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Back to School Edition: Helping Teachers Live Where They Work
As parents of school-age children know, teachers play a critical role in not only educating children, but preparing them to become productive members of society.
But rising home prices have left many Texas teachers unable to buy a home in their district, forcing them to move further out where home prices are cheaper.
Citing research conducted by the National Housing Conference, a recent Marketplace.org article emphasizes the wide-spread nature of the teacher housing crisis. According to the research, teachers can’t afford median-priced homes in one-third of the 200 metro areas they surveyed.
And the crisis is not limited to coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco, which are known for high housing costs. In Texas, the median teacher salary is $46,110, which puts median home prices out of reach in most large Texas cities, including Austin (with a median home price of $261,200), Dallas ($230,400) and Houston ($210,700).
This is a crisis affecting not only teachers, but the communities they serve. According to Janet Viveiros, senior research associate at the National Housing Conference, the lack of affordable housing stock “can really put communities at a disadvantage for attracting high quality teachers… who are unwilling to remain committed to extremely long commutes.”
Home Buyer Programs for Teachers
Are you a Texas teacher looking to purchase a home? Fortunately there are programs that may be able to help you buy a home closer to where you work. Through our Homes for Texas Heroes Program, TSAHC provides qualified teachers with low, fixed-rate home loans, grants for down payment assistance and mortgage tax credits. Click here to learn more about our home loans and other assistance available for Texas teachers.
A recent REALTOR.com article provides a comprehensive list of programs, including TSAHC’s, that can help teachers afford to purchase a home. We encourage you to review all the programs carefully to see which option you qualify for and which works best for your financial situation.
On the House blog posts are meant to provide general information on various housing-related issues, research and programs. We are not liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the information provided by blog sources. Furthermore, this blog is not legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney.
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