I just came across a great research study produced by the Center for Housing Policy, the research division of the National Housing Conference, now led by Chris Estes, former executive director of the North Carolina Housing Coalition.
The report shows that 16% of the nearly 215,000 working households in Raleigh have a severe cost burden in regards to their housing. That’s 34,258 families! What is severely cost burdened, you might ask? Spending more than 50% of your income for housing constitutes a severe housing cost burden.
Of the housing need categories that we serve—substandard housing, overcrowding, cost burdened, unsafe neighborhood and subsidized housing—families that are cost burdened are a large part of the families we approve for homeownership.
Wake County! We have lots of work to do to ensure adequate housing for all.