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I've been thrilled to see Durham's resurgence in the 10 years since I moved to the area and appreciate its economic and cultural vibrance and sense of community. In the meantime, as a Chapel Hill homeowner for the past five years, I've been dismayed that Chapel Hill seems destined to become a stagnant town of students, retirees, transient families, the wealthy, and wealthy out-of-towners who keep a pied-a-terre for home games.
While Durham has managed to attract the young families, entrepreneurs, and members of the creative class who seem vital to building a strong community and quality of life for everyone, it seems Chapel Hill has been doing everything it can to keep those people out. Our friends with very young children would consider eventually moving to Chapel Hill for the schools but can't afford it (even on two professional salaries) and we see a lot of turnover among the families who can afford to live here because of their temporary associations with the universities or because they have great career prospects elsewhere. Such a transient population makes Chapel Hill feel a lot less civic- and community-minded than other places I've lived. I used to think the weak sense of community was a Southern thing, but the excitement and dedication in Durham makes me think it has more to do with the lack of commitment residents have to the area.
I understand there's a desire to control sprawl and that new developments have to set so much aside for affordable housing, but most of the new housing construction in Chapel Hill that I'm aware of are insanely priced condos that aren't desirable for families or within reach for younger buyers. Durham now has a lot more to offer those with and without school-aged children, and I increasingly hear that Hillsborough is where young, middle-class families are heading for affordable, single-family homes and good schools.
I was glad to find these links on other threads that indicate that others, including Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, are concerned about middle class housing in Chapel Hill.
After reading them though, I still don't get why Chapel Hill can't figure out how to build more housing in the $150-$350k range. Is it really entirely in the hands of developers? Are residents or city council members getting in the way of middle-class housing? Are there any plans or at least a wide-spread desire to do anything about it?
Our friends with very young children would consider eventually moving to Chapel Hill for the schools but can't afford as much house as they can get elsewhere in the Triangle(even on two professional salaries)
^There. I fixed it for you.
I'm sorry, but when I look at Redfin I see well over 150 sfh homes for sale with a minimum of 3 bedrooms in Chapel Hill in the price range that you cited. Do you get as much bang for your buck as you do elsewhere in the Triangle? No, but to say that CH is out of reach for the middle class is inaccurate.
Our friends with very young children would consider eventually moving to Chapel Hill for the schools but can't afford it (even on two professional salaries)
There are many homes in the $200-300k range. Two professional salaries should be able to afford that. Are they brand new construction? In swanky new developments? With the pool and the club and all that? Eh, not so many, but I see a 4 bedroom SFH in Winmore for $350k.
If you want to build some more I'm sure the town would welcome it, but there's only so much they can do. Developers are going to build to the highest profit the market will bear and it will bear pretty high in Chapel Hill.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilikethat
I used to think the weak sense of community was a Southern thing...
Wow. I can't believe you wrote that. How completely offensive.
I'm always perplexed by the idea of affordable housing. It seems to always be focused on ownership and in essence asks why people who can't afford to own a home can't afford to own a home. Homes sell for what the market bears. Build more housing or make housing less desirable, and it will be more affordable. The truth is virtually nobody in Chapel Hill wants to do any of the things that would make housing cheaper, nor should they. It is a small town with little developable land left and lots of regulations on development. It is surrounded by rural areas with much cheaper housing.
There are lots of rentals in Chapel Hill that are affordable. How do you think students afford to live there?
If you want affordable housing, merge Chapel Hill and Orange schools and let people build trailer parks. And don't forget to lower the taxes. I say let Chapel Hill be Chapel Hill.
I've been thrilled to see Durham's resurgence in the 10 years since I moved to the area and appreciate its economic and cultural vibrance and sense of community. In the meantime, as a Chapel Hill homeowner for the past five years, I've been dismayed that Chapel Hill seems destined to become a stagnant town of students, retirees, transient families, the wealthy, and wealthy out-of-towners who keep a pied-a-terre for home games.
