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88 e median age for homebuyers in Texas increased for the fourth straight year. It's now 47. e share of first-time homebuyers increased from 30 percent to 32 percent, while the median age of first-time homebuyers also went up—from 32 to 33. "As we mark the 50th anniversary since President Lyndon Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act into law, it's good to see diversity increasing among homebuyers in Texas," Lyb- bert said. "Our diversity is one of our state's great strengths." Lybbert also said Texas Realtors will be "leading the way to make even more progress to ensure that homeownership is attainable for all Texans in all types of real estate transac- tions and at all price points." Houston Updates Building Codes in Floodplain According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Harvey caused $125 billion in damages during its rampage in August 2017. e storm damaged 203,000 homes and de- stroyed 12,700. Eight months after the storm, the recovery continues—and that recovery is about more than just rebuilding, it's about reexamining the systems in place to ensure future storms take less of a toll. e Texas Tribune reports that the Houston City Council has passed a new ordinance de- signed to retool and strengthen building codes for areas within the city's floodplain. e mea- sure skated through with a vote of 9-7 and will go into effect at the beginning of September. e ordinance requires new build- ings constructed within the city's 500-year floodplain to be elevated two feet above the floodplain. at's an increase over the current one-foot rule, and the new ordinance will also encompass more homes overall. e previous law required an elevation of one foot for homes falling within the 100-year floodplain. ose homes were also required to have flood insur- ance. In addition to any new homes inside the affected regions, the new ordinance will also apply to any existing homes that are "expanded by 33 percent or more." e Tribune reports that some city council members voted against the proposal due to concerns that using the 500-year floodplain as a basis for regulation was overreaching. Homes within the 500-year floodplain have been dam- aged during previous floods, but homes within that floodplain are supposed to face only a 0.2 percent chance of flooding each year, accord- ing to the Tribune. "We've only looked at 5,000 houses in the 500-year floodplain," said City Council Mem- ber Greg Travis. "ere's not enough data. Nobody here is saying, 'Don't do anything,' we're saying, 'Do the right thing.'" Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who originally proposed the ordinance, told the Tribune that, "To do nothing is not an option, and this is one time that we must rise above the voices that say do nothing and do what is in the best interest of the people who placed us here. Because frankly, I think the public is no longer tolerant of us not doing anything." While the months that followed Hurricane Harvey's landfall unsurprisingly saw some increases in delinquencies within the affected areas, the Texas housing market has weathered the storm remarkably well. e Texas Associa- tion of Realtors recently reported that home sales volume and home prices in the Lone Star State reached all-time highs for the third year in a row last year. Whether Houston's new legislation will prove to be a boon or a boondoggle for the Texas housing market may only be determined after the next inevitable hurricane rolls through. Allegiance Bank Selects Wolters Kluwer Wiz Solutions for Compliance Wolters Kluwer, a leading worldwide provider of comprehensive compliance, risk management, and audit solutions for the financial services industry, announced that Allegiance Bank, headquartered in Houston, Texas, has selected the company's CRA Wiz and Fair Lending Wiz solutions to help the bank manage fair lending compliance across its entire organization. Allegiance Bank operates 16 full-service banking locations and one loan production office and has serviced the Houston metropoli- tan area since 2007. e bank has and has an asset size of $2.86 billion. Fair Lending Wiz is a complete and automated fair lending management solution allowing Allegiance Bank to identify potential risk—such as underwriting and pricing risks—and promptly take corrective actions where needed. CRA Wiz helps the bank ap- ply a range of fully customizable automation technologies to its CRA reporting process, including guaranteed accurate geocoding, to speed up data preparation for CRA reviews and, ultimately, to ensure banks meet the THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com.