NCHC Organizational Updates
- Our Offices will be closed on June 19, 2024 in observance of Juneteenth.
- Early bird registration for the 2024 NC Affordable Housing Conference is now open! The NC Housing Coalition presents the NC Affordable Housing Conference along with our partners at the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency Centrant Community Capital. Each year, this conference features informative and timely breakout sessions including an inspiring opening session. A broad range of breakout sessions include topics for all affordable housing professionals including tax credits, home ownership, housing counseling, nonprofits and more. The conference will take place September 5-6 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Get our best rate by registering before close of business on August 9 and check out the agenda to see what we have in store for our attendees. Information about hotels, speakers, sponsors and more can all be found on our website.
Our Keynote Speaker is NC Central University men’s basketball coach Lavelle Moton, who is working through his company Raleigh Raised Development to create affordable housing in the Southeast Raleigh neighborhood where he grew up.
Federal Updates
- HUD Awards $10 Million in Grants to Combat the Homeownership Gap Through Housing Counseling Yesterday, HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling announced $10 million in grant funding awards under its Homeownership Initiative to 23 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, including the NC Housing Coalition, which was awarded $692K. The Coalition serves as a an intermediary and distributes funds to agencies in NC’s Housing Counseling Network
- House Appropriators Continue Work on Partisan FY25 Spending Bills, While Senate Appropriations Leaders Debate Topline Funding Allocations | NLIHC
- At the Federal level, we’re still pushing along with our partners at the National Low Income Housing Coalition for Congress to increase HUD funding. The Republican-led House is likely to try to slash funding. Still, the Democrat-controlled Senate and Republican-led House must come to a final agreement. Since it’s an election year, there will likely be a Continuing Resolution to avoid a shutdown and budget negotiations will hopefully reach a resolution after the November election.
State Updates
House’s revised FY24-25 Budget proposal was released yesterday evening, We’re still reading through it and keep you updated.
- Changes to Housing Funding:
- Decrease Housing Reserve appropriation (created last year for passthrough to NCHFA’s WHLP) for 2024-25 from $45M NR to $10M NR,
- $1.1M increase to HCCBG (aging adults home repair and improvements)
- $35M NR Dare County funds returned from FY22-23. This is being reverted to the HTF
- Leftover ERA 2 money: $58.6M NR re-allocated as follows:
- $35M to WHLP to replace previous budget’s $35M appropriation from Housing Reserve to WHLP
- $23.6M to state HTF, use must comply with ERA2
- Technical changes
- Increases NCHFA bond & construction loan debt limit from $3B to $12B
- Clarifies that info obtained by NCHFA for the purposes of housing survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking are not public records.
Local Updates
Local Budgets Adopted across NC
- CMS adds affordable housing. Teachers just want higher pay. More money isn’t that easy The City of Charlotte recently passed their annual budget, which included $1M for teacher workforce housing. The 100-unit pilot project has been met with mixed reactions from teachers, many of whom say they would rather be paid more and choose where they live. The City also increased the housing bond from $50M to $100M, the largest housing bond to date for the City.
- Local chapter hoping to influence more funds for housing into city budget The Forsyth Freedom Federation is advocating for an affordable housing trust fund after Winston Salem City staff proposed a 10% increase in property taxes and a $1M decrease in housing funding.
- Evictions plague renters across the country. In Greensboro, a grassroots group is pushing the city to fund a solution. Housing advocates in Guilford County successfully got $440K in funding for the TEAM project — or Tenant Education and Mediation Project into the proposed budget. Council will vote on the final budget later today (Tuesday).
- New health outpost to provide care regardless of housing status | Nonprofit homeless services agency Hospitality House Northwest NC recently partnered with High Country Community Health to open a medical outpost at the Hospitality House Watauga Housing and Outreach Center. The clinic aims to provide equitable and accessible healthcare to all patients, regardless of housing status.
- Application period reopens for Haywood County homeownership program | NC DPS
The Haywood County Homeownership Assistance Program has reopened the application period for eligible storm-displaced homeowners and first-time homebuyers seeking financial help with purchasing a home in Haywood County. The program, which is administered in partnership with the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR), paused applications in late April to ensure available federal funding would cover applications already in process. More than $1 million is available to offset homeownership costs, including up to 30% in down payment assistance and up to 5% in closing cost assistance. Homebuyer education and counseling are also offered. Details about program eligibility and awards, as well as the program manual, can be found on the Haywood County HAP webpage.
- Protest erupts over corporate landlords in Charlotte
Protestors gathered outside the leasing office of a Charlotte corporate landlord to speak out against the action of a corporate landlord who they say is evicting a single mother and eight children that have lived in the home for seven years and never missed a payment.
The family is being displaced in retaliation to their requests for needed repairs to the property, many of which they ended up paying for out of their own pocket without compensation from the landlord.
- Faith & Housing Summit 2024: 100+ Faith-Based Organizations United for Affordable Housing
The City of Charlotte’s Department of Housing & Neighborhood Services recently held a Faith & Housing Summit. Over 350 attendees from over 100 faith-based organizations gathered to learn, share, and network about affordable housing. Breakout sessions dived into land, capital, and buildings. Slide decks from the event can be found here.
