Top Stories
It’s no secret that Austin is suffering from an affordability crisis, where the average family’s cost of living — and especially of housing — is rising faster than its income. Those housing costs include the property taxes we pay to keep our local governments running. And, as shown by RECA’s latest findings, that tax burden is also outpacing many Austinites’ ability to pay.
Visit http://www.reca.org/blog/post/austins-cost-of-government-continues-to-significantly-outpace-incomes to view the full article online.
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Advocacy
A regional transportation plan designed to manage growth in Central Texas nearly received unanimous approval May 11 by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt was the only board member who abstained from voting on the CAMPO 2040 long-range plan, saying it did not show enough restraint in terms of cost or determining regional significance of projects.
Visit http://communityimpact.com/campo-adopts-2040-long-range-transportation-plan/ to view the full article online.
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Local News
The Brookings Institute just ranked Houston No. 9 on its list of the hottest metros for advanced industries. (Austin was close behind at No. 11.) The study says nearly 13% of Houston's jobs come from "advanced industries"—ones characterized by R&D, science, technology, engineering and math workers.
Visit https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/other/houston-a-top-10-stem-city-46904 to view the full article online.
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National News
The survey of almost 180 U.S. real estate executives indicates they are slightly more optimistic about investment opportunities in Cuba than in traditional standouts like Venezuela and Argentina, despite the remaining restrictions on direct investment in Cuba.
Visit http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article23521387.html to view the full article online.
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Many commercial property developers are now using crowdfunding platforms to raise capital for their projects. That means people who want to invest in billion dollar properties now have access to once unapproachable real estate projects -- albeit for very small shares of the business.
Visit http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/12/technology/crowdfunded-commercial-real-estate/ to view the full article online.
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