This week, more than 175 housing advocates from 35 counties across the state gathered at the NC General Assembly in Raleigh for the second annual NC Housing Day. In more than 70 meetings with their state representatives, participants had one unified message: “Housing is essential infrastructure, and voters are concerned about the rising cost of housing. The NC General Assembly has a critical role to play in funding housing solutions.”
The average North Carolinian cannot afford a one bedroom apartment, and the state faces a five year housing gap of 764,478 homes and rental units. As more people struggle to afford housing, homelessness becomes a greater risk: 75% of households experiencing homelessness in North Carolina are doing so for the first time. Meanwhile, North Carolina is currently the only state in the country that does not have a state budget, meaning critical state housing funds have stalled. Federal funds alone are insufficient, and local governments are unable to fill the housing gaps left by the lack of state funding.
NC Housing Day advocates had four key asks for legislators:
Expand the NC Housing Trust Fund, our state’s most flexible housing resource that leverages private capital to finance a variety of housing solutions.
Fund the Workforce Housing Loan Program (WHLP), which provides critical gap financing in rural and lower-wealth communities where traditional funding falls short.
Create an Affordable Housing Infrastructure Revolving Loan Fund that would allow Habitat for Humanity and other other eligible organizations to acquire, develop, and improve sites for affordable housing.
Improve Property Tax Relief Programs to bring targeted relief to North Carolinians most burdened with high property tax bills without letting those who can contribute more off the hook.
Each of these asks is central to funding affordable housing and relieving housing costs for North Carolinians. “There are things that work. We know what they are and we need to commit those resources,” said Samuel Gunter, Executive Director of the NC Housing Coalition, at the NC Housing Day press conference. “So we are talking here today with our legislators about housing as an infrastructure investment in our communities that is transformative.”
“We all know that a healthy housing market functions well across a broad continuum, everything from folks who are trying desperately to come out of homelessness to families who are ready for their first homeownership opportunity,” said Paul Reeves, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of NC. “So I’m really grateful that housing experts who represent all the different stops along that continuum from around the state have gathered here today to amplify the message around housing.”
“In homeless services, we know that the only way to exit homelessness is with safe, stable, affordable housing, and we also know that safe, stable, and affordable housing is the only way to prevent homelessness,” said Liz Carbone, Project Specialist at the NC Coalition to End Homelessness. “We need right-sized housing solutions for every North Carolinian, in urban communities, in rural communities, working families, seniors, veterans, adults with disabilities.”
“Housing is economic development,” said Patrick Graham, CEO of WeBuild Concord and a representative of the NC Community Land Trust Coalition. “When you think about communities and their stability for the workers and for those most in need, housing is at the center. Housing determines where you go to school, determines your proximity to jobs…and too often it determines what your path may be in the future. So we have to create housing that not only creates stability in communities but creates opportunity.”
“We’re here because we know housing matters, and because we firmly believe that housing is not a partisan issue, because everyone needs housing,” said Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Director of Housing Policy at the NC Housing Coalition as she concluded the press conference. “Our conversations do not start and stop today, they will continue.”
Many NC Housing Day participants plan to follow up with their legislators in the coming weeks. With the short legislative session beginning and budget discussions already underway, advocates are keeping housing at top of mind for our state lawmakers.
NC Housing Day 2026 was hosted by the NC Housing Coalition, Habitat for Humanity of NC, the NC Community Land Trust Coalition, and the NC Coalition to End Homelessness.
