Is Charlotte Affordable?
A recent study found North Carolina has the 10th highest home price and wage growth disparity. A group of analysts found wages increased by almost 25%, but housing prices went up by over 47%. Their findings in North Carolina include a housing price increase of $100,000 with wages up by only $12,500. Is home ownership attainable for Charlotteans? What does this mean for housing affordability?
The area median income (AMI) for a family of four in Charlotte is currently $84,200. How does a family of four at 20-30% below AMI afford a home in Mecklenburg County? Sadly, that dream doesn’t seem attainable in this market without significant help from the City of Charlotte’s Housing Trust Fund, whose goal is affordable housing/homeownership. Our city must be ambitious in its support of housing developers like DreamKey Partners and Laurel Street, who have each provided thousands of affordable units.
Some municipalities facing similar problems have taken the short way out to make housing affordable at the expense of their economy. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 611 into law, which further restricts rental housing providers ability to meet operational needs at their properties. As of July 6th of this year, rental housing providers are prohibited from increasing rent by more than 10% each year. Oregon is hardly the state anyone should look to for guidance. Measure 110 Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative was approved by 58% of Oregon voters in 2020. It decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs. However, the result has been increased homelessness and overdoses for vulnerable citizens. Let’s not follow the Oregon Trail by looking for shortcuts to tackle housing affordability and increased inflation.
With the high cost of living, will we continue to see 100 people moving to Charlotte a day or will they instead bypass the sunbelt states in an attempt to save money? I don’t regret my decision to move to Charlotte and am fortunate enough to afford to live here. Let’s hope others can follow a similar path to prosperity in the Queen City.