Texas Realtors Announce Statewide Program to Expand Homeownership Opportunities for the Workforce
AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Texas Association of Realtors announced an initiative to help more homeowners take advantage of housing assistance programs and make homeownership more affordable for Texans. In particular, this initiative aims to expand homeownership opportunities for "workforce homebuyers," which refers to residents who earn up to 150 percent of their city's median income, including public servants such as school teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses.
"For many communities in Texas, we've been victims of our own success and watched as cities prospered and property values steadily increased," said Bill Jones, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors. "In some cases, however, values have increased so much that members of the workforce can no longer afford to live in the communities they serve."
Workforce housing is an important issue because it's crucial that public servants be able to live in the cities they serve. In addition, it's difficult to recruit workers if they can't afford to be local homeowners.
On a broader scale, Texas ranks 44th out of 50 states in overall homeownership, due in part to a need for more affordable housing. That homeownership gap is widest in Texas among Hispanics, who account for 36 percent of the state's population but only 5 percent of homeowners.
Chairman Jones continued, "The good news for our state is that many programs do exist to make homeownership more affordable for Texans. The bad news is that few people know about them and even fewer know how to take advantage of them."
To address this issue, the Texas Association of Realtors has launched TxHomePrograms.org, an online searchable database of housing assistance programs in Texas. In addition, Texas Realtors are partnering with local lenders, housing counselors and others throughout the state to host educational events for consumers. At these events, attendees will learn about workforce housing issues, consumer needs for workforce housing and Texas-specific programs available to make homeownership more affordable.
"We all hear a lot about 'housing assistance,' but few know whether they qualify for these programs or how they work," Jones said. "Through this initiative, we're informing consumers and Texas Realtors about programs that can help more Texans start on their own path to responsible, sustainable homeownership."
About the Texas Association of REALTORS®
With more than 85,000 members, the Texas Association of Realtors is a professional membership organization that represents all aspects of real estate in Texas. We advocate on behalf of Texas Realtors and private-property owners to keep homeownership affordable, protect private-property rights and promote public policies that benefit homeowners. Visit TexasRealEstate.com to learn more.
CONTACT: Stacy Armijo, +1-512-448-4950, [email protected], for Texas Association of REALTORS
SOURCE Texas Association of REALTORS
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