Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars over decades to create and preserve affordable homes around Charlotte, the city's shortage of affordable units — especially for extremely low income residents — has continued to worsen.
That's according to a new report published in April by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which finds that between 2019 and 2020, the shortage of homes available and affordable to extremely low income households in the Charlotte region grew by more than 7% — from 41,923 to 45,130.
Those units were needed for the estimated 67,015 extremely low income households living in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro region, according to the report.
The report relied on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, and classifies extremely low income households as those with incomes at or below the poverty line, or 30% of the area median income.
The findings echo previous reports that, taken together, paint a worsening picture of Charlotte's affordable housing landscape.
A report published by UNC Charlotte in November 2021 found rents rose by more than 16% during the pandemic, and median home prices also rose by about 16%.
Another report by Mecklenburg County published in October 2021, found the number of units renting for less than $800 in Mecklenburg County had shrunk from about 66,067 in 2011 to about 41,114 in 2019 — amounting to a loss of roughly 25,000 units.
The findings also come amid a rise in the number of people calling NC 211 for housing and shelter assistance. Since last month, the number of calls to the helpline seeking housing or shelter assistance grew by more than 300 requests, the county reported.
City and county leaders have acknowledged the growing problem, and Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt told WFAE last month she expects the city council will ask voters in November for another $50 million in bonds for affordable housing projects and said she hoped the private sector would again match the public's contribution.
Voters approved $50 million in bonds for the city's Housing Trust Fund in 2018 and 2020. The private sector also chipped in $58 million for affordable housing projects in 2020.
"We're going to need that help again, because $50 million every two years, as you noticed, doesn't go a long way," she said.
Since 2002, the city of Charlotte has spent $210 million through the Housing Trust Fund. In those 20 years, the fund has created or preserved 10,869 affordable housing units and 888 shelter beds, according to a presentation from the city.
