HIGH POINT, N.C. — It didn't take long for a newly built affordable house in High Point to sell.
After a year-long build, the closing is on Friday. The final price is 130,000 dollars for the three-bed, two-bath home.
This is the first build for the Housing Consultants Group.
Founder, Sofia Crisp, said it's a stepping stone toward bridging the affordable housing gap.
"We had a lot of people interested in the property because we use some city and federal funding, it has to be somebody who falls within 80 percent area median income which is the greatest need for affordable housing, and roughly that's people looking to buy under 175,000 dollars which is hard to find right now with the increasing cost of housing and now the rising interest rates,” said Crisp.
It’s the first home built through a community partnership by the city of High Point, Pinnacle Bank, the High Point Community Against Crimes Group, and her non-profit.
The Community Against Violence President, Gretta Bush, said the area was a drug market and it was tearing the city apart.
Bush said that is why there have been efforts to revitalize the area, by putting in new homes that residents can afford.
“We continually everyday work towards projects, co-projects, working with different agencies to give our clients the opportunity to rebuild the city and keep it safe, that's our ultimate goal,” said Bush.
This area is more than just a home for one buyer. The area has seen a great amount of revitalization, like a greenway and a community garden.
"This part of town has been on the city's radar to be revitalized for years now which as you see once we complete this second house this whole block will look like a neighborhood of pretty much new construction homes, they built a greenway,” said Sofia Crisp.
It’s the first time that the plan of having more in the area will fill the affordable housing gap.
"One family at a time, we're putting people into homes,” said Crisp.
It’s also building a foundation for members of the community.
The High Point Community Against Violence Group had their life construction program students build the house.
It consists of people from different backgrounds, from criminal backgrounds, single mothers, and working wives.
Some of the students said this build not only taught them important skills for the workforce but helped them grow in the community.
"You take that foundation and you go out and it prepares you to start on a construction site,” said Jenny Barker, who worked on the construction site.
"At the beginning, you don't know these people, you don't really know what you're doing,” said Roy Autry, who helped build the house.
"We didn't get a chance to just get to know one another, but we got the chance to know the community as well, we didn't just work on the house, we worked on building relationships,” said Krystal Harrow, who worked on the site.
“I really enjoyed my experience working on this house,” said Trevor Hines, who helped build the house.
This house, these walls, and that neighborhood aren’t just helping affordable housing, it’s also growing the community.
"To be able to sit here on the front porch of a house that we can all say that we built together, it's truly a pleasure,” said Harrow.
The groups don’t plan to stop at just one house. The city owns the area nearby and plans to build more in the neighborhood.