To Alleviate the Housing Crisis, Building Projects Need Quick Approval
City initiatives in Raleigh seek to increase housing supply
By now, it’s painfully clear that the real estate market throughout the U.S. — but especially in areas like Raleigh, N.C. — is experiencing a severe inventory shortage. Despite the fact that many people are now able to afford a home, especially with the currently-low interest rates, winning a bidding war for a home is often a different story. Across income levels and backgrounds, families and young professionals are struggling to go under contract on existing homes.
This shortage, along with changing trends as to what a home should look like, has led many people to look to homebuilding instead. Building a custom home allows buyers to choose what to prioritize in their building costs, and to rest assured that their new home shouldn’t need drastic repairs or replacements for quite a while.
Delayed Approvals
In the effort to make housing more affordable and accessible, building more homes is crucial. However, many developers and investors in the Triangle area are citing backups due to the months-long waiting time to receive approval on development projects.
As new employers move to the Triangle and pandemic-related priority shifts bring more people to the area, there’s no time to wait for months on end for each housing project to be approved. At the same time, town and city officials cite high volumes and staffing shortages as the reason behind these delays, and the fact remains that an accurate approval process is necessary.
Overall, a streamlined application and approval process for new development projects has the potential to boost the Triangle real estate market out of the extreme shortage that now prevails.
Raleigh’s Safe, Vibrant, and Healthy Community Initiative
While there’s no magic bullet to cure the backups that ensue from high application volumes and low staff, the city of Raleigh is making a push to accelerate approval processes when it comes to housing. Raleigh’s Safe, Vibrant, and Healthy Community initiative seeks to promote affordable housing and community amenities that contribute to a safe, clean, and engaged environment.
A large part of this initiative revolves around affordable housing. Efforts to create more affordable homes in Raleigh range from an $80 million affordable housing bond to a brand new affordable housing website to make the information easily accessible.
With continued efforts to keep building projects moving swiftly, communities can begin to close the gap between housing supply and demand.
If you’re ready to build your dream home in Raleigh, we’re here to help. Atmos streamlines the custom building process through a simple online platform and ongoing support from experienced project managers. Get started today!
