WS Chronicle

By Algenon Cash 

North Carolina homeowners are facing a new challenge – one that should be a cause for celebration but instead feels like a financial gut punch. Counties across the state are releasing new property revaluations with eye-popping increases, in some cases pushing home values up by more than 50%. While rising property values signal a strong housing market, they come with a hidden cost: higher property tax bills and many homeowners simply aren’t prepared. 

I recently attended the Piedmont Triad Regional Housing Summit, where housing experts, planners and policymakers gathered to discuss the pressing issues affecting our region. One theme was clear – housing affordability in North Carolina is under siege from multiple angles, and the ripple effects could be devastating for homeowners, renters and even local governments. 

The primary driver behind these sky-high valuations is simple – there just aren’t enough homes to go around. A limited housing supply has fueled bidding wars, pushing prices higher and, in turn, raising the baseline for property tax assessments.  

But here’s where it gets complicated. Builders and developers, the very people who could boost the housing supply, are pulling back. Why? Because interest rates remain at stubbornly high levels, making it far more expensive to finance new construction. The result is even fewer homes being built, keeping prices artificially high. 

I’ve spoken directly with developers who say that without a major policy shift, homebuilding in North Carolina will slow to a crawl. Some believe the answer lies in embracing modular construction, which can deliver new homes more quickly and at a lower cost by using factory-built components. North Carolina has a rich manufacturing history with more than qualified workers that could staff factories delivering new homes. 

One builder told me, “Modular construction could be a game-changer, but North Carolina’s building codes and local zoning regulations make it difficult to scale. We need serious reform if we want to see real impact.” 

This issue isn’t just theoretical. For everyday homeowners, the impact is immediate and painful. In Wake County, revaluations increased residential property values by an average of 53%. In Forsyth County, new valuations are coming in higher than expected, and property owners are bracing for bigger tax bills. 

Families are struggling with rising grocery prices, higher interest rates impacting car loans, mortgage rates, and credit card bills. Many consumers bought their homes years ago, now inflated tax assessments are reducing discretionary income further. How much can families truly handle? 

A Forsyth County resident shared her frustration after the summit: “I’ve lived in my house for over a decade. Absolutely nothing about my home changed, but my tax bill went up. It’s just a lot happening right now.” 

Lawmakers should launch a comprehensive review of housing and land use policies and root out structural changes. We can prevent this housing supply crisis from worsening, if state and local regulations are revised to lower the cost of building homes. Unnecessary red tape drives up construction costs and delays new development; streamlining the permitting process and updating outdated building codes can help the private market deliver more homes at lower prices. 

Modular and alternative home construction must be encouraged. If modular homes can bring costs down through efficiency, why are we not prioritizing them? We need policies that allow for more innovation in housing, not less. 

Tax relief for long-term homeowners should be considered. Local governments need to explore tax caps or phased-in assessments for homeowners who have lived in their homes for years. A sudden spike in valuation shouldn’t burden someone with large and unaffordable tax bills. To protect homeowners from tax spikes, Texas passed a law in 2019 capping property tax increases at 3.5% annually for local governments without voter approval.  

Responsible development that expands supply must be supported. Smart growth policies should encourage new construction, not restrict it. Without more housing, the supply crisis will only get worse. 

One of Texas’ biggest moves was eliminating unnecessary zoning restrictions that limited where homes could be built. Cities like Austin and Houston reduced minimum lot sizes and loosened restrictions on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), making it easier for homeowners to add rental units and increase supply. 

The housing summit reinforced one key message: if we don’t fix this imbalance now, we’ll be dealing with the consequences for decades. 

Algenon Cash is a nationally recognized speaker and the managing director of Wharton Gladden & Company, an investment banking firm. Reach him at alc@whartongladden.com.