- Habitat for Humanity building blitz taking place in Raleigh Habitat for Humanity of Wake County recently hosted their annual Home Builders Blitz. The event brings together local for-profit homebuilders to build a home over the course of seven days. This year, eight for-profit builders participated and successfully finished 4 houses. Since its inception in Raleigh in 2002, the event has produced over 100 affordable houses and is now replicated by Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the country. This build is part of a 114-home community Habitat Wake is building in southeast Raleigh that will be dedicated towards first-time homebuyers.
- New Bern Crossing complex to offer 192 affordable units in Raleigh
Harmony Housing Affordable Development recently broke ground on a 192-unit affordable housing community near Raleigh future Bus Rapid Transit Corridor. U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel was in attendance and spoke to the need for more affordable housing, noting that over 343,000 North Carolinians spend more than half of their income on housing. The New Bern Crossing development will be built at a site northeast of the intersection of New Bern Avenue and I-440. 40 of the units will be reserved for families at risk of homelessness.
Events
- [webinar] State of the Nation’s Housing 2024 | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, June 20 at 12 p.m.
- [webinar] Lessons from 40 Years of Public Housing Policy: Where Do We Go from Here? | Urban Institute & Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, June 20 from 1 – 2:30 p.m.
- [webinar] NC Disaster Response & Resilience Network & SBP’s Prepare Team
- Improving Household Financial Preparedness for Disasters, June 18, 2 p.m.
- Understanding Disaster Mitigation Options for Households, June 20, 2 p.m.
- [webinar] Remaking the Economy: How Policy Can Help Tenants Purchase Their Homes | Nonprofit Quarterly, June 20, 2 – 3:30 p.m.
- [webinar] Rapid Re-Housing: A Proven Approach to Ending Homelessness | National Alliance to End Homelessness, June 20, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
- APA – NC Young Planners Group Summer Happy Hour
- Charlotte – June 20 6 – 8 p.m. @ Brewers
- “Pathways to Housing in Hot Springs” | a panel discussion hosted by the Town of Hot Springs Citizens’ Committee’s Affordable Housing Subcommittee, June 24, 6:30 – 8 p.m. at the Hot Springs Community Center
- The goal of this event is to provide education and awareness to the community on access to housing, both owning and renting. A group of panelists will be in attendance to answer common questions.
- [webinar] All Hands on Deck: Mobilizing a Broader Network of Advocates. | NLIHC, The Alliance, & the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), June 25, 2 p.m. Register here
- [webinar] Loss Mitigation Strategies: Lessons and Opportunities from the COVID-19 Pandemic | Urban Institute, June 28 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Register here.
- [webinar] Closing the Homeownership Gap: New Wealth-Building Tactics from across the Country | Urban Institute, July 11, 2-4 p.m.
- National Fair Housing Conference – Housing Equity Now: Building an Inclusive and Just Future, July 14-16 in Washington, D.C. Registration required.
- Land of Sky Regional Council’s 2nd Annual WNC Regional Housing Forum | August 9, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Details forthcoming.
- 2024 NC Affordable Housing Conference | September 5-6 at the Raleigh Convention Center.
- Second Annual NCWAHN Luncheon | September 6 following the NC Affordable Housing Conference in Raleigh. Details forthcoming.
- APA – NC Fall Conference, October 16-18, Greenville, NC
- The deadline to submit a session proposal and submit an award nomination is June 28
Reports & Resources
- 2023 Report to Congress | Federal Housing Finance Administration
- Policymakers Can Solve Homelessness by Scaling Up Proven Solutions: Rental Assistance and Supportive Services | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- U.S. Opinions on Housing Affordability: A BPC/NHC/Morning Consult Poll | Bipartisan Policy Center
- How U.S. cities are using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to tackle housing affordability | Brookings Institute
- Preserving Owner-Occupied Affordable Homes | HUD
- State Use of Section 1115 Demonstrations to Support the Health-Related Social Needs of Pregnant and Postpartum Women, Infants, and Young Children | Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy
- High Housing Costs Are Consuming Household Incomes | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
- The Connections Between Rental Deserts, Segregation, and Restrictive Zoning | Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
- See the full report here: Rental Deserts, Segregation, & Zoning
- Rent Reporting by the GSEs Promised Greater Credit Access. We Need More Transparency to Know Whether It Succeeded | Urban Institute
- Extreme Heat Quick Guide 2024 | HUD
In the News
- CDC Estimates 1.4 Million ED Visits/Year for Those Experiencing Homelessness | Health Day
- The federal government’s new plan to (maybe) give renters straight cash | VOX
- Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housing | WIRED
- Soaring insurance rates an ‘existential challenge’ to affordable housing | E&E News by POLITICO
- Homeowners insurance costs are going through the roof. Here’s why, and what you can do about it. | CBS News
- Six states where housing is hard to find: Here’s what governors are doing about it | POLITICO
- The homebuying affordability gap is widening across the country, creating ‘an impossible market‘ | NBC News
- High prices and mortgage rates have plagued the housing market. Now, a welcome shift | USA Today
- Not Only Building Buildings: The Black Community Developers Group | Shelterforce
- For young voters, housing is a top issue in this election | Marketplace
- Amazon adds $1.4 billion to affordable housing fund for regions where it has corporate offices | ABC News
- How Do You Solve a Problem Like Homelessness? | The Atlantic
- Pairing Tax Credits To Help Create Additional Affordable Housing | Forbes
- For an Older Homeless Population, a New Type of Care | The New York Times
- Op-Ed: Home Is Where Health Begins | IndyWeek
