Decades ago, when I moved back to North Carolina from the nation’s capital, my rent dropped by half — for a new apartment that was larger and better furnished than the one I rented just outside Washington, D.C. Today, my native state remains less expensive to live in than the average state. And even our...
Charlotte and Raleigh certainly have their problems — as discussed regularly in, among other places, this very spot on the opinion page! But as someone who grew up near Charlotte and now lives near Raleigh, I will also say there’s still more going right than going wrong in our state’s two most-populous communities. Consider the...
In a recent column, I argued that cities would draw more investment and job creation to their downtowns if people felt safer in them. Because the only North Carolina cities included in the national study I cited were Charlotte and Raleigh, some readers concluded that I thought the problem was limited to those two jurisdictions....
For the better part of the past decade, residents have been fleeing high-cost, highly regulated cities like New York and San Francisco for more affordable urban areas like Charlotte and Raleigh, thus helping to fuel North Carolina’s impressive economic growth. But if “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) activists have their way, stricter building regulations — and thus...
In 2020, the average house price rose 11%. In 2021 home prices jumped another 19%. And, if the price gains in early 2022 continued for the entire year, the price of the average home will increase by 28%. Including compounding, this would mean an astounding 69% rise in home prices over three years. Importantly, the...
Even as customers return to businesses elsewhere in North Carolina, too few are returning to downtown stores and restaurants. Many of those businesses will never recover.
Our two most-populous counties are responsible for a disproportionate share of North Carolina’s recent economic gains — but other counties, small and large, are also experiencing robust growth.
Cities decline when governments fail to protect property rights.
It has not been a good summer for government-subsidized sports stadium deals in North Carolina. Two expensive, high profile stadiums have disappointed, one slowly and subtly, one loudly and obviously.
Starting this month, the City of Raleigh has greatly increased impact fees on new homes, commercial and industrial properties, even day cares and churches.
The mistaken belief that growth burdens a community leads to a local government policy that creates real burdens.
