Chris Powers, Fort Capital CEO and The Fort podcast host, said that lowering the cost of living is key to improving markets, urging politicians to ease housing development regulations to make homes more affordable and address the long-term issues caused by unaffordable housing. Powers was a guest on a recent episode of the Texas Talks Podcast.

“I think the one thing that makes markets better is the cost of living," said Powers on a recent edition of the Texas Talks Podcast. “From a real estate perspective, I would encourage politicians and those in power to do their best to continue allowing housing to be built and to make things more affordable. Even in Texas, and no matter where you are in the country, when you talk to developers, 40 or 50 years ago, it was easier to build. There wasn't all this permitting and extra stuff that had to happen.”

“In Texas, it can take a few years to build housing, but in other states, developers are working on projects for 7 or 8 years before they finish," said Powers. “ That's not sustainable long-term and creates a lot of issues. If people can't afford housing, it disrupts school systems and has many ripple effects as unaffordable housing causes problems over time.”

Powers is the founder and CEO of Fort Capital, a real estate investment firm that has managed over $2.1 billion in property deals across Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. He also hosts The Fort podcast, where he shares insights from entrepreneurs aimed at helping listeners improve their business skills.

Texas Talks podcast is hosted by Brad Swail. The weekly show is focused on public policy in the state of Texas, with insights from the people and organizations that influence it.

The podcast is available on Simple Cast and YouTube.