Is Montgomery County Making It Harder for Working Families to Own a Home

 

A decision is being made right now — quietly, in a government meeting room — that will determine whether working families in this county can afford to own a home or whether they will be permanently stuck renting. It will affect teachers, nurses, firefighters, veterans, young couples, and anyone who has ever looked at a mortgage payment and wondered if they could make it work.

You probably haven't heard much about it. It doesn't have a flashy name. It's not trending on social media. But the impact is real, it's measurable, and it's coming.

This post explains what's happening, who it affects, and why it matters — in plain language, with real stories from real people who live right here in Montgomery County.

These Are Your Neighbors

Before we talk about regulations and numbers, meet some of the families who live in communities right here in Montgomery County. They didn't come here because they were wealthy. They came here because they found a home they could actually afford — and it changed everything.

These families found homes they could afford in communities developed by Ellison Development in unincorporated Montgomery County. Homes built on smaller lots that kept the price within reach. Under the regulation being proposed right now, those homes could not have been built. These families would still be renting.

So What Is Actually Happening?

Here's the plain-language version. When a new home is built, there are rules about the minimum size of the land it can sit on — the lot. The bigger the lot required, the more the land costs, and the more the home costs. It's that direct.

In March 2025, Montgomery County raised that minimum lot width from 30 feet to 40 feet — its first update to those rules in over 40 years. That alone added an estimated $100,000 to the cost of a new home in unincorporated areas of the county.

Now, just 13 months later, commissioners are being asked to raise it again — from 40 feet to 50 feet. Another $100,000. Two increases in just over a year. And every time the requirement goes up, the families who could barely afford to buy before fall out of the market entirely.

Estimated prices based on builder analysis. Source: Community Impact, 2022

This Isn't Just About One Family — It's About Thousands

The Houston area is already one of the most affordability-challenged housing markets in the country. More than half of all Houston-area households cannot afford the median-priced home right now — before this proposed increase. A 2025 study from Rice University's Kinder Institute found that the average family in this area can afford a home priced around $195,000, in a market where the median home costs $325,000. That's a $130,000 gap. And the proposed regulation would push that gap even wider.

A $100,000 price increase from a lot-size mandate would eliminate more than 300,000 potential homebuyers from the Houston metro market. That's not a rounding error. That's a generation of people — your neighbors, your coworkers, your family members — being quietly told there is no room for them here as homeowners.

What Happens When You Can't Buy — The Real Cost of Renting Forever

When a family is priced out of buying, they don't just miss out on a house. They miss out on one of the most powerful wealth-building tools available to ordinary people. The numbers on this are sobering.

According to a 2024 Aspen Institute study, the median net worth of U.S. homeowners is approximately $400,000. The median net worth of renters is $10,400. That is not a small difference — it is a nearly 40-times gap. And it starts accumulating from the very first mortgage payment.

Source: Aspen Institute, 2024

Every month you pay rent, 100% of that money goes to your landlord. You get housing — but no equity, no asset, no return. As Victoria and Joshua put it, they were paying off a building that had already been paid off since the 1980s. That is exactly how the math of renting works. The landlord wins every month. You start from zero every month.

When you pay a mortgage, part of every payment reduces what you owe. Your equity grows. Your home may appreciate. Over time, you build something real — something you can pass to your children. That's what Zijing and Cinthia meant when they said they didn't want to be a slave to a high mortgage. A lower, manageable mortgage is freedom. A high, unaffordable one is just a different kind of trap.

Sources: Aspen Institute 2024 · Urban Institute · TSAHC

Here's the Part That Doesn't Add Up

While regulations are making it harder and more expensive to build homes that families can own, apartment construction — where you pay rent to someone else forever — faces no equivalent restrictions. Nobody is requiring a minimum lot size per apartment unit. Density rules for rentals are largely unrestricted.

In 2025, Houston ranked as the 3rd most active apartment construction market in the entire United States, with 7,770 new units built. (Source ↗) We are building more and more places to rent. We are making it harder and harder to build places to own.

Texas Itself Has Already Said: Smaller Lots Are the Answer

In 2025, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 15 — signed by Governor Greg Abbott — which limits large cities from requiring residential lots wider than 20 feet. The entire point of the law was to make homeownership more accessible by removing government-imposed lot size requirements that drive up prices. (Source ↗)

The state of Texas — looking at the same housing crisis you are living through — decided the answer was smaller lots, not bigger ones. Montgomery County is considering doing the exact opposite.

"The housing affordability crisis in Texas is real and we're facing it head-on. Removing large lot size requirements has proven to increase home construction and lower prices." — Senator Paul Bettencourt, Author of SB 15 · Texas Senate, 2025

Houston proved it works. When the city relaxed its lot size restrictions in 1998, tens of thousands of new homes were built. Prices came down. More families could buy. Houston's median home price remained below the national median despite decades of rapid growth. The evidence is not theoretical — it happened right here in this region. (Source: Pew Charitable Trusts ↗)

These Communities Prove It Works Right Here

Ellison Development has developed communities in unincorporated Montgomery County on smaller lots. These aren't lesser neighborhoods. They are thriving communities with low crime rates, active homeowners paying property taxes that fund local schools, and families who are invested in the places they live because they actually own them.

Community	Status
Marie Village	✔ Established
William Trails	✔ Established
Castle's Edge	✔ Established
Baron Village	⬤ Under Development
Saddle Village	⬤ Under Development

These communities are in unincorporated Montgomery County. Homes are built by partner builders including D.R. Horton.

What You Can Do Right Now

A public hearing is scheduled for April 9, 2026 at the Montgomery County Commissioners Court. This is where the proposed 50-foot minimum will be discussed. Representatives from the Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA) will be speaking on the affordability impact.

You do not have to be a developer or a builder or a policy expert to show up. You just have to be someone who lives here and cares about whether the next generation of Melissas, Victorias, and Joshuas gets a fair shot at owning a home in this county.

You don't even have to speak. Just showing up — filling that room — sends a message that this community is paying attention.

Date	Thursday, April 9, 2026
Time	9:30 AM
Location	Alan B. Sadler Commissioners Court Building 501 North Thompson, 4th Floor, Suite 402, Conroe, Texas

And if you own a home in one of our communities and your story sounds anything like Melissa's, or Victoria and Joshua's — share it. Your voice is more powerful than any data point. Email us at General@EllisonDev.com

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Go Deeper — The Full Series

Two Lot Size Increases in 13 MonthsThe data and timeline in depth.

Renting vs. Owning: The Wealth GapThe full financial case for homeownership.

What Texas Senate Bill 15 Says About Lot SizesThe state's own housing reform and Houston's proof of concept.

In Their Own Words: Homeowner StoriesFull testimonials from Montgomery County homeowners.