Housing Investments are Vital

All numbers are based on Agency program counts and value tabulations, with economic impacts assessed using the Bureau of Economic Analysis RIMS II Model.

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Our mission is to create affordable housing opportunities for North Carolinians whose needs are not met by the market. We are committed to these values:

We Care

• We respect all people.
• We listen to understand.
• We support employees.
• We have passion for our work.

We Act

• We work with integrity and professionalism.
• We manage resources wisely.
• We do what we say we will do.
• We promote cooperation and teamwork.
• We forge strong partnerships.

We Lead

• We invest to improve lives and communities.
• We seek long-term solutions.
• We pursue new capital to solve housing problems.
• We innovate to respond to needs.
• We strive for excellence.

Housing Investments Are
Vital for North Carolinians

The Agency’s work in 2020 will help more than 40,000 North Carolinians move their lives in new directions. More than 35,000 of these are renters in need of affordable apartments or rental assistance.

Renters

Affordable apartments give parents the financial flexibility and time to invest in their children’s development and education, leading to better test scores for the children and more money to put toward college and other educational expenses. This housing is also vital for elderly North Carolinians with low, fixed incomes who are challenged by rising rents at a time when they also may be grappling with increasing health care costs.

• 38 Housing Credit developments completed in 2020
• 2,880 apartment homes for working families
• 610 apartment homes for seniors
• 410 units targeting people with disabilities

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2020 Housing North Carolina Award winner Greenfield Community has helped both working families and seniors afford housing in Chapel Hill. The two-phase community provides 149 apartment homes with easy access to schools, employment, medical facilities and transportation options. In Kannapolis, Prosperity Ridge has expanded housing options for seniors with 60 apartment homes.

Affordable apartments are often hard to find in rural areas where incomes tend to be lower. In Hendersonville, 60 families secured an affordable home in Signal Ridge Apartments, which filled up quickly after opening. Meridian Pointe brought 80 workforce apartments to Denver.

HOME BUYERS

Studies show that home buyers with low incomes realize multigenerational benefits through home ownership.

Specifically, children of homeowners are more likely to break out of the cycle of poverty, become homeowners themselves and experience increased wealth over their lifetimes. Agency investments of nearly $648 million—fueled in large part by the NC Home Advantage Mortgage™ with up to 5% down payment assistance—continued to help North Carolinians build wealth by providing affordable mortgage options for buyers with low and moderate incomes. While the pandemic created hurdles for home buyers, the Agency’s $8,000 NC 1^st Home Advantage Down Payment provided the boost that many first-time buyers and military veterans needed to overcome obstacles to home ownership.

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The Agency’s financing for community home ownership production also helped families get into new homes. Oakridge Estates in Fayetteville, a neighborhood of 47 homes, is located near a large recreational complex and includes a “Veterans Village.” At least 15 of the homes are now occupied by families that had been displaced by hurricanes, including a woman with disabilities who lived in a motel for a year after Hurricane Florence flooded her home.

While the shortage of affordable homes impacts all age groups, it can be particularly challenging for seniors who are often caught between fixed incomes and a lack of housing options. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a record number of older adults—10.2 million—were cost-burdened and paid more than 30% of their income on housing. Crescent Magnolia in Orange County addresses this housing challenge in a unique way, offering 24 seniors the opportunity to purchase a home with an affordable mortgage that keeps their housing costs to less than 30% of their income.

We not only get low- and moderate-income buyers into homes, but we provide the tools for them to remain in them by requiring home ownership classes and counseling.

Pre-purchase education and counseling have been shown to improve home buyers’ creditworthiness and lower delinquency rates. With face-to-face meetings eliminated by the pandemic, housing counselors pivoted to offer home buyer education and counseling virtually in 2020, which ultimately led to higher home buyer participation than in the previous year.

Housing counseling also received a boost from the NC Association of Realtors®, which contributed $121,000 to the Agency to support home buyer education. We awarded the funds to 25 HUD-approved housing counseling organizations across the state.

We remain committed to promoting long-term affordability by offering subsidies to community partners who follow SystemVision guidelines for energy efficiency. SystemVision employs standards, such as smart mechanical ventilation systems to control indoor air quality and humidity levels, that keep heating and cooling costs to less than $35 per month. More than 5,800 homes across the state have SystemVision.