Like most tourism-driven destinations across the country, Dare County’s housing market is characterized by housing units that are predominantly rented out by property owners on a weekly basis as vacation rentals—rather than as seasonal or year-round rentals to local residents—in order to maximize the return on their investment. 

While this method of renting residences on a weekly basis provides an ample supply of vacation rentals and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who serve as the lifeblood of Dare County’s economy, it has also resulted in a dwindling number of units that are available for members of the local workforce. 

Dare County officials recognize that this lack of housing for those who perform various duties that are essential to both residents and visitors has caused massive staffing shortages at businesses all along the Outer Banks. This includes everyone from servers, chefs, cashiers and retail clerks to police officers, firefighters, paramedics, teachers, healthcare workers and utility personnel—as well as dozens of professions in between.      

Without a sufficient supply of housing options available in Dare County, employers in both the public and private sectors will continue to experience difficulties when it comes to attracting and retaining employees—which ultimately poses a threat to the county’s economic sustainability. 

In an effort to provide housing options for both year-round and seasonal employees—and to prevent more people from being forced to relocate to other areas in order to secure a place to live—Dare County officials have been working diligently to find a solution to this ongoing issue.

To learn more about the progress that is currently underway in Dare County, click here to access the Housing Task Force webpage.