TONIGHT--
TONIGHT-- A LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN'S MIDDLE CLASS.
AS KVUE'S JENNI LEE TELLS US..
ONE DEVELOPER IS TRYING TO
TACKLE THE
HOUSING CRISIS-- FOR A GROUP
SOME CALL -- "THE
MISSING MIDDLE."
MISSING MIDDLE." FOR JENNA PICKERING AND HER
DOG,TUG... ...LIVING NEAR DOWNTOWN IS IDEAL.
"I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS LOCATION
BEING ON EAST 7TH
ESPECIALLY THE EAST SIDE BOOMING
NOW."
HER COMMUTE TO WORK IS SHORT. SO
I JUST WALK AROUND, PROBABLY A
45
45 SECOND
45 SECOND TO A MINUTE WALK AND I'M AT WORK." "SO THIS IS IT."
THE ONLY DRAWBACK...
"AND THIS IS IT: THE LIVING
ROOM, DINING ROOM, KITCHEN, UH
BEDROOM."
BEDROOM."
HER
HER HOME
HER HOME IS A STUDIO: AT JUST UNDER 570 SQUARE FEET. "IT WAS A LOT SMALLER THAN THE
OTHER
OTHER PLACES THAT I LOOKED AT BUT I WAS WILLING TO COMPROMISE HAVING NICE NEW APPLIANCES,
EVERYTHING BEING UNLIVED IN."
IT FITS JENNA'S BUDGET AT
$130,000.
"DEFINITELY CONSIDER MYSELF IN
THE MIDDLE CLASS WHERE I AM
CURRENTLY IN LIFE."
A MIDDLE CLASS THAT IS SHRINKING
IN AUSTIN,
ACCORDING TO RYAN ROBINSON, THE
CITY'S DEMOGRAPHER.
"IT'S INCREASINGLY MOVING TO THE
SUBURBS.YOU ARE HAVING A HARDER
TIME FINDING LARGE MIDDLE CLASS
NEIGHBORHOODS
IN THE CITY."
IT'S NOT HARD TO SEE WHY.
"WITHIN THE CITY, WE HAVE AN OUT
OF BALANCE HOUSING MARKET."
HOUSING COSTS KEEP GOING UP-
PUSHING THE MIDDLE CLASS
TO THE SUBURBS.
"...ROBINSON SAYS THE FIVE
COUNTY AUSTIN METRO AREA... HAS
BEEN
THE FASTEST GROWING LARGE METRO
AREA IN THE COUNTRY FOR THE
LAST SEVEN YEARS IN A ROW, WITH
STEADY GROWTH EVERY YEAR."
AT THE SAME TIME, AUSTIN HAS
BECOME MORE AFFLUENT.
ACCORDING TO THE US CENSUS...THE
TOP TWO
INCOME GROUPS ...THE $150,000
AND $100,000 TO $150,000...GREW.
.. FROM 2010 TO 2017.
THE $50,000 TO $100,000 GROUP
BASICALLY STAYED THE
SAME.
THAT'S THE MIDDLE CLASS.
AND FAMILIES MAKING LESS THAN
$50,000 DECREASED.
"TO GET THIS KIND OF CHANGE, YOU
WOULD HAVE HAD TO AN ENORMOUS
INFLUX OF HIGH INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
AND A PRETTY LARGE
NUMBER OF EXITING LOW INCOME
HOUSEHOLDS."
WHICH HELPS EXPLAIN OUR HOUSING
ISSUES:
ISSUES: "OUR AVERAGE PRICE IN AUSTIN IS $420,000. OUR MEDIAN IS ABOUT
$380,000."
SOCAR CHATMON- THOMAS IS A REAL
ESTATE
BROKER AND A FORMER CHAIRMAN OF
THE
THE AUSTIN BOARD OF REALTORS. SHE SAYS BUYING A HOME IN AUSTIN CAN BE FRUSTRATING
FOR SOMEONE ON A MIDDLE CLASS
INCOME.
"FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE
IN AUSTIN, IT'S PAINFUL. BECAUSE
THEY HAVE TO BUY A HOUSE WITH
SOMEONE ELSE OR TWO OR MORE
PEOPLE IF THEY WANT TO BE IN
AUSTIN PROPER."
"WE NEED TO FILL IN THE GAP,
THAT MIDDLE GAP BETWEEN THE
$250,000 AND THE $400,000."
"THAT'S
"THAT'S A
"THAT'S A GROWING CONVERSATION." ROBERT LEE NOTICED THAT NEED TOO.
HIS COMPANY, PEARLSTONE
PARTNERS, HAS BEEN DOING
SOMETHING
SOMETHING ABOUT THAT GAP. HE'S DEVELOPED SEVERAL PROJECTS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY
CENTER.
ALL OF THEM BETWEEN $200,000 AND
$500,000.
"THE MISSION IS TO TRY TO FILL
THE HOUSING GAP FOR THE MISSING
MIDDLE, THE AVERAGE JOE, THE
WORKING CLASS, THE MIDDLE CLASS,
THAT'S
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE KIND OF MISSING." IT'S NO EASY TASK.
LEE IS BATTLING RISING LAND AND
CONSTRUCTION
COSTS.
CONSTRUCTION COSTS. HE COULD MAKE MORE MONEY JUST
FOCUSING ON LUXURY
PROJECTS LIKE HIS NATIVO
PROPERTY NEAR RAINEY STREET.
"WHY ARE WE DOING WHAT WE'RE
DOING? BECAUSE THERE'S A NEED IN
THE COMMUNITY FOR THIS."
A NEED THAT WILL ONLY GROW AS
THE CITY CONTINUES
TO DO THE SAME.
NOT GOOD NEWS WHEN IT COMES TO
AFFORDABILITY. "I BELIEVE THINGS
WILL CONTINUE TO GET MORE
EXPENSIVE. WHEN
YOU HAVE POPULATION GROWTH LIKE
THIS CITY HAS AND
WHEN YOU HAVE WORKFORCE GROWTH
LIKE THIS CITY HAS, LAND
DOES NOT GROW THAN IT ALREADY
HAS."
HAS." THE
HAS." THE CITY'S DEMOGRAPHER IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS.
"WILL WE HAVE A MIDDLE CLASS IN
AUSTIN 20 YEARS FROM NOW?
ABSOLUTELY. "
"THE BIGGER QUESTION IS WHERE
WILL IT BE LOCATED WITHIN
THE METROPOLITAN AREA?"
IN OTHER WORDS, FAMILIES
MIGRATING TO
THE SUBURBS.
BUT BACK IN AUSTIN...
REMEMBER JENNA?
THE 25-YEAR-OLD IS ON THE HUNT
AGAIN.
"I LOOK AT MLS LISTINGS EVERY
DAY."
AND WHILE SHE'S READY FOR A
HOUSE...
"THE HOUSING MARKET IS PRETTY
DISCOURAGING."
...SHE'S REALISTIC.
SO FOR NOW, SHE'S SAVING UP
MONEY WITH HOPES OF ONE
DAY GIVING TUG A LITTLE MORE
SPACE.
JENNI LEE, KVUE NEWS.