The challenge of providing affordable and inclusive housing can be found throughout the country. Chapel Hill is no exception. A steadily growing population has squeezed the housing market and pushed up the average price of a home across Orange County. It now costs around $605,000 to purchase a house in Orange County and even more in Chapel Hill. For someone earning minimum wage ($7.25 per hour), this means they would have to work 139 hours per week just to afford their housing costs alone.

For many people — such as daycare teachers, social workers, hospital employees, and other people whom our community depends on every day — this has made it especially difficult to afford a decent home. Instead, mixed-income communities like Weavers Grove can help make homeownership a reality for them, while also producing benefits for the broader community. Here’s how.

Access to stable, affordable homeownership allows families to spend more on necessities. In fact, one study found that affordably housed families spend nearly five times as much on health care, a third more on food, and twice as much on retirement savings.

Affordable homeownership gives families both short- and long-term benefits. Because parents can spend less time working and more time with their children, their children do better in school and are more likely to attend college than those living in unaffordable housing.

Affordable homeownership is also an effective way of ending the cycle of poverty. Research shows that children who move from high-poverty to low-poverty neighborhoods have higher incomes, are less likely to be single parents, and live in better neighborhoods as adults.

After moving into a Habitat home, one study found that families became much less dependent on supplemental social programs. For example, families who used food and nutrition services went from 65 percent to 43 percent after moving into their Habitat home — a drop of 34 percent.

When people can’t live near where they work, it becomes harder to attract businesses, jobs, and employees. That’s why building affordable homeownership is one of the best ways to increase a region’s economic competitiveness.

Affordable homeownership has been shown to improve the economy in both direct and indirect ways. In addition to creating jobs, it increases regional spending and increases local government revenue through additional permits and corporate taxes. For every dollar of direct spending, an additional $1.12 is generated.

Homeownership gives people a larger stake in their surrounding community than renting. As a result, residents who can afford to buy a home are more likely to volunteer in their neighborhood and engage in local political activity.

Unstable housing among families with children will cost the U.S. $111 billion in avoidable health and education expenditures over the next 10 years. Safe, stable, and affordable homeownership helps lower these costs by making it easier to afford basic needs like rent, food, and utilities.