Today’s Housing Symposium focused on the dire need for improvements to the availability and affordability of housing in our region. An economic analysis by Laura Ullrich, Senior Economist with the Federal Reserve, shared economic information and housing status related to our region to better inform decision-makers on how they can help improve the housing situation. Here are the highlights:
- While recessions are unpredictable, the U.S. is not showing signs of recession, mostly due to consistently high levels of consumption.
- Inflation rates are normalizing, and with that, the Fed has decreased interest rates at each of its last two meetings.
- The Carolinas are leading the Fed’s fifth district in Employment Recovery since the Pandemic. Our region experienced 8.4% growth in employment, though that is below the rate of population increase in the same period of time.
- However, demand for workers will continue to exceed labor force, and the labor force is expected to continue to decline nationally.
- A key component of our region’s growth strategy should prioritize attraction of talent and young professionals, which is greatly impacted by our region’s high cost of living for housing.
- Housing costs in Beaufort County are not normalizing as quickly as other sectors of the overall economy and have increased 6% over the past three years.
- Data shows that, to afford the median price of housing, household median income would need to be $170,000 to be under the 30% threshold for housing costs, and it’s currently $95,000.
- The combination of housing prices and interest rates being significantly over the median household income delays family formation, signaling a major shift in our culture.
- The starts of housing construction are still low, and the regulatory processes currently in place amplify the increased costs of building new housing options in our region.