Real Estate Professionals Earn NC Workforce Housing Specialist Certification

Many hardworking North Carolina families don’t earn enough to afford an average-priced home in their community. Real estate professionals with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty recently earned the North Carolina Workforce Housing Specialist certification and learned about programs that can help teachers, firefighters, nurses, and other service workers in our community achieve the dream of home ownership.

Brett Adams, Cathi Anderson, Carolyn Dunwell, Paul Dunwell, Tom Gale, and Amy Whetsel from Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty’s Wilmington office earned the certification. Homes4NC, a housing foundation created by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, offers the certification to REALTORS® who take extra steps to learn about the federal, state and local housing programs specifically designed to help buyers that earn less than the area median income. They also work within the community to increase housing affordability for all citizens.

“My wife is a teacher, so I hear from her colleagues all the time about how hard it is to find affordable housing,” said Tom Gale. “With the training we received, I know about more lending programs that can help them.”

According to Homes4NC, wages in North Carolina are not expected to keep pace with the cost of housing. Half of the state’s future jobs are expected to pay 60% of the state’s current average earnings.

To earn the certification, REALTORS® must complete sixteen hours of educational courses that focus on national, state, and local affordable housing resources. For more information about the North Carolina Workforce Housing Specialist certification, visit http://www.homes4nc.org/.