Written by Elizabeth Kurtz, Executive Director at Charlotte Family Housing
“Adequate housing for low-income residents is perhaps the most pressing single need in Charlotte.”
That quote was pulled from a 1968 Charlotte Observer editorial written in 1968. Yep – not last year, not in 2021, but nearly 6 decades ago. [1]
All housing is affordable to someone, or else they wouldn’t build it.
We sometimes refer to “big A” Affordable and “little a” affordable. Most housing is a-ffordable across various price-points in the market place: a fancy penthouse, a modest starter home, or an apartment that is dated but safe and habitable. Rents are determined by how much it costs to operate a property – the mortgage on the land and building, the taxes, insurance, utilities, cost of monthly upkeep, and anticipated capital expenses such as replacing roofs or heating systems.
Those at the lowest end of the income scale, though, don’t make enough money to afford even basic housing. It simply costs more to own and operate a property than poorer folks can afford. That is where A-ffordable housing comes in. Using financing tools like Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and other public or private subsidy, developers are able to build and manage apartments for people at the low end of the income scale. These properties are typically income restricted for households making under 60% of the area median income. Teachers, retail workers, first responders, healthcare workers: the people filling important jobs in our community. Jobs that don’t pay enough to afford market rate housing. The rents at these properties are “below market” and affordable for our frontline workers.
Stable housing creates stability in other areas; unstable housing destabilizes other areas of life.
If housing is affordable, “then you have some money to take care of your children, then you have money for healthcare, then you have money for food. You have money to pay the electric bill. You get out of line for soup. You get out of line for the clothes closet. And you’re able to start taking care of yourself”. (Steve Eason, former Senior Pastor, Myers Park Presbyterian Church) [2]
Kids in stable housing do better in school. [3] Workers in stable housing make better decisions at work. [4]
Do you really want your child’s school bus driver working a 3rd shift job and then driving the bus?
Parents in stable housing can be present with their kids. Reading bedtime stories or helping with homework, rather than rushing off to a second or third job to make ends meet.
Affordability has to do with the cost of housing relative to the cost of living. Over the past 40 years, housing costs have risen at 4x the rate of household incomes.[5]
A recent article put it this way: “if home prices grew at the same rate as inflation since 1970, the median home price today would be just $177,788 – rather than $408,100.” [6]
Housing is priced by a number of factors, including the value of land, the cost of capital and labor to build new housing, and, most importantly, by demand. Especially in growing cities like Charlotte, we haven’t been able to build new housing fast enough to keep up with all the new households moving here.
It honestly does come down to supply and demand. A case in point would be Austin, TX. Facing an affordability crisis, city leaders made a goal to develop 137,000 units in the 10 years between 2017 and 2027. They made policy changes such as reducing the minimum lot size requirement, and easing parking requirements.[7] The focus on affordability has worked, with rents decreasing by 22% from their 2022 high.[8]
For my friends out there who are in real estate finance, who are builders, who are policy makers, and who are voters, now that you are aware of this issue, it’s your turn to get creative. Learn more, think outside the box, come up with investment KPI’s or finance solutions tied to long-term asset value rather than short-term ROI. Experiment with building materials or processes that allow us to build more units quickly. Draft policies that support affordability, and vote for elected officials whose platforms prioritize affordable housing.
And for my friends who are not developers or financiers…talk to those who are. Attend City planning meetings. Here is the City of Charlotte calendar.[9]
Learn, talk, vote.
Yes, we have an affordable housing crisis, but until and unless we stop using “crisis” approaches to housing solutions, we will continue to have this problem. It will take more than one news cycle, more than one election cycle, and likely more than one generation to get this done.
[1] How Charlotte, NC ended up in affordable housing crisis | Charlotte Observer
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article269708072.html
[2] Steve Eason quote – YouTube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehW_tuTZvGE
[3] New research shows stable housing may lead to positive educational outcomes – UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
https://ui.charlotte.edu/2024/12/11/new-research-shows-stable-housing-may-lead-to-positive-educational-outcomes/
[4] Building Core Capabilities for Life: The Science Behind the Skills Adults Need to Succeed in Parenting and in the Workplace – Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University (2016)
http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
[5] Housing affordability among renters and owners in NC – Carolina Demography
https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2025/11/17/housing-affordability-among-renters-and-owners-in-nc/
[6] Housing Prices vs Inflation – Anytime Estimate
https://anytimeestimate.com/research/housing-prices-vs-inflation/
[7] Rapid Growth Overwhelmed Austin. These Housing Reforms Made a Difference – American Planning Association
https://www.planning.org/blog/9313264/rapid-growth-overwhelmed-austin-these-housing-reforms-made-a-difference/
[8] Austin, Texas builds new housing, drives rents down – Reddit r/Urbanism
https://www.reddit.com/r/Urbanism/comments/1jf8zto/austin_texas_builds_new_housing_drives_rents_down/
[9] City of Charlotte Planning Commission Calendar
https://www.charlottenc.gov/Growth-and-Development/Planning-and-Development/Planning-Commission
