But, these protections have been eroding in recent years, especially in the Lone Star State’s urban areas where progressive activist elected officials and their unelected staffers have increasingly placed restrictions on development. “It'd be a shame if something happened to that piece of property.”Exhibit A is Austin, Texas, where homeowners and renters pay near the highest property taxes in the state at $4,933 on a house assessed at $250,000. This can be seen by comparing median rents in Texas and in Austin to national median rents over the past dozen years. Texas median rents have gradually crept up to national levels as Texas’ economy has benefited from high levels of domestic in-migration and natural growth. Austin’s median rents are now some 19 percent above national prices.

Source: Forbes September 14, 2018 19:18 UTC