Have you looked at house prices in North Carolina lately and wondered how your kids will ever afford to buy a home? It’s a genuine concern for so many families. A voice for this struggle, Representative Jeff Zenger of North Carolina, comes from an unexpected place: the construction industry itself.
He is not just a politician making empty promises. For Jeff Zenger, North Carolina’s housing crisis is personal. He is using his decades of hands-on experience to fight for a solution.
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Before Jeff Zenger ever walked the halls of the North Carolina General Assembly, he spent 30 years in the trenches of the building and construction industry. He has built everything from a single-family home to massive commercial warehouses. This is not a theoretical issue for him; it is the world he has lived in for most of his adult life.
His passion comes from a deep-seated belief in the American dream, a dream he lived himself. He bought his very first house at just 21 years old with absolutely no financial help. It was a classic case of rolling up his sleeves and making it happen on his own.
That first home —a single dwelling unit —became the foundation for everything that followed. He renovated it, paid it off, and used the equity to move to North Carolina, start his own business, and raise his family. He sees homeownership not just as a place to live but as the cornerstone of economic freedom for everyone.
He worries that this opportunity is disappearing for the next generation, including his own four children. Zenger believes that if we pull that cornerstone of homeownership out, our entire economic system starts to weaken. It is what allowed families to build wealth for generations —a principle established by leaders like Washington and Hamilton.
Zenger never planned on a career in politics. He was serving his community on his local planning board and town council when he felt he had done enough. A phone call changed everything, and its timing could not have been more perfect or more frustrating.
At that very moment, he was neck-deep in a permitting battle to build a 58,000-square-foot freezer for food distribution. He had already spent $300,000 on professional engineering plans, but the project was stuck in bureaucratic limbo. For nine agonizing months, he fought the local government to get a simple development approval.
The excessive application review process and endless requests from municipal support staff highlighted a broken system. Each local ordinance and development regulation seemed designed to delay rather than facilitate progress. This experience with a specific development regulation jurisdiction clarified his next move.
So, when he was asked to run for state office, his answer was fueled by pure, unfiltered frustration. He was mad that the system was so broken. He decided to go to Raleigh to fix it himself.
Once he got to Raleigh, he did not waste any time. He immediately began looking for ways to cut through the red tape strangling the construction industry and driving up costs for everyone. His experience gave him a unique insight into what needed to change in the state’s General Statutes.
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One of his first major victories was a bill that addressed stormwater regulations within watershed areas. Many older properties were developed before these rules existed, effectively freezing business owners’ ability to expand. It was a classic example of development regulations having unintended consequences on lands covered by these rules, including areas near navigable waters owned by the state.
Zenger worked to create a compromise that considered everything from estuarine waters to other sensitive lands. His bill established a way for these properties to be redeveloped or expanded while still protecting the environment. He even got the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on board, and Governor Cooper signed the bill into law.
Next, he went directly after the issue that pushed him to run for office in the first place. He had spent a small fortune on plans drawn up by licensed North Carolina engineers. He wondered why these plans were then picked apart by municipal plan reviewers who often were not engineers themselves.
His idea was simple but powerful and became known as the “shot clock” bill. This law gives municipalities a set time limit: 45 days to complete their first completeness review of a set of plans. After the builder makes the required fixes and resubmits, the city has just two weeks to issue development permits, with recourse to the superior court if they fail.
It took him three years and two terms to get it passed, but he never gave up. This law is a massive step in preventing the endless delays and costs that plagued his freezer project. It holds local governments accountable and reduces the negative fiscal impact of waiting multiple fiscal years for approvals.
More recently, Zenger has turned his attention to the most significant driver of the housing crisis: development costs. It is a complex problem, but he is focused on one specific piece of the puzzle. This piece has an outsized impact on the final price of a new home and is governed by rules set by the secondary mortgage market.
When you get a mortgage, the lender wants to make sure they can sell that loan to an entity like Fannie Mae. A key rule for these loans is that the value of the finished lot cannot exceed 20% of the total home value. According to data from the National Association of Home Builders, government regulations at all levels account for nearly 25% of the final price of a new single-family home.
