Affordable housing gone from Fredericksburg

It was just a simple question meant to help out one of our reporters.

On Thursday, I posted a question on the Standard’s Facebook page asking, “If you had to buy the Fredericksburg house you live in now at today’s prices, could you afford it?” I did it because one of our reporters was having difficulty getting people to interview for a story about people from here who can’t afford to come back home.

Asking that question certainly struck a very raw, exposed nerve. The comment section lit up fast. There was a resounding “no.” And then the anecdotal comments just started breaking my heart. Clearly people love Fredericksburg, but they hate what is happening to their beloved community. Here are a few examples:

Leah Pendley: “We left 10 years ago because of the cost of living then. We couldn’t afford to start a family and buy or build a house. We absolutely loved living in Fredericksburg, but it just wasn’t the best choice for us for long term.”

Kyle Marcus: “I closed 10 months ago and couldn’t afford it today.”

Kelsey Lansford: “I couldn’t even afford to move back after college (born and raised here). Luckily I have a great boss who allows me to rent one of his places or there would’ve been absolutely no way.”

Mercedes Mear Stenberg; “STRs are driving prices through the roof and destroying the fabric of our community. Employers can help by paying a living wage so people can *possibly* afford to live where they work.”

Valerie Cameron Klaerner: “Too much growth, too fast. And no increased work force, so... I work in a service industry and we can’t keep up with all the new folks moving in. I live in Kerrville and commute because I can’t afford it here.”

Annalyn Brook Stableford: “Nope. We never bought a house in Fredericksburg because everything is too high priced. That’s why we live in Mason and drive 45 minutes to work every day.”

Logan Moore: “I would have to win the mega millions to live back there. I miss it but I can’t afford it.”

Melody Pollard Houston: “Someone literally had to die for me to afford it the first time. Absolutely no way I could buy it again. I’m struggling just to stay in it!”

I’ve been working at the Standard-Radio Post for five months now. I’ve been living in a temporary situation just outside of town by the grace of God and the generosity of a retired couple who have been exceedingly kind to me. But my family remains in the Houston area while my wife tries to get employment here.

Anticipating a possible offer, we have been house hunting. So far, we have looked in Harper, Ingram and Kerrville. Fredericksburg isn’t even close to being an option, which is disappointing because as a journalist, I prefer to live where I work.

As we have been working on our series of affordable housing stories, the clear message is that Fredericksburg does not have any affordable housing and hasn’t for some time. The city isn’t likely to ever see affordable housing again unless some drastic measures are taken. The first would be a disastrous crash in the housing market, which would be worse than the current inflation. We don’t want that.

The second would be construction of homes and apartments that would have to be built specifically as affordable homes and strictly regulated to stay that way. It’s difficult to get builders and landowners onboard with that concept, but not impossible.

One thing that needs to be done immediately is to stabilize the rapid rise of home prices in the city. That is best done by limiting and ultimately reducing the number of short-term rentals (STR). So many homes have been bought up in the last two or three years and converted to STRs that the inventory of homes on the market has shrunk while demand has skyrocketed. We need the housing inventory to match or exceed the demand.

I went through a very similar situation 16 years ago in Colorado, which is largely what drove me to Texas. The house I had built in an affordable housing program in 2003 — and was foreclosed on two years later — is now worth more than three times what I bought it for. And if you think things are bad here, I read just the other day that the median home price in Boulder, Colorado, near where I grew up, is now $1.5 million. Here in Fredericksburg, we just crossed the $500,000 mark.

I want to thank the hundreds of people who responded to our Facebook question. It shows you really care about the community and what is happening to it.

We do too, which is why we’re doing this series of stories.

joe@fredericksburgstandard.com