Austin's HOAs outpace national average
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Austin homebuyers are more likely than most Americans to face homeowners association (HOA) fees, according to a Realtor.com report.
Why it matters: For many homebuyers, HOA fees are another financial hurdle in an already tough market.
How it works: HOA dues typically cover maintenance and amenities like pools and gyms, plus other costs that keep a community running.
- They're common in areas with condos, townhouses and newly built single-family homes, per the report.
By the numbers: In Austin, 72.1% of homes listed for sale on Realtor.com last year had HOA fees, compared with 40.5% of those across the country.
- The median monthly fee in Austin is $60.
- Nationally, it's $125.
What they're saying: HOAs can function in ways that echo the effects of redlining before the Fair Housing Act passed, Christine Drennon, an associate professor and expert in urban geography and community development at Trinity University, tells Axios.
- "When we start to put these dollar figures on who can live there and what you can do to your house, we are racializing it, even if it's unintentional," she says. "It's racialized just because wealth is racialized."
The other side: The Community Associations Institute (CAI), a national nonprofit that educates and advocates for HOAs, is working to make community governance more inclusive, Jesus Azanza, executive director of the institute's Houston and San Antonio chapters, tells Axios.
- CAI supports laws that let HOAs remove racist language from property records and prevent discrimination against renters based on payment methods.
- Nationally, CAI has adopted a DEI policy and developed tools to help HOA leaders foster more inclusive communities, Azanza says.
Yes, but: Dues can stretch upwards of hundreds of dollars per month, adding an eye-watering expense on top of high home prices and mortgage payments.
Between the lines: To avoid surprise fee hikes, experts say, condo shoppers should ask about reserve studies, which assess whether an HOA has enough money set aside for future upkeep.
The bottom line: "We're opting to live in these neighborhoods now that are trending toward more and more homogeneity," Drennon says. "What does that mean for society? Democracy flourishes when you're exposed to difference."