From today’s Dispatch [page 1]:
Between March 16 and March 23, page views of online listings for homes in rural areas increased 115% compared to the same period in 2019, according to Redfin analyst Tim Ellis. Page views of homes in small towns were up 88%.
In 2016, residential construction in Lampasas spiked to 47 new homes from 21 in 2015. From 2012 to 2015, the city added 15.75 homes each year, on average, and from 2016 to 2019 it added an average of 40.25 annually. By May 31 this year, the city had added 17 new houses. If that pace continues through Dec. 31, the city would gain 41 new houses this calendar year. Property values have risen with new construction. From 2012 to 2015, the value of single family houses on lots approximately 2 acres and smaller increased an average of 2% annually. From 2016 to 2019, they grew 4.3% each year, on average.
Well. Sounds like people are flocking to Central Texas from EVERYWHERE…. which anyone with a brain knew was happening for YEARS now. It is CERTAINLY not the type of environment where the City should be handing out HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TAX DOLLAR SUBSIDIES to ‘encourage growth’, does it?
Yet that’s EXACTLY what the morons on City council did. Repeatedly.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that when most of City council has worked for the government their entire lives and have never worked in the real world. That’s how you end up with abominations like handing rich developer Deorald Finney FREE ELECTRICAL HOOKUPS for his 69 houses in Stone Valley that will cost the City over $72,000 in lost revenue.
It’s also how you end up with City council handing their FORMER FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBER “Greasy” Chris Harrison and his employer S2M2 WAY OVER $150,000 for THEIR development – Brodie Estates.
Great job, City council! What will you do for your next trick? Maybe give a $200,000 subsidy to Wal-Mart? I hear they are really struggling over there!
