Feb. 16. A new report from the Charlotte Urban Institute confirms there’s a workforce housing—aka affordable housing—crisis in North Meck. It means many families, even those with six-figure incomes, can’t afford to purchase the median price home in Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville.

According to the Urban Institute report, the common standard that households should spend no more than a third of their income on housing, a household would need an income of about $160,000 to afford the median home in North Mecklenburg.

Over half of the homes are less than 20 years old, and the median size is 2,378 square feet. Not only does this make them about 500 square feet larger than the median home in Mecklenburg, most also have 3 or 4 bedrooms.

And despite the fact that home are being built, the overall housing stock still consists of larger, more expensive homes.

Housing stock

The existing housing stock in North Mecklenburg is primarily single-family. About 67 perecent of homes are single-family detached, compared to 54 percent for Mecklenburg County as a whole.

Homes are also larger and newer than in Mecklenburg County as a whole. Over half of homes are less than 20 years old, and the median size is 2,378 square feet. Not only does this make them about 500 square feet larger than the median home in Mecklenburg, most also have 3 or 4 bedrooms.

The UNC-Charlotte Urban Institute is a nonpartisan, applied research and community outreach institute, “seeking solutions to the social, economic and environmental challenges facing our communities.”

To read the full report, click here.