Not only is Durham, North Carolina plagued by a tight housing supply and steadily increasing demand, but the situation is also unfolding at a time when there is local opposition to new housing and growing concern about the rental market. When the Durham Regional Association of REALTORS® (DRAR) recognized that the public wasn’t operating with all the necessary information, it created an engaging digital education campaign called ‘Durham Housing Facts’ to fill the gaps and help residents understand the impact of housing policy choices. A Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant from the REALTOR® Party is making it possible.
As DRAR’s consulting Government Affairs Director Jordan Forrest Streuli explains, “There’s a civically active community in Durham, engaged at City Council meetings, public work sessions, and online. What we found is that people weren’t equipped with complete or necessarily accurate data regarding both the rental and housing development ecosystems here, and there was no central, neutral, accessible platform to educate consumers about the issues affecting housing affordability.” What there was, she notes, were plenty of myths about the local rental market, and strong resistance not just to new housing developments, but also to infill and redevelopment projects; even the affordability measures that the city had been able to adopt, such as an Accessory Dwelling Unit pilot program, were met with skepticism.
DRAR responded by creating a steering committee of REALTOR® members, including property managers, to devise a solution. “We are lucky to have such a strong bench of resident professionals to advise us,” says Forrest Streuli, who credits David Smith, Wendell Bullard and Bert Woodall in particular, for the expertise that resulted in the Durham Housing Facts campaign.
Anchoring the effort is a bright new website whose concepts and content were carefully researched and developed by Forrest Streuli and DRAR’s communications consultant Robyn Mooring, with insights from the steering committee. It features clear explanations of issues from Durham’s zoning to its development timelines; a page addressing common myths surrounding local zoning, development, and rental matters; links to important resources; and an invitation to get involved and learn more. As engagement with the site grows, DRAR will be adding short videos of members and clients focusing on a handful of relevant topics.
Many of the visuals for the website were created using consumer-accessible AI tools. “Believe me,” says Forrest Streuli, “this isn’t within the normal skill set of a Government Affairs Director!” By keeping the website construction in-house, the lion’s share of the grant funding goes towards driving attention to the site. In advance of the official October launch, the website was unveiled to an enthusiastic audience of 75 DRAR members, and their feedback, including a recommendation to trim the amount of text, resulted in a tighter, even more engaging user experience.
As a consulting GAD, Forrest Streuli has helped secure a handful of Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grants just this year, and states that the process is simple and straight-forward: “The part that might be intimidating for first-timers is having to present the project to the board at NAR that oversees the program. But this is really more like a conversation, and each time, I’ve found it very helpful, as the feedback the board provides can help make any project better.”
To learn more about how the Durham Association of REALTORS® is helping to increase public understanding of local housing affordability factors, contact Government Affairs Director Jordan Forrest Streuli at jordan@th-ca.com or 704.794.5636; or Local Advocacy Director Maurice Brown at mbrown@ncrealtors.org or 336.501.4799.
To explore the website supported by NAR’s Consumer Advocacy Outreach Grant, visit: https://durhamhousingfacts.com/
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