San Antonio is at an important inflection point in its development as an inclusive and prosperous city. With planned advances in our public transportation system, an unprecedented expansion of our airport and a comprehensive and fully resourced workforce development effort that includes Alamo Promise and SA Ready to Work, San Antonio is on the precipice of entering a new period of socioeconomic mobility and growth.
However, the availability and affordability of housing in our region underpins those efforts. Housing is the foundation of a family’s economy just as it is for the community at large.
Growth along the Interstate 35 corridor has increased exponentially, and new housing developments are clearly visible across every corner of the city and county. But as our population grows, the housing supply has not kept pace with growth or demand. That supply-demand imbalance has serious implications for maintaining San Antonio’s affordability long term.
Fortunately, we have the social and physical infrastructure to turn the tide against rising housing costs while decreasing costs associated with transportation. Doing so requires a shift in how we approach new development, especially along major roads connecting to our 13 regional employment centers.
The current approach to development follows traditional land use designations broadly classified for single-family residential, multifamily residential, commercial, industrial and office uses. This is a useful approach that prevents commercial or industrial encroachment into established neighborhoods in the city. Conversely, housing supply shortages could be a product of restrictive regulations if most land is reserved for single-family housing.
San Antonio’s supply-demand imbalance turns up in many ways. Active home listings over the past three years have remained well below 2019 levels. This is partly due to interest rates consistently hovering above 7% during that time, squeezing loans from would-be buyers and discouraging would-be sellers, according to data presented by housing industry analyst Zonda.
Meanwhile, home prices rose steeply in the previous five years. The median household income in San Antonio is $59,000, which places homeownership out of reach for many households in a market where median sales prices of homes now exceed $300,000.
These challenges have not diminished the dream of homeownership in San Antonio, however. According to an Emerson College Polling Center survey of Bexar County households, 90% of those surveyed consider housing costs and financial concerns as the primary barriers to homeownership. Still, 93% continue to believe that homeownership is an important part of the American Dream.
The importance of safe, affordable housing to a family and our overall economy doesn’t just pertain to homeowners. It also goes for renters, who comprise roughly half of all residents in Bexar County. Renters, too, are feeling squeezed as rental prices have remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic rental costs.
San Antonio will continue to experience population growth, and housing shortages do not have to be a recurring feature in our housing ecosystem. There are solutions to increase housing availability and address the affordability challenge through thoughtful reforms that will appropriately ease regulations to encourage denser residential housing to accommodate future growth.
One such reform that removed regulatory restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as in-law suites was successfully implemented in 2022 through extensive engagement with the community by the San Antonio Housing Commission.
The change allows more homeowners to build appropriately sized additions in their backyards to be rented for additional income streams, or to facilitate multigenerational living on the same property.
A nimble regulatory change to ADUs has created the potential to develop additional housing units on existing single-family lots, thereby unlocking additional avenues for homeowners to create new housing on their already developed property.
Sensitive approaches to residential density along established major thoroughfares that connect to our 13 regional employment centers will optimize our public transportation system and reduce overall vehicle miles traveled across the city, helping to reduce congestion and improve our air quality through decreased vehicle emissions.
The planned Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) route by VIA along San Pedro Avenue provides a prime opportunity to bolster public transit ridership by encouraging transit-oriented development — a mix of housing, retail and office space on various sites along the corridor.
Transit-oriented development initiatives that match regulatory flexibility with market demand will allow the introduction of additional, convenient housing types, such as townhouses, brownstones, and zero-lot line builds that will serve to ease pressure on our housing supply and affordability while boosting walkability and connectivity to new and old destinations alike.
San Antonio residents clearly understand the importance of a healthy housing ecosystem to San Antonio’s future. Housing and homelessness are consistently ranked among the most important issues in community surveys, and voters overwhelmingly supported changing the City Charter in 2021, which paved the way for the 2022 passage of the city’s first-ever affordable housing bond program.
Over the last several years, we have made significant strides in building a stronger, more resilient city. As San Antonio grows, let’s meet our housing challenges and build a foundation of inclusive prosperity.
