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Housing Call: October 20, 2026

Guest Speaker: Jenn Truman, CITYBUILDER

Jenn Truman is Principal Designer at The Rocket Shop, a local residential infill design firm focused on building place through community design. With experience in architecture, civil engineering, and interior design, Jenn has a breadth and depth of knowledge that she puts to work in her advocacy. She has been a leader and advocate in local conversations on housing, transportation, transit and walkability in Raleigh and the Triangle region.

Jenn is the founder and board chair of CITYBUILDER, a grassroots pro-housing advocacy organization and local news outlet working to build a stronger coalition for more housing choices across the Triangle. She is also part of the organizing team bringing YIMBYtown, the nation’s largest pro-housing conference, to North Carolina for the first time in 2026.

Organizational Updates

NC Affordable Housing Conference This Week, No Call Next Week
We look forward to seeing many of you at the NC Affordable Housing Conference this week in Raleigh! Next week we will be taking a post-Conference break from the Housing Call. We will not have a Housing Call on October 27, but will be back on Tuesday, November 3 at 9:45am (Election Day!).

Federal Updates

Congress on Recess Until After Election
Congress is out on recess and will reconvene after the election on November 9. When they return, they will only have five weeks remaining in the 119th Congress. Their priorities will largely be dictated by the outcome of the midterm elections and whether Democrats flip the House and/or Senate. When they reconvene they will need to either pass another stopgap spending measure or pass the FY27 spending bills to avert a partial government shutdown when the current Continuing Resolution expires on December 11. They may also try to pass a disaster supplemental funding bill. For a detailed summary of federal housing updates from the past few months, check out NLIHC’s Policy Update.

State Updates

Election Resources

Early voting runs through Saturday October 31. Early voting locations are open Monday through Friday from 8 am – 7:30 pm and on weekends from 10am-3pm (with the exception of Saturday, October 31 when early voting locations will open at 8am instead of 10am). Find early voting locations in your county here.

For more on important election dates and details about the 2026 election in North Carolina, check out You Can Vote’s nonpartisan voter guide.

Housing Bonds on the Ballot
We know of housing bonds on the ballot this year in Buncombe County ($40 million), Raleigh ($101.5 million), and Charlotte ($125 million). If you are registered to vote in any of these communities, we encourage you to vote for your local housing bond to help leverage additional public and private dollars for affordable housing.

Tax Amendments on the Ballot
This November, North Carolinians will vote on two constitutional amendments related to taxes. One caps income tax rates for individuals and corporations at 3.5 percent, and one requires the state legislature to put limits on local revenue from property taxes, reducing the resources communities can use for emergency response, schools, infrastructure and other needs.

Putting limits on property taxes — the biggest source of funding for local governments — and income taxes — the biggest source of funding for state government — would make it harder for our counties and towns to provide the services we need.

For more information on the property tax amendments, you can also check out this resource from the NC Budget & Tax Center and this resource from You Can Vote.

John Locke Foundation Publishes, Retracts Incorrect Property Tax Calculator
A couple of weeks ago, the John Locke Foundation (JLF) published a “NC Property Tax Savings Calculator” that claimed to show potential individual property tax savings for homeowners under a statewide levy limit. However, the underlying data contained a significant calculation error which drastically inflated reported savings. JLF has since taken down the calculator and retracted the data, but not before the incorrect data circulated online and in the media. We encourage you to check out our latest blog from last week, where we broke down the data errors and other methodological issues,, and we have our own analysis on the impacts of a potential levy limit ahead of this year’s election.

Disaster Recovery

Upcoming disaster recovery funding info sessions & deadlines:

Post-Hurricane Helene Housing: Where Are We Now? | Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

State & Local Headlines

Reports & Resources

The report finds that new residential development generates more public revenue than it costs to serve new households:

  • For every $1.00 in public service costs, single-family and townhouse construction generates $1.48 in new annual local and state revenue.
  • Residential construction generates an estimated $268.6 million in annual revenue, compared with $181.2 million in annual costs for schools, transportation, public safety, and government administration.
  • In 2025, residential construction generated $45.9 billion in economic activity across North Carolina.

Events

Housing Month | The NC Affordable Housing Conference is the official kick-off of NC Housing Coalition and CITYBUILDER’s Housing Month. From October 22 to November 22, we’re connecting with housing advocates to create a month of housing, culminating with YIMBYtown on November 17 through 19, and ending with the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision on Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co on November 22.

  • TODAY [virtual] CITYBUILDER Carolina Policy Talk: North Carolina Housing Coalition’s Legislative Agenda | Tuesday, October 20, 12:30-1:30 PM. RSVP here.
  • Stroll & Roll to the Polls | Sunday October 25 at 1pm |
    • Join CITYBUILDER, NC Housing Coalition, and Oaks and Spokes for a family-friendly afternoon of voting, community, and fun! We’ll meet at Transfer Co. Food Hall at 1 PM and walk, bike, and roll together to Chavis Community Center for early voting. Bring your kids, your neighbors, and your friends. Come vote, learn about local housing and transportation issues, or just spend an afternoon with people who care about Raleigh’s future.
    • Afterward, stick around at Chavis Park to hang out with neighbors! We’ll have CITYBUILDER coloring pages, snacks, voter information, and plenty of playground time for the kids. CITYBUILDER folks will be hanging out all afternoon, so stop by even if you’ve already voted or can’t join the stroll and roll.
    • Local elections shape how our city grows, who can afford to live here, and how we get around. Civic engagement is for the whole family, and we want to make it easy for parents and kids to participate together.
  • CITYBUILDER Book Club | Wednesday, October 28 12–1 PM at PRESS Coffee Crêpes Cocktails in Raleigh.
  • YIMBYTOWN | November 17-19, 2026 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Register here

STAY TUNED FOR OTHER HOUSING MONTH EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

NCWAHN 4th Annual Luncheon | Friday, October 23, 1 – 2:30 p.m. (immediately following the 2026 NC Affordable Housing Conference) at Junction West in Raleigh. Registration is $50.

UNC School of Government – Upcoming Course
Legislative Update: Planning and Development Regulation October 28, 9:00 am-12:30 pm on Zoom. $150 registration fee.

HOPE NC’s 5th Annual Inclusive Housing Summit | Monday, November 9th, 2026, 8am – 4pm at The Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill. Register here – $50 for Individual community members, self-advocates or caregivers & $100 for professionals.

2027 Housing Policy Forum | March 2-5, 2027Early Bird Registration is Now Open! NLIHC’s 2027 Housing Policy Forum will convene community leaders, policy experts, researchers, tenant advocates, affordable housing practitioners, and members of Congress for thought and action partnership on ending the housing crisis impacting the lowest-income and most marginalized renters in America.

 

 

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