HIGH POINT, N.C. — Triad companies have recruited tens of thousands of jobs in recent years. Boom Supersonic and Toyota are among the biggest ones.
These business booms mean great things for the local economy but also means our area needs housing, fast.
Housing is one area of focus for the Carolina Core. Maybe you've heard of it, it's a 120-mile stretch of central North Carolina where business is the focus.
Local leaders gathered to talk about the successes and challenges of the core, like housing.
Michael Fox, President and CEO of the Piedmont Triad Partnership said several entities are working to make sure people moving here, for a job at Toyota, Boom Supersonic, Wolfspeed, VinFast and more, have a place to call home.
"Our local governments, which primarily control housing, recognize that as an issue and collectively they have approved tens of thousands of additional units of housing in the last few years. Now it'll take a little bit for that to be built, it's in the pipeline but they're being proactive about it and we're gonna continue to support them," Fox said.
Fox also said there's a study underway to figure out which type of housing can go where.
Local realtor, Melissa Greer with BHHS Yost and Little Realty said, "we absolutely have enough room and builders, established and new, to build more housing in the Triad."
On the other hand, there are folks who think addressing the issue of more housing might be more complex.
Ted Abernathy, managing partner with Economic Leadership spoke on national housing trends and concerns.
"You won't be able to attract labor, unless you have the housing for them. It's hard to build a house in right now first of all interest rates for builders are high. It's hard to find construction workers with the right skills. Materials for construction are still very high and overall just the cost of land has become very high," Abernathy said.
Local contractor, Tom Garcia with Southern Evergreen Homes agrees. He said, "available housing is decreasing, while interest rates increase, making what is available less affordable; materials to build a home are rising in cost, hampering new construction."
One of the goals of Carolina Core is to bring over 100,000 jobs to the area by 2038, making this issue of providing more housing not only important now... but for the future of the triad as well.