While Durham has managed to attract the young families, entrepreneurs, and members of the creative class who seem vital to building a strong community and quality of life for everyone, it seems Chapel Hill has been doing everything it can to keep those people out. Our friends with very young children would consider eventually moving to Chapel Hill for the schools but can't afford it (even on two professional salaries) and we see a lot of turnover among the families who can afford to live here because of their temporary associations with the universities or because they have great career prospects elsewhere. Such a transient population makes Chapel Hill feel a lot less civic- and community-minded than other places I've lived. I used to think the weak sense of community was a Southern thing, but the excitement and dedication in Durham makes me think it has more to do with the lack of commitment residents have to the area.
I understand there's a desire to control sprawl and that new developments have to set so much aside for affordable housing, but most of the new housing construction in Chapel Hill that I'm aware of are insanely priced condos that aren't desirable for families or within reach for younger buyers. Durham now has a lot more to offer those with and without school-aged children, and I increasingly hear that Hillsborough is where young, middle-class families are heading for affordable, single-family homes and good schools.
I was glad to find these links on other threads that indicate that others, including Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, are concerned about middle class housing in Chapel Hill.
After reading them though, I still don't get why Chapel Hill can't figure out how to build more housing in the $150-$350k range. Is it really entirely in the hands of developers? Are residents or city council members getting in the way of middle-class housing? Are there any plans or at least a wide-spread desire to do anything about it?
No, its in the hands of the free market economy. The only other choice is for the city of Chapel Hill to financially subsidize affordable housing. Would you support a tax increase to pay for that? I don't think many people would.
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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I think you would be hard pressed to find the spirit and sense of community that Durham currently has. Those urban pioneers have a lot stacked against them in overcoming the adversarial aspects of their city. That's a pretty big bar to set especially for an economically fortunate area with much less societal ills.
These posts about how affordable Chapel Hill is are priceless.
Let them eat cake!
This is such a pointless comment.
Who is claiming Chapel Hill is some sort of exceptionally affordable town? It's actually below the national average in COL and only a couple points higher on the same scale compared to most of the rest of the triangle.....but nobody is claiming it's a bargain or that it isn't more expensive than most other areas of NC.
A family of 4 with two working professionals can DEFINITELY afford to own a home in Chapel Hill; it just won't be as new or large as homes in other areas of the region. The same holds true for ITB Raleigh yet I don't see multiple threads using the tired "let them eat cake" argument referencing that.
It's called supply and demand. The two biggest draws of demand to live in Chapel Hill/Carrboro are the smaller school district and the walkability/ quasi-urbane ascetic that one doesn't find a ton of in the Triangle as a whole.
Both of those factors make it so large scale annexing and huge developments that happen in Wake Co. to increase "supply" aren't really options. The demand is still there; so prices are higher. You'll find similar patterns in ITB Raleigh, a bunch of neighborhoods south of "Uptown" Charlotte, and in metro areas all over the country.
I get that most middle-income Triangle homebuyers would prefer this
.
Wow. I can't believe you wrote that. How completely offensive.
I didn't mean to offend. I just remember seeing something at some point about a social capital index that had NC and a lot of the South at the bottom of the rankings so I had assumed it was a cultural thing until I saw all the changes in Durham.
There are certainly homes in Chapel Hill that fall in more moderate price ranges, but when we were looking or researched options for friends, it seemed like a lot of the homes in those ranges were either misclassified town homes/condos, less than 1,200 sq ft, or not in Chapel Hill-Carrboro or Orange County school districts, which are deal-breakers for a lot of families.
I understand that home prices are largely dictated by the market, but I find it hard to believe that there's nothing local government can do to influence it. My question was whether there really isn't anything it can do or if there's just no will to do it.
It's apparent that making housing more affordable for people at lower or middle incomes isn't a big priority or even a real issue to some, but I would think that many would be interested attracting the kinds of residents and businesses that make communities more vibrant instead of stagnating when neighboring areas are generating so much excitement.
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