‘The waitlists have been huge’: Abilene’s booming development contributing to decline in available housing

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – With renovations underway downtown, new chapters at Dyess Air Force Base, and new businesses establishing a presence in the Key City, opportunities are thriving in Abilene to such an extent that those seeking a new place to call home have taken note.

An increasing number of newcomers are unfortunately reporting a shortage of available and affordable housing. Asher Choate, a Property Manager at Barnett & Hill Real Estate, mentioned that the opportunities these newcomers seek may actually be contributing to their concerns.

“I think the big elephant in the room is the Data Center [Lancium] on the north side of town. We’ve gotten a massive amount of people, all with pretty large incomes, looking for a home. And they want to get here before everyone else because there’s just going to be more people coming into town, so they jump on all rentals as fast as they can,” Choate said.

The Lancium clean compute campus construction is bringing in thousands of temporary workers who all need a place to live while they’re in town. A Lancium spokesperson recently informed the Kiwanis Club of Abilene that the number of workers is expected to rise from 3,200 to 6,000 by the end of July.

“I would say about six months ago is when it started… From what I’ve heard from all the workers, all the hotels are booked up for a year and, like I said, all the apartments are gone… Especially the single units; they go the quickest because it’s a lot of singles moving in,” said Choate.

Choate says some landlords are shifting their operations to capitalize on the moment by converting some units into pre-furnished apartments with month-to-month contracts, which is what many inbound workers are seeking.

“They’re gone pretty quick… Every month-to-month unit we’ve put up, it’s flown off; we’ve probably gotten it rented in a day or two, max,” Choate said.

Although Lancium is the most notable example, it is not the only factor driving this ‘land rush.’ John Lewis recently found a job in Abilene that is not with Lancium, and he describes the job search as quite challenging.

“Abilene was just kind of the first town where I could find a support system and a job. And I kind of assumed that the cost of living would be lower, and it wouldn’t be so hard to find somewhere to live. But it’s been exceedingly difficult, and actually, it costs about the same to live in Abilene as it does to live in the Metroplex area now,” said Lewis.

In his search for a two-bedroom to call his own, Lewis said he’s seen prices from $1,200 to $2,100 a month here in Abilene. He currently lives in a two-bedroom unit in the metroplex, for which he pays $1,600 per month. He had hoped to be moved into an Abilene apartment by the weekend of June 21, but the house hunting process has slowed that down to a crawl.

“I’ve had to dip into my retirement to kind of just make it for the month… So it’s definitely frustrating, a little bit demotivating, you know, slightly depressing as well. I guess everybody’s kind of struggling right now, and it definitely doesn’t help that the housing/renting market are so bad… There’s actually been a few places that asked if I was in AI, because they said they wouldn’t let any of those people working with the AI in,” Lewis said.

With ongoing expansion and renovation projects in and around the city showing no signs of slowing down, Choate advises prospective homebuyers to secure a good deal when they find one. Local resources, such as the Abilene Housing Authority, can help eligible individuals find available and affordable properties.