So, if a town suddenly requires specific building design elements through a local ordinance, the effect snowballs. For example, if a sidewalk mandate adds a hard cost of $1,000 to the lot, the house price has to increase by $5,000 to keep the ratio in balance. The builder must then add features the buyer may not want, like a screened-in porch, just to justify the higher appraisal value, often exceeding the North Carolina Residential Code.
| Local Requirement Added | Direct Lot Cost Increase | Required House Price Increase (Lot Cost = 20%) |
|---|---|---|
| Sidewalks | $1,000 | $5,000 |
| Brick Skirting | $2,000 | $10,000 |
| Upgraded Landscaping | $3,000 | $15,000 |
Zenger says these requirements from a local governing board are adding $10,000 to $15,000 per lot. That means the final price tag on a starter dwelling unit is jumping by $50,000 to $75,000. House Bill 765 aimed to attack these specific cost drivers, sparking a much-needed conversation about zoning regulations across the state.
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The fight for affordable housing is directly tied to another of North Carolina’s most important industries: agriculture. In fact, agriculture is the state’s number one industry, with construction not far behind. Both compete for the same precious resource: land.
This creates a difficult challenge. How do we build the homes our growing population needs without paving over the farmland that feeds us? Zenger believes the answer lies in more innovative housing development.
He is a massive proponent of infill development. This means building more homes within the existing footprints of towns and cities that already have water, sewer, and road infrastructure. It requires stripping away outdated zoning regulations that prevent higher-density housing options.
To do this, a governing board must be willing to adopt zoning regulations that allow options such as duplexes or accessory dwelling units. Making changes to the zoning map through a zoning map amendment is a critical step. A new site plan could include requirements for open spaces or recreational space while still increasing density.
He points to older, beloved neighborhoods, like the historic West End district in Winston-Salem, built before restrictive zoning. There, you can find million-dollar historic homes next to duplexes and townhomes. This mix creates a vibrant, walkable, and economically diverse community that cannot be built under today’s zoning rules in many districts.
The biggest obstacle to this kind of progress is the “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) mindset. These are often loud, passionate voices that oppose any new development near their homes. Zenger admits he takes a lot of shots from these groups, but he is convinced that confronting this issue head-on is the right thing to do for the state’s future.
Making real change happen in Raleigh requires political will and, just as importantly, political power. The makeup of the North Carolina House is critically essential. For pro-construction legislation to move forward, it is crucial to have a majority that understands the industry’s challenges.
Currently, supporters of these commonsense reforms are one vote short of a supermajority in the House. Zenger’s own seat in House District 74 is one of about a dozen key swing districts that will decide the balance of power. This means his race becomes a primary target for opposition groups.
He knows millions of dollars will be spent to defeat him, and that substantial financial support will be needed to compete. He stresses that he can only be effective if he is actually in office, and he can only be truly effective if his party is in the majority. He feels North Carolina is at a critical moment and has a golden opportunity to enact lasting, positive change for the construction industry and for homebuyers.
So, what can people in the industry do? The first and most crucial step is to get engaged. Zenger urges everyone to get to know their state representatives and senators in the General Assembly and find out who is friendly to the industry.
Once you have identified those allies, please support them. There are many ways to help. You can volunteer to work the polls on election day, host a meet-and-greet in your home, or help with a fundraiser.
In competitive swing districts like his, a candidate can’t raise all the money they need from within their own district. This is where support from groups like ABC Carolinas and other political action committees becomes so vital. Spreading the word is also powerful, so feel free to copy the article link and share it with your network.
He poses a powerful question to everyone. If you woke up the day after the election and the side for sensible reform lost, what would you wish you had done? Please do not wait until it is too late; now is the time to get involved and make your voice heard. You can learn more at his website, jeffzenger.com, or follow him on social media.
The dream of buying a home in North Carolina is becoming harder to reach, but the problem is not insurmountable. People like Jeff Zenger are fighting to bring firsthand knowledge and practical solutions to the table. His work shows that experience on a construction site can be just as valuable as experience in a law office for crafting effective policy.
By challenging outdated regulations and championing smart growth, Representative Jeff Zenger’s work in North Carolina aims to build a future where a new generation can lay down roots. His efforts provide a strong voice for builders, contractors, and aspiring homeowners alike.
He is working to ensure the American dream remains alive and well in the Tar Heel State. This involves reforming every part of the system, from development approvals to zoning regulations. The goal is to build a better North Carolina for everyone.
