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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Housing coalition conducts survey on costs

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Last November, local political, business and nonprofit organizations met to discuss what many were identifying as the increasing local economic problem of housing affordability.

But while data shows that 39 percent of homeowners and 54 percent of renters in the Wilmington area are “housing cost-burdened,” it’s not clear to many stakeholders what the public at large thinks of the issue. The Cape Fear Housing Coalition wants a public survey it is conducting to change that by giving a picture of what residents in the area think about the issue.

“I don’t think anyone’s put a survey out in the community,” said housing coalition chairman Paul D’Angelo, who emphasized that the survey needs input from all levels of the economy, not just those most affected by housing costs. “We hope to reach out to everybody, even somebody who may think that there’s not a problem. They might know people who have been affected and heard them talk about it.”

The questions are important, D’Angelo said, because as local leaders work on housing affordability solutions, it is vital to educate the community about the issues surrounding housing costs. A renter or owner is defined as “housing cost-burdened” if housing costs exceed 30 percent of their income.

The most common misconception about housing affordability is that it is primarily an issue affecting the poor, but D’Angelo said the real squeeze on housing costs are on people who earn 80 percent of the area’s median income.

“Unfortunately, some people associated affordable housing with public housing,” D’Angelo said. “But it really affects the people who just aren’t poor enough for subsidized housing, but don’t make enough to truly afford their rent.”

The coalition’s Community Housing Affordability Survey is being conducted by UNCW professors Dr. Kristen DeVall and Dr. Christina Lanier of UNCW’s Department of Sociology and Criminology, and is funded through UNCW’s Office of Community Engagement through a Community Engagement grant. D’Angelo said when conducting this type of survey, researchers work to track participation to try to ensure that the data goes beyond the opinions of advocates and people engaged with the issue, and reflects the broader public opinion.

The survey can be found in three local libraries or can be taken online at: https://redcap.uncw.edu/surveys/?s=vHYs9i7w3k. It closes April 15. D’Angelo said similar surveys in Charlotte and Chapel Hill have served as a call to action in those communities.

Housing affordability affects the economy in several ways, D’Angelo said, but mainly by sapping resources from the workforce to support the local economy. It also affects traffic and the character of neighborhoods, as workers are increasingly living further away from their jobs in order to afford housing. He said in cities like Aspen, Colorado, staff for hotels and restaurants are bussed in from 45 minutes away.

The issue is attracting attention from area business and political leaders too. In November 2015, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo conducted a roundtable on housing affordability that included a wide range of participants, including representatives from local government, real estate, banking, commercial development, healthcare, schools and higher education.

Saffo and others indicated that action on affordable housing would likely be needed and many spoke in favor of public-private partnerships that would encourage local developers to build affordable housing.

D’Angelo, who works with local developer Tribute Companies as its director of affordable housing, said a housing trust fund is one option that could help provide a way for city or county leaders to encourage construction of affordable housing that doesn’t come with the regulations from tax credits.

“Developers don’t want too many strings attached,” D’Angelo said. “We want to find a way to get them to jump into this market.”

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