A note on: The housing crisis

Morgan Wicks

With an increase of 50,000 residents in the past 10 years and a lack of support for new homes from the government, the Durham housing market is reaching a breaking point. According to the local news website Durham Cool, council members were reported as saying - “Twenty new people move to Durham each day. They’re arriving in a city in the midst of an affordable housing crisis”. Additionally, the county council has stated that there are currently “113 people sleeping unsheltered in Durham”.

defence.

All hope of a verdict looked lost as the judge walked over to remind me that it was closing time.

However, as of early 2022 Durham mayor Elaine O’Neal outlined a plan in which the city would buy existing homes to sell to residents at an affordable price. This would raise the number of homeowners in the city, which currently stands at 52% of the population.

The university is the largest employer in Durham with around 35,000 employees, however the median household income in Durham unfortunately stands over 10% lower than the national average.

In 2020 a group of university students wrote an open letter, published in The Chronicle, that stressed the importance of “stable, safe, [and] affordable housing” and criticised local landlords for the state of their properties – “It is unacceptable to allow human beings to live in the conditions many individuals have described, including being plagued by black mould, roach and rat infestations, and sewage leaks”.

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Headlines of the week

For half an hour, I attempted to reach a settlement with the pastry that I had clenched in my hand. The negotiations were so rigorous that I proceeded to purchase 4 more sausage rolls, as I had eaten the four previous members of the

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As I began my slow exodus from the scene, the judge confided in me the missing evidence that I had so required. “Don’t worry pal, they’re opening a Greggs at 77 Hawthorn Terrace”. I was saved.

This unrest has even spread to social media, with one frustrated citizen commenting on a council Facebook post –“Maybe the councils new year’s resolution can be sorting out the bl***y housing situation, this is the second year my rent has increased!”. So as a new year dawns, the housing crisis shows no signs of slowing in Durham, North Carolina.