Austin, TX
US 183A toll extension opens northwest of Austin

AUSTIN, Texas – A new stretch of toll road has just opened along the US 183 corridor northwest of Austin.
The five-mile 183A toll extension between Hero Way in Leander and SH 29 in Liberty Hill opened to traffic early Wednesday morning.
What we know:
Until now, 183A in this area had just been a frontage road.
Drivers are now able to bypass four traffic lights, with the toll lanes easing congestion on the existing frontage road.
“We’ve essentially added two toll lanes in each direction down the middle, so there can be nonstop traffic in that corridor for the entire stretch,” said Mike Sexton, Director of Engineering for the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority.
In case you’re wondering, the cost to drive the new five-mile stretch is $2.38—if you have a toll tag. If you’d rather save the $2.38, you can, of course, still take the frontage road for free.
Timeline:
This marks the third phase of the 16-mile buildout of the 183A Tollway by the CTRMA.
“Leander is grown exponentially in size over the last 10 years and Liberty Hill is now doing the same thing,” said Sexton.
The first part between RM 620 and RM 1431 opened in 2007. The second section between RM 1431 and Hero Way opened in 2012.
Drivers’ reaction
What they’re saying:
“I notice it’s quicker to get where you need to go,” said Kayla Allen of Leander. “It definitely helps with traffic a lot.”
“It was like 15 minutes normally. It took us five minutes to get them to school. And then we had to go down to Cedar Park and the GPS was like 10 minutes faster than what it normally would say,” said Kelly Cockrum of Cedar Park.
“Pretty frequently I drive Uber, so they have me all over,” said Kayla Allen of Leander. “It should save everybody a lot of time now.”
What’s next:
A heads-up: you will still notice some construction in the coming weeks, as crews finish up the SH29 interchange.
“There will be some closures. There will be impacts to traffic overnight, especially as they do some final work,” said Sexton.
Crews are also still working on a seven-mile-long hike and bike trail that was built in combination with the tollway. It is set to open in the coming weeks.
The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin’s John Krinjak.

Austin, TX
Weather updates: Latest on Texas vs Texas A&M baseball matchup after delay for rain, lightning

Cade Belyeu hits emotional home run for Auburn hours after mom’s death
Auburn baseball’s Cade Belyeu hits a home run in Auburn, Alabama, just hours after mom’s death from cancer, honoring her memory in an emotional game.
USA Today
The first pitch for the highly anticipated Game 1 of the Lone Star Showdown between Texas and Texas A&M baseball has been interrupted by Mother Nature.
Due to inclement weather in the area, Texas announced on social media that the start of the three-game college baseball weekend series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas is in a delay.
Friday’s game is the first meeting between the Longhorns and Aggies since Jim Schlossnagle left Texas A&M for Texas after leading the Aggies to Game 3 of the College World Series against Tennessee last June.
USA TODAY Sports Network will provide updates on the weather delay Follow below:
This section will be updated. All times Eastern
8:30 p.m.: Texas A&M has taken the field at UFCU Disch-Falk Field for pregame warmups. First pitch between the Aggies and the Longhorns is set for 8:05 p.m. CT.
8:21 p.m.: First pitch has been set for 8:05 p.m. local time in Austin, Texas. Gates are also now open for fans.
7:50 p.m.: As noted by KBTX Sports’ Travis L. Brown on X (formerly Twitter), the scoreboard at UFCU Disch-Falk Field announced that another lightning strike has been detected in the area. Due to that, the first pitch will not now take place before 7:45 p.m. local time on Friday, as the 30-minute clock for game resumption was restarted.
7:40 p.m.: With rain coming down and lightning detected in the area, fans have taken shelter inside a nearby parking lot at the stadium.
7:20 p.m.: Texas baseball’s official X (formerly Twitter) account announced that Friday’s game will start in a weather delay and advised fans to stay in shelter.
7:20 p.m.: As noted by KBTX News’ Chief Meteorologist Max Crawford, lightning is currently still in the Austin area. Reminder: The NCAA Weather Protocol states that for every lightning strike detected within a six-mile radius of the stadium the clock resets with a new 30-minute clock for game resumption.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Austin, TX
New permanent supportive housing community, Cady Lofts, opens in Central Austin

For anyone experiencing homelessness in search of a stable place to live, please contact Austin ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Coalition) for a Coordinated Assessment. Details and access information are available at www.austinecho.org/gethelp.
