UNC expert tells Forsyth County commissioners what counties can — and cannot — do about affordable housing

Tyler Mulligan, faculty lead of the Development Finance Initiative at the UNC School of Government, told Forsyth County commissioners on Feb. 9 that counties face a financing gap when building affordable housing and have limited legal authority to provide direct subsidy without a referendum or non-local funds.

Mulligan opened by defining two categories of affordability: income-restricted housing, which depends on contracts that set income eligibility and transfer controls, and naturally occurring affordable housing, which remains affordable for market reasons but is not legally restricted. He stressed the federal definition that a household paying more than 30% of income for housing is considered cost‑burdened and used Forsyth County data to illustrate the point: 100% area median income (AMI) shown on his slides was $67,165, with 60% AMI roughly $40,000 — the common eligibility threshold for many federal programs.

Why it matters: Mulligan said private financing drives most housing development, and lower affordable rents weaken the capital stack. In a 60‑unit…