GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Housing prices continue to outpace income growth.

What You Need To Know

The minimum salary to afford the lowest priced homes in Charlotte jumped from $50,617 in 2020 to $83,348 in 2022

Habitat for Humanity Gaston County is building the county’s first mixed-income neighborhood called Dixon Village

The average annual income for future Habitat for Humanity homeowners in Dixon Village is $38,000

In Charlotte, the minimum income to buy the most affordable homes jumped by 64% since 2020, according to UNC Charlotte’s latest housing report. That puts homeownership out of reach for many living in the region, like Darlene Fure.

“A family of three with the income that I have, I wouldn’t be able to afford it,” Fure said.

But Habitat for Humanity in Gaston County says it's working to make the impossible possible. It's doing it by building the county’s first mixed-income neighborhood called Dixon Village. Fure will become a homeowner in that neighborhood, where the average income is $38,000 a year. 

She visits the plot of land in Gastonia where contractors have already paved dirt for the subdivision.

“This is definitely a dream come true,” she said gazing at her lot. 

UNC Charlotte’s State of Housing report shows a drastic jump in required income for homeowners. It shows you needed to earn a little more than $50,000 a year in 2020 to afford the lowest priced homes. In 2022, it will take an $83,000 salary. 

Fure says, without Habitat for Humanity, that standard alone would put her out of the running. 

“It eliminates families like me with incomes that does [sic] not fall in that range to even afford a home,” she said. “And it becomes discouraging.”

The first round of homes is scheduled to be finished by late spring. Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County says one third of the homes in Dixon Village will be sold at market rate value. Those are for buyers who aren’t part of the habitat program but may be looking to purchase their first home.