Jay Parsons (pictured top) is a rental economist who previously spent more than 15 years at RealPage, Inc. He now runs his own consulting firm and is an economic advisor for JPI, a real estate company in Dallas. He noted on his LinkedIn page on Wednesday that cities in Texas are imposing significant restrictions to prevent those multifamily structures from being built easily.
“Cities like to think they know what’s best for their city, but many of them have dated stereotypes of renters and rental housing,” Parsons told Mortgage Professional America. “They need quality rental housing to make it affordable for the teachers, firefighters, and retail workers who are critical to any city. The best thing they can do is focus on how to ensure more quality housing gets built, and to reduce obstacles and red tape to making it happen.”
City restrictions
He noted in a LinkedIn post that The Texas Tribune reported on some of these restrictions, which could prevent the construction of these multifamily properties. This impacts the commercial market because companies are less likely to build in these areas, and it affects the consumer space as ongoing housing shortages will keep home prices higher.
“New apartments in Irving must have at least eight floors (no garden properties!),” Parsons noted in his post. “The Texas Tribune reported buildings also ‘must include a swimming pool, a dog park, a gym and a workspace for remote workers. Builders must also pick from a menu of amenities to add, such as a yoga room, a place to wash pets or cars or a station for cyclists to repair their bikes.’”
Similar laws were passed in Arlington, where apartment builders were required to include certain amenities like swimming pools or basketball courts, and at least 15% of parking spots must include electric vehicle charging stations.