NORTH CAROLINA HOUSING STOCK: Although the Triangle has been suffering from a years-long shortage in housing supply as demand for homes has swelled, North Carolina overall is ahead of much of the country when it comes to building new homes.
But it’s a mixed picture.
A new study looks at the historical trends for new home permits in each state, comparing the number of annual permits from 1960-1999 to the period from 2000-2021. In terms of annual percentage increase, North Carolina ranks fourth with the average annual number of new permits for 2000-2021 being 65 percent higher than the four decades prior. The other states in the top five are all in the West: Idaho, Montana, South Dakota and Utah.
In terms of the raw number, North Carolina is second, with an average increase of nearly 27,000 permits annually when comparing the two periods – behind Texas with an average increase of 63,000. North Carolina has averaged more than 68,000 new permits a year since 2000.
But, get this – the number of new permits for single-family homes in North Carolina from 2000-2009 was 634,000 while for 2010-2019 it was just 386,000 (meanwhile, multifamily housing made gains). So far this decade, the average is back up to more than 64,000 permits a year for single-family homes.
The home shortage in the Triangle played a key role in driving prices to record levels as demand spiked in 2020 and 2021.
When looking at the national picture, much of the trends can be attributed to population shifts. North Carolina added more than 1 million people and 418,000 households between 2010 and 2020. During the same period, the state’s housing stock grew by 480,000.
The study by The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington, D.C., notes that new housing construction has been meager for the U.S. overall in recent decades, but it’s an uneven picture. “Some states have seen a robust increase in supply, while others have seen a troubling decline in new annual permits. “
RALEIGH NOT CHEAP FOR SINGLES: Speaking of housing and the cost of living, it looks like the City of Oaks is getting pretty pricey for the single crowd.
Raleigh is among the least affordable cities for singles, according to a report from RentHop.com. The reason: soaring rents. The study found rents command almost 30 percent of the average single person’s annual income in Raleigh.
But apartment rents are starting to dip as the housing market cools.
TBJ Plus is wondering what the dating scene is like in Albuquerque and Wichita – the most affordable cities for singles.
CAMPBELL JOINS DUKE IN EXODUS: Another law school in the Triangle is dumping ties with U.S. News & World Report.
Campbell Law School is joining Duke University School of Law in leaving the highly-watched rankings, which have come under renewed scrutiny since elite law schools such as Harvard and Yale said they would no longer take part in the rankings.
“The Campbell Law School faculty has decided not to participate this year in the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Law Schools ranking,” Dean J. Rich Leonard said in a statement. We are not opposed to objective rankings, but the reputational aspect of the U.S. News rankings has always undervalued strong regional law schools. Additionally, the rankings do not sufficiently consider factors most critical to prospective students, such as bar passage and employment outcomes.”
Leonard previously told Triangle Business Journal he was delighted when schools announced they were opting out of the rankings. “The biggest surprise when I left the federal bench to come to law school (10 years ago) was the chokehold these rankings have on legal education,” he said. “I think they are flawed and elitist.”
TRIANGLE COULD STILL SCORE BIG EVENT: North Carolina and the Triangle will miss out on hosting a major sporting event in 2027, but the sting might not last long.
The World University Games will be in Chungcheong, South Korea, in 2027. North Carolina competed with Chungcheong to host the event, which is expected to draw 10,000 athletes and hundreds of thousands of fans.
But what about 2029? North Carolina is an option, according to Eric Saintrond, secretary general of the International University Sports Federation.
“I was there in North Carolina. I saw all the venues and athlete accommodations in place, and the facilities are amazing,” he said. “North Carolina is a very special case for me. Everything is there. The atmosphere is there. It is really a student’s atmosphere with great people. I hope to find a solution to bring them back as soon as 2029. I believe that we will do it.”
Hill Carrow, the Cary-based sports promoter who led the North Carolina group seeking the games, told Triad Business Journal they’re “cautiously optimistic” the state will receive the bid to host the 2029 summer World University Games. Word could come early next year.
FORMER VP PENCE IN RALEIGH: Just when you thought election coverage would fade away for a while, here comes 2024.
With the midterms behind us and the talk now shifting to who will challenge former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary in two years, Mike Pence, who served as vice president under Trump, is making the rounds.
Pence visited Charlotte and Raleigh this week, speaking about foreign policy and avoiding questions about whether he’ll run against Trump in 2024, Axios Raleigh reports.
With polls showing Trump losing popularity among Republicans, Pence may be trying to position himself as a return to normalcy for the conservative wing.
© 2022 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated January 1, 2021) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated July 1, 2022). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.
