One argument frequently trotted out against zoning for greater density is that it encourages the redevelopment of low-income rental. But it is silly to believe that zoning can maintain the stock of affordable housing. When rents lag behind home prices, owners will simply convert the apartments into condos.
I'm aware of three condo conversions on South Lamar, one on Thornton (around the corner from my house), one off Oltorf, and one on South Congress. There apparently are many more:
Last year, 824 apartments were converted to condos in Austin, from the downtown area to the suburbs. This year, 1,167 more units are expected to be converted in the Austin area, said Robin Davis, manager of Austin Investor Interests LLC, which tracks the apartment market.
That's a lot of low- to moderate-rental taken out of the market. On a positive note, the converted condos are a lot cheaper than the new stuff being built.
I suppose Austin could take the San Diego/San Francisco/Berkeley approach of limiting condo conversions. A saner approach would be to permit small infill projects that blend in with the neighborhood. And lots of dense multi-family projects on transit corridors. The stuff built today will be the affordable housing 20 or 30 years down the road.
