Housing affordability, availability top the news in 2025
From NC Newsline
Housing affordability and availability spent a lot of time in the headlines in North Carolina and across the country in 2025.
Rents have risen faster than incomes, pushing rental units out of reach of many modest income tenants. And while interest rates have begun to come down, higher rates in recent years and climbing home prices have pushed homeownership out of reach for many Americans.
The NC Housing Coalition’s 2025 housing needs assessment showed that 28% of the state’s households — 1.1 million — are cost-burdened by rent or mortgages. Families that spend more than 30% of income on housing costs are considered cost-burdened.
The housing affordability crisis in this state is most acute among renters, with 48% considered cost-burdened, the coalition found. Meanwhile, 19% of homeowners have trouble affording their homes.
The coalition determined that a $22.28 hourly wage or an annual income of $46,340 is needed to afford a fair market rent of $1,158 a month in North Carolina.
Read the full article here.
North Carolina wins $17 million lawsuit against FEMA and DHS over withheld emergency funds
From WLOS News
RALEIGH, N.C. (WLOS) — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson won a $17 million lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for withholding state funds for emergency management, disaster relief and homeland security operations, according to a Dec. 29 press release from Jackson.
The court rejected the federal government’s conditions, stating that they were not “consistent with Congressional intent or FEMA’s mission.”
Read the full article here. |
