FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — There is a need for more affordable housing across North Carolina, especially in Fayetteville.
“People’s income and the amount it takes for rent or mortgages don’t line up,” Mitch Colvin, Mayor of the City of Fayetteville said.
Colvin said around 20,000 people in his city are paying 60 percent or more of their income for housing. Some are homeless or barely making ends meet.
“That’s a recipe for disaster,” the mayor said.
Fayetteville will use $8 million from Housing and Urban Development to create more affordable homes for low to moderate income families.
“Some of the things we are looking at is utilizing and up fitting some of the older hotels here at could serve as multiple living quarters for a lot of families,” Colvin said.
He said while many living in the city can only afford $700 to $800 a month for housing, the market is forcing them to pay much more.
“What we doing to fight that within the capabilities of the government is bring more availability, and more inventory on to the market, which will bring the price down overall,” Mayor Colvin said.
The city is also looking into incentives for contractors to build more affordable homes in Fayetteville. The mayor said it’s impossible to build enough to fix the problem. He said the solution is both building more affordable homes and raising wages/incomes.