Veronica Edmonds just graduated from law school and is now working as a law clerk. She's starting to pay down a bunch of student loans.
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Edmonds said she's terrified how long it'll take her to save up for a down payment and then purchase a home in Raleigh.
"I would love one day to own a home, but right now with the way that finances are and with the way inflation has really just taken a toll on everyone," Edmonds said she is not optimistic.
Triangle MLS recently revealed that a family in the Triangle living on a median household income earns just 70 percent of what they need to comfortably buy a house.
Executive Director Matt Fowler said there's not enough supply in the Triangle to bring prices down, and he doesn't expect things to become much more affordable over the next year.
"We didn't get here overnight, and we're not going to get out of it overnight," Fowler said.
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Mortgage rates could drop to 5 percent by the summer and that could help the market a bit, but the rates will only get the market so far.
"I don't see (home) prices moderating a lot, and I don't see incomes going up very quickly, so our best hope is that rates will go down a little bit," Fowler said.
So if you can't buy a home, what about renting? Well, that's not any easier in the Triangle.
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Data from Zumper show the median price for a two bedroom in Raleigh is more than $1,500, which signifies a 7 percent jump from last year. A two bedroom in Durham sits at nearly $1,600, which marks a 10 percent jump from 2022.
"You're robbing Peter to pay Paul, so it's a struggle," said Cary resident Annesty Bethea, who rents and works two jobs to care for her child. "I overwork myself tremendously just to make sure that my income could at least make it there where I could pay my rent and also other bills."
Local governments are trying to address the affordable housing crisis. The City of Raleigh, for instance, has amended its zoning code to allow for more density building to help the Missing Middle and has a goal of creating 5,700 affordable housing units by 2026.
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