Burke County Board of REALTORS® Releases Housing Study

Burke County Board of REALTORS®
305 E. Union Street, Suite B-116
Morganton, NC 28655
T (828)437-6411
E burkerealtors@gmail.com

Burke Development Inc.
2128 South Sterling Street, Suite 150
Morganton, NC 28655
T (828) 764-9370
E Alan@Burkedevinc.com

Date: February 14, 2019

To All Regional Media For Immediate Release

Burke County Board of REALTORS® Releases Housing Study
Report Shows Broad Range of Need Across Various Price Points

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. (February 14, 2019) – The Burke County Board of REALTORS® is releasing a Preliminary Housing Needs Assessment that shows a broad range of need for housing across various price points. While the study shows a broad range of need across various price points it specifically notes a substantial need for homes priced between $175,000 and $299,000.

The Assessment, completed by Bowen National Research, evaluated current characteristics of major housing components and calculated housing gaps and housing needs estimates by tenure and income segment for the county. The study was funded by a $12,500 grant that was awarded to the Burke County Board of REALTORS®’ through the National Association of REALTORS®’ Housing Opportunity Program. NAR’s Housing Opportunity Grants were established in 2006. Individual grants are awarded ten times per year. Since the program’s inception, over 500 grants totaling more than $1.75 million have been awarded. The balance of the $14,500 cost was provided by the Burke County Board of REALTORS®. NAR also provided an additional $1,500 to cover meeting and hospitality costs.

Bryan Black, a local REALTOR® and Co-Chair of the External Affairs Committee with the Burke County Board of REALTORS® said that he and other REALTORS® knew there was a significant housing shortage because they struggled daily to find enough homes, and appropriate homes, to fill the demand. REALTORS® do not simply sell homes and property, REALTORS® build communities and work hard to make housing affordable to all who are willing and able to become homeowners.

The need for an Assessment was identified during a 2017 Housing Summit hosted by Burke Development, Inc. in partnership with the Burke County Board of REALTORS®. Over 100 members of the community, including realtors, bankers, government officials and developers, attended the summit and agreed that an assessment would help define the County’s housing need.

“Our housing shortage limits our ability to recruit new workers and sustain the growth and momentum that we have seen for the community,” said Alan Wood, Burke Development, Inc. President and CEO. “In 2018 there were 282 single and multi-family permits issued in the City of Morganton and Burke County combined. Over a four-year period that would only give us a little over 1,000 new units if something doesn’t change and that will not be enough.”

Highlights and key points from the assessment include:

• Over 2700 new housing units needed (single and Multi-family) over next 4 years
• At time of the report there was a 2% vacancy rate for rental units and less than 1% of houses for sale in the market
• Housing needed across all price points but especially in the moderate income areas to support growth required to sustain and grow the county’s workforce.

Black continued, “This began as a real grass roots effort however this is an issue that our entire community has come together on. Our steering committee is composed of Officials and Staff from Burke County Government, every township including the City of Morganton, Rutherford College and Valdese along with Western Piedmont Community College, Western Piedmont Home Builders representatives, Western Piedmont Council of Governments and others. Our Partnership with BDI started with our first meeting and has been invaluable. BDI’s leadership and organizational ability has been paramount. They have been able to bring all of the players together and continue to push this forward.”

Since receiving the study Burke Development and other organizations in the community have focused efforts on expanding capacity and increasing construction efforts for both single and multi-family dwellings across many price points. They are working to identify properties for development, recruit new developers to the community and grow the construction workforce. Click “Download” to read the full Preliminary Housing Needs. Assessment.

For additional information or to get involved Contact Alan Wood with BDI at (828) 764-9372 alan@burkedevinc.com or Bryan Black with the Burke County Board of REALTORS® at (828) 439-1004 – bryaneblack@att.net.

Professionally Yours,

Timothy Newton, 2019 President
Burke County Board of REALTORS®

Professionally Yours,

Alan Wood,
President and CEO
Burke Development, Inc.