On quiet residential blocks in Austin’s Mueller neighborhood, an unusual homeownership model is quietly expanding. The Mueller Foundation, created to keep a foothold for middle-income buyers in a fast-growing market, reports steady gains in its affordable-homes program even as citywide costs rise and state lawmakers push new policies to boost supply.

Program details

The Mueller Foundation’s affordable homeownership effort began in 2007 and uses a shared appreciation model to lower entry prices and preserve affordability when homes resell, according to the Mueller Foundation. The group says it has built and retained what it describes as Austin’s largest portfolio of shared appreciation affordable homes through resales to subsequent qualified buyers.

By the numbers, the program has:

  • Served 927 homeowners since launch, with 78% of those buyers purchasing a home for the first time, according to the Mueller Foundation.
  • Built a current portfolio of 680 affordable homes held in perpetuity through program rules.
  • Posted an average affordable sales price in 2024 of $222,000, compared with an average market price of $478,000 in the same period.
  • Preserved $96.3 million in total value — calculated as the difference between market value and the affordable price at the time of sale.

Program staff say the shared appreciation structure, combined with resale requirements, keeps the stock of below-market homes available for future buyers while allowing sellers to build limited equity. The foundation’s mission also includes support for education and sustainability initiatives tied to the neighborhood, according to the Mueller Foundation.

Citywide pressures

Austin’s growth has put additional pressure on housing supply. The city’s population is approaching 1 million residents, according to 2024 estimates from U.S. Census QuickFacts. Across the broader five-county region, the metro area grew nearly 11% from 2020 to 2024 to about 2.55 million residents, a pace that has intensified demand for homes and rentals, as reported by Community Impact.

Demographic data underscore the stakes. Austin’s median age is about 34.5, and its median household income is roughly $91,000, with a racially and ethnically diverse population, according to Texas Demographics. These characteristics support a large workforce but also reflect the challenges for first-time buyers as prices outpace wages.

Policy context

State leaders say policy changes are needed to ease construction and open more pathways to ownership. In a statement celebrating the bipartisan passage of Senate Bill 15 in 2025, “Affordable housing enabled the Texas Miracle and is a cornerstone of our state’s economic success. People around the world recognize that Texas is a land of opportunity, but our reputation for having affordable housing is now under threat from skyrocketing costs.,” said Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, in a statement from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Texas.

Supporters framed the measure as clearing hurdles to development. “Sometimes you have to get government out of the way to unblock affordable housing and face the growing issues in Housing Affordability in our major urban cities.,” said State Senator Paul Bettencourt in coverage by ADN America.

Policy advocates have linked the effort to starter-home options that have become scarce in cities like Austin. John Bonura of the Texas Public Policy Foundation said the aim is to “restore the idea of a starter home.,” as reported by The Texas Tribune.

A broader package of 2025 housing reforms is intended to reduce permitting barriers, increase overall supply, and expand consumer choice, according to an analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Those changes set the backdrop for local affordability strategies, including homeownership programs like Mueller’s and city investments in below-market rentals.

Public investment in rentals

Even as the Mueller Foundation focuses on ownership, Austin continues to fund income-restricted rentals to meet near-term needs. The city approved more than $46.1 million in 2025 for eight affordable housing projects that will create or preserve 728 rental units across several council districts, including new construction and rehabilitation, according to MySanAntonio.

Combined, rental subsidies and policy reforms may help the ownership pipeline by stabilizing families and increasing the share of residents who can qualify for mortgages. For buyers who do reach the market, the price gap in Mueller remains striking: the 2024 average affordable sales price of $222,000 sits well below the city’s average market price of $478,000, according to the Mueller Foundation.

A homeowner’s view

The foundation’s testimonials describe buyers who would have been priced out without the program, including a resident who said an affordable home made it possible to stay in Austin and improved daily life, and a single parent who emphasized the security of having a stable place to raise a child, according to the Mueller Foundation. Those stories align with the program’s heavy emphasis on first-time buyers — 78% of participants — and with the organization’s approach of preserving affordability through resales.

What the numbers show

The program’s scale provides a small but durable counterweight to market forces. Its running tally of value preserved — $96.3 million — quantifies the difference between market prices and the affordable sale price at the time of each transaction, according to the Mueller Foundation. That figure reflects a deliberate tradeoff: limiting appreciation for sellers so that homes are resold within reach of the next income-qualified household.

As Austin grows, the Mueller portfolio functions alongside a citywide patchwork of rental subsidies, inclusionary requirements on public land, and forthcoming state reforms. The program was designed for permanence: a fixed inventory, continuous resales within the affordability rules, and steady entry points for buyers who meet income criteria.

The road ahead

Advocates for affordability say Texas’ new laws, if effective, could increase overall housing production and reduce pressure on entry-level prices. In Mueller, the foundation’s model offers one tested route for households navigating that transition from renting to ownership amid population growth and rising costs. Whether measured by the number of first-time buyers, the size of its preserved portfolio, or the gap between program and market prices, the outcomes point to a sustained—if limited—supply of below-market homes in a neighborhood built around mixed-income goals.

Read the press release on muellerfoundation.org.

This content has been submitted by authors outside of this publisher and is not its editorial product. It could contain opinions, facts, and points of view that have not been reviewed or accepted by the publisher. The content may have been created, in whole or in part, using artificial intelligence tools. Original Source →