EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso City Council on Tuesday discussed how now building permits will be calculated based on square footage rather than the value of the house being built.
This comes from a bill that was passed by the Texas legislature on May 21.
“The state is asking us to not look at values for residential permits but to look at other methods of doing that so again this is not something that the city is taking on themselves but the state has mandated this,” said Philip Etiwe the Director of Planning and Inspections for the City of El Paso.
According to local real estate agents, this change comes at a good time when the mortgage interest rates are low and it’s a good time to buy and build houses in the Borderland.
“Currently the mortgage rates are lower than we’ve seen in a while comparing to even last month we were seeing them at about a 5.25 and now we’re seeing them as low as 3.4 to 4 so if your in the market to buy a home now is the best time,” said Maria Schneider with Tropicana homes.
People from other places have taken notice in El Paso’s housing market and are contributing to the growth in our area.
“We also have a neat trend of people moving in from out of town mostly for work,” said Mollie Stopani an El Paso Realtor.
