TREC presents FY2026 draft budget showing multi-year deficits; plans staffing efficiencies

The Texas Real Estate Commission on May 5 reviewed a first-draft FY2026 budget that projects a multi-year operating shortfall driven largely by flat licensing and exam revenues.

CFO Renata Williams told commissioners the agency intends to present a final budget for adoption in August but that the first-draft shows a FY26 beginning balance of about $10.9 million, projected revenue of roughly $14.0 million and expenditures near $18.9 million, yielding an operational deficit of about $4.8 million. Williams said licensing fees account for about 90% of agency revenue and that a recent dip in initial sales-agent applications is suppressing exam and application fees.

To manage costs, staff proposed not backfilling 9.6 vacant full-time equivalent positions — a $488,420 savings — and identified one-time professional-fee needs (including a tentative web development project estimated at $400,000). Williams summarized RAMP (the license-management system) as a multi-year capital project budgeted at $5.6 million with $2.7 million recognized to date and cautioned that implementation-related consulting and production costs are a key variable.

Williams said projected reserves would decline across FY26–FY28 under the current plan, and staff will fine-tune assumptions and consider further efficiencies before the August adoption. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about staffing and assumptions; no fee increases were adopted at the meeting.