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The rents (and mortgages) are still high: New Hanover County housing update

City of Wilmington
/
WHQR

New Hanover County commissioners got a workforce housing update this week.

The Workforce Housing Advisory Committee, or WHAC, serves both the city of Wilmington and New Hanover County. Chair Tom Gale updated county commissioners about the housing crisis in the Cape Fear Region.

"In the past seven years, median home prices in our area have gone up over 85%,” he said. That, combined with a rise in mortgage rates, means a starter home (costing $200,000) with a $1,000 mortgage payment in 2018 would now cost a homeowner $375,000, with a mortgage payment of $2400 a month.

Gale said 53% of renters and 23% of homeowners are considered housing cost-burdened.

"In short, the problem we set out to tackle has only gotten more challenging," he said.

The WHAC commended the county for its $3 million annual investment in housing, but requested they increase that investment to at least $5 million annually through 2027.

Gale asked that the WHAC be included in future conversations between the city and county.

"In 2024, you held a joint city and county elected roundtable discussion with both planning boards to remove barriers to housing, diversity, and affordability," he said. "I would request that the Workforce Housing Advisory Committee be invited to your next joint meeting so we can be a resource for you during that conversation."

Gale noted a few barriers worth addressing: parking mandates and lot size restrictions for infill development downtown. "We also suggest that the city and county actively support the land trust model of home ownership, which will increase the economic diversity in the neighborhoods over the longer term," Gale said. "We recommend that the city and county provide funding and land allocations for organizations providing multi-family and supportive housing for those exiting homelessness."

But Gale also highlighted the issue of education: residents often oppose new projects because of traffic, but he says that actually makes the problem worse.

"To many in our community, they think that they're protecting property values by preventing projects with a diversity of price points or increased density, when actually the opposite is true. Currently, over 52,000 people communicate commute into our county to work every day, which increases traffic on our roads. If these people could live closer to where they work, the traffic problem is significantly reduced," Gale explained.

"But the bigger issue is ensuring that we don't lose our critical workforce. The area median income has gone up 50% in the last five years, but this is not due to 50% wage increases. It's a function of many of our lower and middle-income residents being displaced. While it's great that we're attracting high-paying jobs, it's tremendously important that the public understand why it's in their best interest that nurses, police officers, teachers, retail workers, wait staff, and others have a place to call home here too, because once they've relocated out of our community, trying to create solutions, then to bring them back becomes significantly harder."

Below is the WHAC's full report, including its list of recommendations.

Kelly Kenoyer is an Oregonian transplant on the East Coast. She attended University of Oregon’s School of Journalism as an undergraduate, and later received a Master’s in Journalism from University of Missouri- Columbia. Contact her by email at KKenoyer@whqr.org.