AUSTIN, TX – The City of Austin Housing Department is pleased to announce the opening of a new permanent supportive housing community located at 1004 E. 39th Street, in the Central Austin Hancock neighborhood in District 9. Dubbed Cady Lofts, the new four-story, elevator served community offers 100 fully furnished studio units to persons exiting homelessness. Persons experiencing chronic homelessness and those with physical and mental disabilities are identified and/or selected using a coordinated entry process required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and facilitated in Travis County by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO). Cady Lofts is the result of a collaboration between SGI Ventures Inc. and the Austin Affordable Housing Corporation, the non-profit subsidiary of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA).
“We are proud to work side-by-side with SGI Ventures in bringing this development online and thrilled to have additional permanent supportive housing come online in Austin. Permanent supportive housing is a much-needed tool to address homelessness. It addresses a critical need for long-term housing stability for those experiencing chronic homelessness, while providing much needed services for overall health and well-being,” says Mandy DeMayo, Interim Director for the Housing Department.
As a permanent supportive housing (PSH) property, all Cady Lofts’ units are dedicated housing for formerly chronically homeless individuals referred through the Coordinated Entry System managed by ECHO. These units are not intended to accommodate families. Most chronically homeless individuals have incomes below 30% of area median income. As such, every unit will have a dedicated voucher to make up the difference between what residents are able to pay and the rents charged at each income level – ensuring residents can live at the property regardless of their ability to pay. All residents must be income qualified. The units are subject to the following restrictions:
Unit features include solid surface kitchen countertops and bathroom vanities, energy efficient appliances and lighting and resilient flooring. Community amenities include meeting or training rooms, a library, community laundry areas on each floor and community warming kitchen, a computer center and a central outdoor community courtyard. Volunteers of America will serve as property manager and Family Endeavors Inc. will be the service provider. Saigebrook, O-SDA Industries, and New Hope Housing are all acting as development and service provider consultants.
Wrap-around support services such as job training, health screenings, benefits assistance and case management services will be offered to residents. A variety of classes will be offered, including fitness, cooking, nutrition, personal finance and tax preparation. Free monthly on-site social events will also be held. The building offers controlled access and 24-hour onsite management. All utilities are provided at no cost to residents.
Cady Lofts is within walking distance (or a half mile) of bus/transit stops, the St. David’s Medical Center and the Hancock shopping center, which includes an H-E-B, a CommunityCare Walk-in Clinic and numerous restaurant, service and retail shops.
“Cady Lofts provides both a trauma-informed model of housing and robust onsite support services, offering a pathway to stability through trauma-informed housing and support services, designed to help residents heal, rebuilt, and thrive. According to ECHO’s 2024 State of the HRS report, there are over 1,500 chronically homeless individuals in Austin,” explains Sally Gaskin, president of SGI Ventures, who is a developer and tax credit and private activity bond consultant. “Those who have experienced long-term or repeated homelessness need housing with ongoing support and wraparound services, intended to keep them permanently housed and give them resources to become stable and flourish after experiencing the trauma of homelessness and its compounding effects.”
Gaskin adds that PSH communities are an integral part of the City’s overall strategy to end chronic homelessness by offering long-term solutions beyond emergency shelters and rapid rehousing, which offers crucial short-term assistance.
“Permanent supportive housing (PSH) provides long-term rental assistance and individualized support services to those with the highest needs and most complex barriers to housing, including disabilities and chronic homelessness. PSH combines housing affordability with individualized support services,” she explains. “With 100 PSH units, Cady Lofts addresses the City’s shortage of such units, helping to stably house our most vulnerable neighbors.”
Caption: Photo of interior courtyard for the Cady Lofts Apartments.
Dollars and cents
A variety of funding sources contributed to the construction of this development, including $13.84 million in tax credit equity and a $1.08 million loan from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) under the 9% Housing Tax Credit (HTC) program. This program awards tax credits to developments, allowing developers to exchange these credits with investors for equity investments, typically covering about 70% of total development costs.
