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A roughly $100 million affordable housing bond will be on the ballot this November after the Raleigh City Council approved the measure unanimously last month.
The bond, expected to fund projects over the next four years, follows an $80 million affordable housing bond that voters approved in 2020. That money paid for the construction or preservation of nearly 2,500 affordable housing units over a five-year period, some of which are still being built.
It also helped the Raleigh City Council buy land for future affordable housing near major roads and public transportation, including bus rapid transit (BRT) routes. Finally, a chunk of money went toward programs to help first-time homebuyers make down payments and longtime homeowners repair aging houses.
With a new affordable housing bond referendum headed to voters, we took a look at what the proposed bond would cover if approved, and how money from the 2020 bond was spent.
How Does Raleigh Plan to Spend the 2026 Bond?
If approved, the 2026 bond would continue to fund the construction and preservation of affordable housing, as well as the city’s ongoing homebuyer assistance and home repair programs.
This time, however, a portion of the money would also go toward creating a loan fund to help developers build mixed-income housing—or a blend of income-restricted and market-rate units.
For projects like this, the city expects about one-third of the units would be affordable, Housing and Community Development Director Emila Sutton said during a March workshop. So for a 200-unit complex, 140 apartments would be rented at market rate, and 60 would be rented at income-restricted rates.
This one-time investment from the city would allow the loan fund to keep operating even after the bond expires, Sutton said. So even though each project might result in a relatively small number of affordable units, the city is getting a lot of bang for its buck.
After one housing project is done and the developers pay back the loan, the city can use that money to make another loan and help another project, Sutton said. The fund would ensure construction of mixed-income housing continues steadily into the future.
“You’re creating that forever fund,” Sutton said.
In the previous bond (and in this one), developments that are 100% affordable are subsidized by the city year after year, Sutton added.
The City Council would also reserve a chunk of money to address homelessness, primarily by expanding a pilot program that has proven successful. The program, created in 2024, provided rent money to people for up to two years, with the goal of housing them permanently. It also offered support services and case management to help people find jobs, for example.
“It is a no-questions-asked rental voucher … so folks cannot get discriminated against based on their source of income,” at-large Councilmember Jonathan Lambert-Melton told the INDY. “It’s just the…
