Gov. Josh Stein walked through the first finished homes of a 25-unit affordable housing development in Southeast Raleigh on Tuesday, touting state efforts to chip away at a housing shortage that studies project will leave North Carolina roughly 750,000 homes short by 2029. The project, built by Southeast Raleigh Promise on nine city-owned lots along Rock Quarry Road, has completed its first three homes so far, with the full build-out expected by summer 2027.
Stein's visit, reported by WRAL, comes as the governor has signed a string of measures this year aimed at making it easier and cheaper to build housing across the state, including legislation removing minimum parking-space requirements for developments and legislation easing restrictions on accessory dwelling units. He also signed legislation creating mixed-use zoning, though that provision currently applies to only a handful of North Carolina communities, including Raleigh, and is intended to let more people live closer to where they work. In May, Stein signed an executive order aimed at increasing housing opportunities and affordability statewide.
Yvette Holmes led Tuesday's tour and described the development's approach as a deliberate mix of density and variety, saying the project represents thoughtfully designed homes that fit into existing neighborhoods. Southeast Raleigh Promise broke ground on the project, part of its Promise of Home initiative, in April, according to the organization's own announcement, which described plans to deliver 25 mixed-income rental homes across the nine lots, including single-family homes, duplexes and ADUs.
Smaller Lots, More Homes Per Parcel
The development's design leans on a build strategy that squeezes more housing out of less land. As NC Newsline reported, the remaining eight parcels will each host two homes, with an accessory dwelling unit added to some properties. Stein made the point plainly during the tour, saying more units can be created per lot even though more land cannot be created.
Holmes echoed that framing, saying the project uses smaller parcels and adds homes within existing neighborhoods rather than sprawling outward. Rents across the development will range from $580 to just over $1,650 a month, serving households at 30%, 60% and 80% of area median income. The outlet reported that the $1,650 three-bedroom home on Person Street, aimed at households at 80% of area median income or below, rents for about $600 less than a nearby two-bedroom apartment in downtown Raleigh.
Financing details diverge slightly between accounts: the same NC Newsline report put the gap financing approved by Raleigh City Council at $3.3 million, while WRAL's reporting put the city's contribution at $3 million. Emila Sutton, director of housing and community development for the City of Raleigh, was identified in coverage of the project as a city official involved in the effort.
A Shortage That Stretches Across Wake County
The Rock Quarry Road project lands amid daunting regional numbers. Studies cited by the same NC Newsline report project North Carolina will be roughly 750,000 homes short by 2029, with Wake County's own gap reaching 110,000 units — a shortfall separately confirmed by a WRAL report on the county's projected deficit. The News & Observer, drawing on separate data, put the statewide deficit even higher, at more than 760,000 homes, while agreeing Wake County faces a 110,000-home gap by 2029.
Cost burden is already widespread. According to the governor's office, nearly half of North Carolina adults spend more than one-third of their income on housing. The NC Newsline report adds that roughly half of all renters statewide spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs. In Wake County specifically, the News & Observer reports that 48% of renters, or 76,916 households, and 18% of homeowners, or 51,455 households, were cost-burdened in 2026.
Stein connected those pressures to the stakes of projects like the one he toured Tuesday, saying a home provides stability, community anchoring and the potential for generational wealth. He also pointed to Raleigh's own regulatory history, saying the city's former parking-space requirement had made suitable building lots harder to find and pushed costs onto tenants. Raleigh removed its minimum parking-space requirement in 2022 and expanded accessory dwelling unit use in 2020 so more homes could be built per lot.
Zoning Rules Still Vary Widely Across the Region
The News & Observer's zoning analysis shows just how differently nearby metro areas regulate housing. Multifamily housing is allowed on 23% of residential land in the Raleigh-Cary metro, compared with just 3% in Durham-Chapel Hill, while Raleigh-Cary requires public hearings for only 22% of multifamily proposals versus 60% in Durham-Chapel Hill. Statewide, North Carolina allows duplexes by right on 63% of residential land, compared with 25% in Virginia, and accessory dwelling units are allowed by right on 63% of single-family land in the Raleigh region, far above the 34% national average, though still below the 95% figure in the Durham region.
Separate legislation moving through Raleigh could reshape development rules further. House Bill 162, sent to Stein for his signature, would eliminate minimum off-street parking requirements for shopping centers, apartment complexes and other large developments, according to a WUNC report. Meanwhile, House Bill 1056, as written, would allow residential development in all commercial zones and prohibit minimum parking requirements, with its commercial-zone provision set to take effect July 1, 2027, per the bill text filed with the North Carolina General Assembly.
For now, the Rock Quarry Road project remains a work in progress, with 22 of its 25 homes still under construction and no verified detail yet on exact addresses or occupancy for the completed units. Southeast Raleigh Promise has said it expects to finish the entire project by summer 2027.
