Abbott made the comments while fielding questions about affordability as he campaigns for a fourth term, with the November election closing in. Voters pressed him on housing costs and property taxes, two issues he said are top of mind across Texas. He also laid out a plan to cap how much a home's appraised value can climb each year, cutting the current 10 percent limit down to no more than 3 percent.
Property appraisals drive a huge chunk of what Texas homeowners owe each year, so a lower cap would slow how fast a tax bill can grow even if a home's market value spikes. A required vote with a two-thirds threshold would make it harder for local governments to raise rates without buy-in from residents, giving homeowners more say in whether their bills go up at all.
Abbott is betting that affordability, not any single flashpoint issue, decides this race. A 10 percent cap dropping to 3 percent sounds like a small change on paper. But on a $300,000 home, that difference adds up fast every year.