Economist Shows That Temple/Belton Housing Pays Off!!!
We all know that housing plays a large role in the overall health of the economy. We see or hear about it every day in media reports. The headlines will hit on housing being in a downturn or an upswing, provide updates on housing starts, or highlight the latest housing prices or mortgage rates.
However, what you don’t often read about is just what kind of impact the industry has on local government revenues. Does the housing industry pose a drain on the local economy or does it actually bolster it? TABA recently asked a nationally renowned economist to answer that question for our area of the state.
Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, a senior economist from the National Association of Home Builders visited Temple for our Elected Officials banquet to present his findings on East Bell County. He offered them in a report called “The Metro Area Impact of Home Building in the Cities of Temple and Belton, Texas.”
Inherent to residential development are associated costs that municipalities realize to support the developments and the families that live in these developments. These costs include items such as education, public safety, corrections, streets, water and sewer, health services, etc.
In providing these items, it is logical for the government and taxpayers to expect some sort of payoff. This payoff comes in the form of additional property taxes and revenue for related services that the home owners that live in these neighborhoods pay. Additionally, the taxpayers can expect income and jobs associated with the growth, this also serves to create revenue for the government. These jobs are both directly and indirectly related to the actual construction involved in development.
That brings us back to the question—is the income, jobs, and revenue created by residential development in the Temple-Belton area enough to offset the associated costs of that development.
The answer—YES IT IS! By the second year after the development of 100 single family homes and 74 multi-family units, the economic impact offsets the fiscal costs. By the 25th year, the net to our local governments is $228,580 and is $235,509 thereafter. When you consider that there were more than 700 homes and about 520 multi-family units built in the city limits of Temple and Belton in 2006 the numbers become very impressive.
Factor in the employment that helps drive these numbers and it is easy to get even more interested. In fact, if you were to combine all of the jobs tied to single family construction in Temple and Belton, it would put new single family construction among the top employers in the area. This holds true even if you only consider the direct construction jobs created by development.
Sounds like some pretty good reasons for our government and our community to be pro-growth! Please click here to read more about the studies and the input data that was used to create the analysis. Also make sure to read the Government Affairs report for more on Elected Officials Night.
To ask questions about this article, please contact Troy Glasson at 254-773-0445.
