Survey Supports Need For Affordable Housing

Sep 03, 2008 - 15:26:32 CDT.

TO HONOR the 100th birthday of their father, the late President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Luci Baines Johnson (left) and Lynda Johnson Robb (right) join Col. Jacqueline Van Ovost of Randolph Air Force Base in placing a wreath last Wednesday on LBJ’s grave at the family cemetery. Standard-Radio Post Photo by Jeffrey Benzing

The issue of not enough affordable housing in the Fredericksburg area was the topic of discussion during a public session of the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force Committee that met Thursday in the Gillespie County Law Enforcement Center meeting room.

According to city councilman David Pedregon, who also sits on the task force, approximately 50 people -- including members of the real estate and building industries -- attended the session.

Representatives from the Gillespie County Board of Realtors said that a survey that their group had conducted recently indicated that 97 percent of the GCBOR membership questioned indicated “that some type of affordable housing is needed,” said Greg Oehler, owner/broker of GMAC Real Estate.

“More Realtors felt like this housing should be in the form of ownership since it generally results in more pride and upkeep than rental properties,” Oehler continued. “While not everyone agrees on the need for affordable housing, here are some facts which we highlighted based on local MLS information as it pertains to housing in Fredericksburg and Gillespie County over the past several years. There are currently 275 available homes listed in Gillespie County with an average price of $509,000.”

Oehler added that another 158 available homes were listed in Fredericksburg with an average price of $354,000.

“There are currently eight available homes listed in Fredericksburg priced at $150,000 or less,” Oehler said. “Their average price is $127,925. Of these eight, three need repairs or updating, one is near a very busy road, and two have less than 1,000 square feet of livable area. In addition, the youngest home is already 14 years old and only three are aged 1990 or younger.”

The real estate broker added that “the local Realtors see a need and believe that affordable housing would be a benefit to the community.”

Oehler added that if the proposed Fredericksburg Community Foundation is formed (an entity that would oversee the affordable housing process within the city), “we would like to participate and highly encourage participation from other parts of the community, especially the county government, the hospital, the Fredericksburg Independent School District, and other community interests.”

Pedregon made the point that representatives of the Hill Country Memorial Health System, the Fredericksburg Independent School District, local law enforcement agencies, and specialty machine shops are experiencing difficulty in obtaining and retaining employees.

Pedregon went on to say that “more than 1,200 people live outside Gillespie County and drive into Gillespie County to work each day. They want to be a part of this community, but can’t afford to live in it.”

The councilman went on to say that the tourism workforce is something else that needs to be considered. “Tourism is our largest industry and it has certainly struggled through these same issues, however, the lack of affordable housing’s affect has much broader implications and affects on our city and even county,” Pedregon said.