CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Shay Barnes is in the driver’s seat, but she’s not sure which way to turn next.
She's moving to Charlotte from Greensboro and wants to rent a house. Her current lease ends in less than 30 days.
For the past month, nearly every day, Barnes has been looking for houses in south Charlotte, Steele Creek and the University area, trying to find a place that works for her family.
“I literally look every day,” she said.
Her husband started a new IT job in Charlotte about a month ago, and he's been commuting from Greensboro, more than an hour each way.
“We've kind of had to split up our family,” Barnes said. “The biggest issue has been the price point.”
The city of Charlotte defines affordable housing as a family spending no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.
Anything more is considered to be a burden.
In 2016, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Charlotte was almost $1,500 a month.
Barnes told Channel 9 that’s where her budget started, and she’s viewed at least 25 houses, so far.
“And now I'm seeing it’s a possibility we'll have to go even higher than that,” Barnes said.
If it wasn't the price that got in the way, Barnes said it was the condition of the homes.
Barnes hired Charlotte realtor Kristena Johnson to help with her search.
The other thing that I'm hearing is that the rental market is going super-fast,” Johnson said. “Clients are looking at a property, and within a day or two of having that moment to think about whether they want that home or not, it's already taken. Our clients are not coming with no jobs in tow. They are literally going back and forth because they have a job here, but have no housing.”
Fred Dodson Jr., executive vice president for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, said more than 2,000 affordable housing units have been built in Charlotte, and the city estimates the need to be more than 34,000 units.
“We hear statistics that there are 50 to 60 people moving to Charlotte every day,” Dodson said. “That has definitely had an impact on the need for affordable housing. In a good year, we're producing maybe 400 to 500 units of affordable housing. To me, that's a crisis, but we also have to keep building. The city is growing rapidly. We cannot stop growing.”
Like so many others, the Barnes family is trying to build a life in Charlotte, but first, they have to find a house.
“I feel like I'm at this place now where I'm going to have to settle just to get my family here,” Barnes said.
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