Gina Hinojosa Ousts Greg Abbott in Texas Governor’s Race—What Her Win Means for Housing

Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa made history Tuesday night, becoming the first Latina elected as governor of Texas and the first Democrat to win the office in 36 years.

Her victory was a major upset that denied Republican Greg Abbott a record-setting fourth term—and could signal a change in direction for the state's housing policies.

Hinojosa campaigned on making homeownership more attainable by restricting corporate investors, cutting residential property taxes, and cracking down on predatory rental practices.

The proposals put her on a different path from Abbott, who emphasized removing barriers to home construction and expanding the state's existing property tax relief. The Lone Star state is already the nation's largest homebuilder, accounting for 14.6% of all building permits issued, and received an A- on its Affordability Report Card from Realtor.com® in June.

Speaking to supporters in Austin, Hinojosa framed her victory as a rebuke of wealthy corporate interests and their influence over state government.

“Tonight, Texas, we answered—and we didn’t whisper," she said. "We answered loud enough for every billionaire, every lobbyist, and every corrupt politician in Austin to hear: Texas belongs to us."

Hinojosa wants to stop Wall Street from buying Texas homes

One of Hinojosa's central housing promises is to curb corporate investors' purchases of single-family homes, which she argues have made it harder for ordinary Texans to compete for homeownership.

It's an issue she's been advocating for since her time in the state House. In 2025, Hinojosa introduced House Bill 2910, which would have prohibited covered corporate owners from holding more than 10 single-family rental properties in Texas.

Another proposal, House Bill 2334, would have prevented investment firms from entering contracts to purchase newly listed single-family homes during their first 30 days on the market.

Neither bill became law, but the state could be particularly fertile ground for the proposals.

"Texas is where this type of policy would bite hardest, though I'd still expect a modest effect on affordability," says Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.

Megainvestors accounted for 1.9% of all home purchases in Texas during the first half of 2026, the highest share of any state and roughly three times the national rate of 0.6%, according to Jones' research.

And in some markets, corporate buyers are even more concentrated. Investors accounted for 15.9% of home purchases in San Antonio, 15.6% in Dallas-Fort Worth, 13.5% in Houston, and 12.4% in Austin, according to research from Realtor.com.

In three of those four markets, investors purchased homes at prices substantially below the overall median, suggesting that competition remains concentrated in the more affordable segments of the housing market.

A federal law enacted in July will prohibit institutional investors controlling 350 or more single-family homes from purchasing additional properties beginning in January 2027, subject to certain exceptions—but "Hinojosa’s cap goes further than the federal law," according to Jones.

Still, she cautions that limiting corporate purchases would address only a fraction of the forces keeping homeownership out of reach.

"The effect on homeownership is limited because the policy only touches that segment, which is a small slice of total purchases," she explains, noting that housing supply, mortgage rates, insurance, and property taxes remain bigger drivers of affordability.

"Build-to-rent is the key question," Jones says, referring to developments constructed specifically as rental housing. The federal law exempts qualifying build-to-rent projects, but Hinojosa's proposal did not explicitly offer the same protection.

"Limiting investor [single-family rental] supply would more likely push rents up than down, which works against the affordability goal."

Hinojosa has also promised to address rental practices, including landlords' use of algorithmic pricing software and rent increases imposed during the application process.

Her victory rattles Texas' data center boom

Texas has been one of the nation's most welcoming markets for data centers, attracting tech giants with cheap land, abundant energy and generous tax incentives. The state accounts for an estimated quarter of U.S. data center capacity planned by 2030, according to Reuters.

But growing opposition over electricity costs, water consumption, and other neighborhood impacts has begun changing that equation. About 61% of National Association of Realtor members said their clients were concerned that data centers would raise energy costs, and 56% reported concerns about water usage, according to survey data released in September.

It was enough to make Abbott—once an enthusiastic supporter of the industry—halt new data center permits in September, pending an environmental and energy audit.

Now, Hinojosa has promised to go further, calling for a legislatively backed moratorium, greater local control over development, and protections against data center-driven utility increases.

Her victory heightened concerns that Texas could become a more difficult place to build. Shares of Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX fell Wednesday as investors weighed the prospect of tighter restrictions.

Property taxes could also face an overhaul

Hinojosa and Abbott both campaigned on cutting homeowners' property taxes, but differed over how to pay for that relief.

In 2025, Texas raised its school district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, saving homeowners hundreds of dollars annually—a measure that Hinojosa voted in favor of.

Now, she wants to go further by eliminating corporate subsidies and using the savings to reduce residential property taxes, with the eventual goal of eliminating them altogether.

Abbott, meanwhile, proposed eliminating school district property taxes on owner-occupied homes, using state surpluses to replace the lost revenue.

The proposals also reflect differences over public education. Abbott championed a $1 billion private-school voucher program in 2025, while also signing an $8.5 billion public school funding package. Hinojosa opposed the vouchers and has pledged to repeal the program while increasing support for public schools and teachers.

But her tax plan faces a substantial funding question: Replacing homeowners' school maintenance-and-operations property taxes alone would cost an estimated $8.6 billion annually. Hinojosa has yet to detail how eliminating corporate subsidies would cover that cost without reducing school funding.

Can Hinojosa deliver on her housing promises?

Hinojosa will take office in January 2027, but many of her proposed housing reforms would require the approval of state lawmakers.

And while Tuesday's elections changed the political landscape in Austin, it didn't guarantee Hinojosa a friendly Legislature. Democrat Vikki Goodwin unseated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, giving Democrats leadership of the state Senate. Republicans, however, are expected to retain their majority in that chamber.

Meanwhile, control of the Texas House remained undecided Wednesday morning. Democrats needed to flip 14 seats to take control for the first time since 2003, and were gaining ground in several Republican-held districts.

But even if Democrats capture the House, Hinojosa would still need Republican support in the Senate to advance her housing agenda.

The newly elected governor seemed undaunted Tuesday night, closing her victory speech by invoking her grandmother's advice: "No te dejes," she said, which loosely translates to "don't let yourself get pushed around."

Hinojosa's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Realtor.com.