Additional funding sources for the development included a $7.2 million loan from the Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) through the Rental Housing Development Assistance (RHDA) program, financed by General Obligation (GO) Bonds. The Austin Community Foundation (ACF), through its Housing Accelerator Fund, provided a $2 million construction loan with favorable terms to support the project. Other contributors included the Austin Affordable Housing Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Dallas, and the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC). The developer also leveraged the City of Austin’s Affordability Unlocked program
In addition, project-based vouchers have been secured for every unit: 75 Housing Choice Vouchers from the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) and 25 Local Housing Vouchers from the City of Austin to ensure that no resident will be required to pay more than 30% of their income on rent.
“Private and public funding sources for PSH and affordable housing communities are critical, as this funding allows us to provide not just long-term housing, but long-term comprehensive services and care to meet the needs of our friends and neighbors transitioning out of chronic homelessness,” Gaskin says. “Each of our funding sources, including our partnership with AHFC, makes it possible for us to sustainably provide the wrap-around support services essential for PSH to be successful.”
Cady Lofts was constructed on a .74-acre site. Total development costs for Cady Lofts were approximately $25 million. Construction began in October 2023 and ended in March.
About the City of Austin Housing Department
The City of Austin Housing Department provides equitable and comprehensive housing solutions, community development, and displacement prevention services to enhance the quality of life of all Austinites. To access affordable housing and community resources, visit www.austintexas.gov/housing.
About the Austin Housing Finance Corporation
The Austin Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) was created as a public, non-profit corporation and instrumentality of the City of Austin. The mission of the AHFC is to generate and implement strategic housing solutions for the benefit of low- and moderate-income residents of the City of Austin.
About the Housing Authority of the City of Austin
Established in 1937, the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) is an independent public unit separate from the City of Austin and responsible to an autonomous Board of Commissioners. HACA frequently works in partnership with civic and community groups to meet the needs of low-income families, seniors, persons with disabilities, and persons experiencing homelessness. Its mission is to cultivate sustainable, affordable housing communities and partnerships that inspire self-reliance, growth, and optimism. As a High-Performing housing authority that assists more than 20,000 Austinites, HACA owns and operates about 2,000 units of subsidized housing in multiple developments across Austin.
About the SGI Ventures Inc.
SGI Ventures, Inc. is a developer and tax credit and private activity bond consultant. It has been active in the affordable housing industry since 1996 and has developed over 1,000 affordable units.
About Saigebrook Development
Saigebrook Development, LLC creates exceptional affordable housing developments that serve the local workforce while also providing options for market rate rental units within each community. Established in 1996, the WBE- and HUB-certified real estate development consulting firm has developed and constructed more than 6,800 rental homes across the southeastern United States.
About O-SDA Industries
O-SDA Industries, LLC is a City of Austin MBE/WBE/Texas HUB-certified real estate development firm with deep expertise in building affordable housing communities that meet the unique needs of each city and individual neighborhood they serve. Since 2011, O-SDA has been part of over 25 successful 9% Housing Tax Credit applications for projects across the state of Texas.
Austin, TX
Austin’s housing market is in trouble

After having pulled through a dramatic home price correction over the past couple of years, the former pandemic boomtown of Austin, Texas, is now navigating even more troubled waters, as buyers scared off by brewing economic uncertainty are failing to show up for the city’s growing housing supply.
“Our market here was showing signs of price stabilization after unprecedented declines, as buyers re-entered the market after the 3 percent interest rate ‘hangover’ finally wore off at the beginning of the year,” Scott Turner, founder of Austin-based Riverside Homes, told Newsweek.
“But the economic uncertainty caused by tariffs and the risk of recession definitely affected their mentality, making them more cautious and leaving housing inventory levels at nearly an all-time high.”
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Why It Matters
Between February 2020 and May 2022, the median sale price of a home in Austin jumped by more than 60 percent, according to Redfin data, reaching a peak of $659,500. The increase was mainly a result of the massive influx of out-of-state newcomers sparked by the rise of remote work, which allowed many Americans to relocate to more affordable, more livable cities and turn their back on expensive metropolises.
But the Austin housing market, which had become one of the most overheated in the country, experienced a significant slowdown after the pandemic, with return-to-office orders affecting the number of people relocating to the Texas capital. With a few notable exceptions, home prices have been consistently falling in the city, year-over-year, since late 2022.
