and be inhabitable.”

Between his personal call to action and Hegar’s public concerns, they said affordability is now in lawmakers’ hands.

“We have to, as a city, as a community, as a state, as a nation, really look at some of the laws that we are putting on to developers and to builders alike,” Wachsman said. “We cannot continue to increase the regulatory burden because it is ultimately passed down to these taxpayers and these citizens who are trying to get on the ladder.”

In his report, Hegar found that housing affordability is at its lowest since 1985, nationwide. Not only that, but he stated that Texas’ median home prices have grown 40% from 2019 until 2023—exacerbated by high migration numbers.

For more stats, visit Hegar’s Housing Affordability Challenge report.

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