Five stories that have North Texas talking: Texas is building thousands of new homes; an SMU grad is interim White House communications director; three words: state fair food; and more.
Texas is building new homes like it’s going out of style.
Dallas, Houston and Austin are on track to build a total of 130,000 new homes this year, according to a Trulia analysis of building permits. Bloombergreports, “That’s more than 10 percent of all new construction expected in the U.S. this year.” The three Texas metros plus New York and Phoenix are the top five in the country for permitting activity.
Austin stands out among the trio. It’s expected to add 30,000 new homes in 2017, which is more than double its yearly average from 1980 to 2016. In simpler terms: It’s growing like a weed.
Trulia data show almost 49,000 building permits for new residential construction in Dallas in 2017. That’s also a lot (61 percent) more than in years past.
That might sound like good news to home builders, but Dallas-Fort Worth is also lacking in an important area of the industry: workers. Phil Crone of the Dallas Builders Association estimates the metro to be short 18,000 to 20,000 workers. [Bloomberg, Trulia, KERA News]
Some links have a pay wall or require a subscription.
- Hope Hicks, who graduated from SMU in 2010, has been named interim White House communications director. The role has been vacant since May, when Mike Dubke resigned. Anthony Scaramucci was named to the post in July but left less than two weeks later. [NPR]
- Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush issued a joint statement Wednesday, saying “America must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms.” Here’s the full statement. [KERA News]
- The State Fair of Texas has announced its 10 finalists for the Big Tex Choice Awards. They’ll compete in three categories: Best Taste — Sweet, Best Taste — Savory and Most Creative. And the winner will be named Aug. 27. Check ‘em out. [KERA News]
- The Dallas school trustees will discuss renaming campuses named after Confederates during a briefing on Sept. 14. As for the city’s Confederate monuments, Mayor Mike Rawlings wants a task force. [The Dallas Morning News, KERA News]
The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state.Explore our archives here. And sign up forour weekly emailfor the North Texas news you need to know.