The City’s Boom And Bust
“The story of the Austin housing market is basically the same as the national story, just a bit more dramatic,” Austin-based Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, told Newsweek.
“Following the peak of the pandemic, there was a major run-up in home prices amid record-low mortgage rates as buyers rushed to snatch up homes.”
Eldon Rude, a longtime housing market analyst based in Austin, told Newsweek: “Texas was one of several Sun Belt states that experienced significant in-migration between 2020 and 2022, which resulted in an imbalance in demand over supply for homes.
“Such strong demand, coupled with extremely low mortgage interest rates, resulted in significant increases in home prices in all of the major metropolitan areas in the state.”
The median listing price in the city jumped from $369,745 in April 2020 to $625,000 in April 2022, an uptick of 69 percent in just two years. At the same time, inventory plummeted, though it quickly recovered to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.
“Since then, inventory has continued to grow year-over-year, and March 2025 had more active for-sale listings in Austin than any March in our data history,” which dates to March 2017, Berner said.
But buyers are not exactly jumping on the chance of buying a home, even with more options available on the market.
“Just because home prices are coming down and there are more listings, doesn’t mean that prices are affordable. So there’s still a supply problem in cities like Austin,” Turner said. “I think only 25 percent of Austinites can afford to purchase a home at the median home price.”
Rude said: “With interest rates now higher than they were prior to COVID, coupled with a slower economy and less in-migration into the state, there are now fewer buyers in the market, and what buyers there are face affordability challenges given elevated home prices as well as higher mortgage payments.”
Berner said: “The supply growth has softened prices, and the median listing price in March 2025 was $510,000, down 7.2 percent from March 2024. It has been a slow year, with 12 consecutive months of prices falling year-over-year. The correction has come for Austin sooner and more significantly than the national housing market.”
According to Turner, home prices are now stabilizing after “an unprecedented drop.”
Despite a gloomy outlook for the city’s housing market’s short-term future, Turner said Austin’s economy remains robust.
“Our real estate market is returning to a ‘new normal’ in terms of supply and demand,” he said.
That is—as long as the Trump administration’s tariffs do not massively disrupt the city’s market even further.
“Austin’s economy outside of real estate is fairly diversified and still strong, but neither Austin nor Texas are immune to the impacts of a recession or tariffs, in the case of home building,” he said.
“It will take time for our market to work through this inventory, but despite Austin’s growth, much of this inventory remains unattainable for most Austinites, particularly with rates where they are, making matters worse.”
The Ripple Effect Of Trump’s Tariffs
Turner said that existing homes currently for sale on the Austin market are not going to be impacted much by the tariffs, but these are still influencing buyer behavior, making them “more cautious.”
For new home construction, on the other hand, “the impact of tariffs cannot be overstated,” Turner said. “Significant cost increases, particularly in Texas, where we are more reliant on imported building supplies, combined with falling prices would be devastating, not just to Austin’s market, but nationwide. If it gets worse, homebuilding could be the first major industry hit by ‘stagflation,’”
It is not only tariffs that are causing concerns among homebuilders in the U.S. and Austin—but uncertainty over whether the president would stick to these tariffs or change his mind.
“As homebuilders, we can’t easily adjust our business to such sudden changes,” Turner said. “We are getting notices from suppliers every week regarding price increases.”
Berner said that the direct effect of tariffs on the Austin housing market has not yet been felt, “but as an area with strong new construction activity, the tariffs on Canadian lumber especially will work to drive up the cost of newly built homes in the Austin metro.”
In recent years, the economist explained, builders in Austin have excelled at delivering affordable new inventory to the city’s market, and the median price of a new home in Austin is currently lower than the price of existing homes. That is due primarily to where the new inventory is being built, Berner specified, in outlying areas of the metropolitan area.
“This will be jeopardized by tariffs, as builders will be forced to pass on additional costs to new home buyers,” Berner said. “What we will see even sooner is the indirect effect of the tariffs on consumer confidence, dampening demand for home purchases and leading to another slow year of home sales in Austin.
“Unless mortgage rates drop significantly, we anticipate that depressed homebuyer sentiment will lead to continued price depreciation and low volume of home sales in Austin.”
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