Op-Ed: Carson Butts: North Carolina Can’t Solve Its Housing Crisis by Restricting Investment

Housing affordability has become one of North Carolina’s most urgent economic challenges. Rising rents, persistent inflation, and higher everyday expenses are straining household budgets across the state. In a statewide poll earlier this year, 70% of North Carolinians, across the political spectrum, described housing as unaffordable. 

The pressure isn’t theoretical; they shape the choices our families make every day. When housing takes up too much of a paycheck, families have less left for groceries, healthcare, transportation, savings, and emergencies. For aspiring homeowners, working families, young professionals, and seniors, quality rental housing can provide the stability and flexibility they need to stay connected to jobs, schools, healthcare, and communities that might otherwise be out of reach. 

Responsible private investment helps make those options possible. The capital needed to build, renovate, maintain, and operate rental homes does not appear on its own. When investment supports new construction and adds housing to the market, it can expand supply and give families more choices at a wider range of price points. That can help teachers, health care workers, service employees, young professionals, and retirees live closer to jobs, schools, and essential services. 

Policymakers should draw a clear line between rules that protect consumers and rules that make it harder to invest in, build, or renovate housing. Sweeping restrictions can complicate financing, slow development, and push investment to other states. North Carolina needs strong oversight, but it also needs many more homes. 

The state will not solve its affordability crisis by closing the door on the capital required to build and maintain homes. A better approach is to welcome responsible investment, remove unnecessary barriers to construction, and hold housing providers to clear standards. That balance can expand rental opportunities while protecting the families who depend on them.