At the end of 2021, data from Realtor.com pegged Charlotte, North Carolina as number 15 among the nation’s hottest markets for 2022; at the same time, Zillow placed it at number 5 on its top markets list for 2022, and the Charlotte real estate market has delivered on those predictions.
Real estate experts have high expectations for the city’s future. A recent report on trends in real estate, written by the consulting firm PwC and the Urban Land Institute and based on the insights of more than 1,600 professionals, praised Charlotte as a “magnet” among “18-hour cities,” so named for having a downtown that is active outside of the working hours of 9 to 5.
The PwC report rated it number 6 in the country for overall real estate prospects and number 7 in the country for homebuilding prospects, making it a promising market for real estate investors.
In the short term, there is an apparent slump, when comparing 2022 numbers to the anomalous numbers in 2021. Mortgage rates are now above 6 percent from their recent historical lows of around 3 percent, and markets are slowing in the short term. Home closings and pending contracts dropped year-over-year for an 11th straight month in November, according to a report from the Canopy Realtor Association.
But listing and sale prices are up year-over-year:
As of November 2022, the median listing home price was $405,000, up 8 percent year-over-year, according to Realtor.com.
The median sold home price was $394,000 in October, up 8.9 percent from the previous year, according to Realtor.com.
Median days on market was 55, up from 40 a year prior.
The long view for the Charlotte real estate market sees demand increasing.
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance predicts the city will grow by some 50 percent in the next 30 years, to about 4.5 million, by 2030. As it is, officials say 100 people are moving to the city every day, and they are all looking for housing.
A favorable tax climate, and big city amenities
Flickr/formulaone
In the decade before the pandemic, a favorable corporate tax environment was already drawing companies to Charlotte, with their workers following, making investment properties a solid bet. Those employees have found “reasonable” real estate taxes, and state taxes that are “middle of the pack,” according to U.S. News and World Report.
They are finding amenities associated with bigger cities. There’s a good airport, NBA and NFL teams to root for, and several top-notch museums, and, unlike most other Southern cities, they experience all four seasons.
Aside from the expected barbecue and “meat and three” joints, Charlotte has the full panoply of international cuisine, including Asian, Latin, Italian, Ethiopian, French, New American, etc.
Locals rave about restaurants like River’s Edge, with its “breathtaking” river views; Haberdish, which updates Southern classics; and Amélie's French Bakery & Café, where they can enjoy “eclectic” decor and pastries inspired by Gallic classics.
Housing costs are in line with smaller markets. And the growth hasn’t caused some of the problems it can often bring, like the major traffic that plagues other cities.
Renters play a big role in the Charlotte market
In Charlotte, renter-occupied households make up 35 percent of the single-family housing stock, so there is plenty of demand for rental properties, creating opportunities for real estate investors. The city’s demographics are attractive as well.
Charlotte is the number one city in the country attracting millennials, because it’s one of the largest drivers for financial services.
Charlotte is the country’s second-largest financial center; Bank of America and Wells Fargo are among the city’s top employers.
Companies that would previously have been based in Manhattan are now moving bankers who are in years one to five of their careers to Charlotte because of the city’s affordability.
Millennials are the population most likely to be renters, and demand has pushed up the prices of rental properties. Those junior bankers find their money goes much further than in places that previously held a monopoly on the financial industry.
“You can pay half the price you pay in New York or New Jersey to get a home twice the size,” says Yongqiang Chu, director of the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate at the Belk College of Business at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “So the quality of life is much higher.” The prominence of financial institutions in Charlotte translates into reliable returns, and low vacancy rates, for property owners.
In environments of rising interest rates and high inflation, cities with healthy financial markets make strong real estate markets, because banks do very well in that climate.
Being such a prominent center of finance, says Chu, “Fintech locating here makes a lot of sense. This will have a big impact on the local business environment.”
All the same, future growth is not expected to be at stratospheric levels, but rather at the steady pace that ensures growth without major corrections to come.
Cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, and Atlanta offer very balanced returns for investors.
Tech sector lagged, but is picking up
It’s true that more rapid development of the tech industry (which has driven prices in places like Austin through the roof) may be hampered because the higher education offerings of the Charlotte region, notable as they are, suffer a bit by comparison with the area a couple of hours’ drive to the east.
There, the “Research Triangle,” made up of the tri-city Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, is home to North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina respectively.
Chu puts the city’s failure to attract Amazon headquarters a few years back, despite what local honchos called an “aggressive” bid, partly down to the lackluster tech qualifications among the area’s college graduates.
All the same, employment in the technology sector is growing in Charlotte, with Amazon opening a third fulfillment center here soon, promising hundreds of jobs. With fintech following big finance to Charlotte, the region’s tech talent labor pool grew by nearly a third between 2016 and 2020 — the fifth-largest increase among the top U.S. markets, according to commercial real estate services firm CBRE.
Biotech manufacturer Hydromer recently moved its corporate headquarters to the metro area. And the city is supported by a diverse economy that includes seven Fortune 500 companies: besides Bank of America, there’s Honeywell, Nucor, Lowe’s, Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive, and Brighthouse Financial.
What’s more, Charlotte is likely to become only more appealing as the city implements its comprehensive plan, which states: “All Charlotte households will have access to essential amenities, goods, and services within a comfortable, tree-shaded 10-minute walk, bike, or transit trip by 2040.”
One local magazine points out that a handful of districts, including Eastover, Commonwealth, and the Arboretum, are well on their way to being “10-minute neighborhoods.”
Gold, railroads and civil rights progress
America’s first gold rush started here in 1799; some locals still pan for gold in area streams. The city touts itself as a prime example of the “New South,” and played an early role in the Civil Rights movement.
Initially settled by the Catawba Native Americans, Charlotte is organized around the Nations Path, a major Native American trading route, rather than the North-South orientation of most colonial-era cities. (Its “uptown,” as a result, is named not for its placement, but rather for its elevation.)
The so-called Queen City was named for the wife of King George III before the Revolution, but it rose up against England even before the Declaration of Independence. One British general described it as “a hornet’s nest of rebellion,” and it still proudly bears the nickname “the hornet’s nest” (lending a name to its NBA team, the Hornets).
Its first boom was as a post-Civil War cotton processing center, and its second happened with the foundation of a major railroad in 1852, around the time that regional leaders started to talk of a “New South.”
Colleges were founded to serve the city, including the historically black Johnson C. Smith University, Queens College and Davidson College, later joined by UNC Charlotte. (With over 30 institutions of higher education in the city or within 50 miles, it is today one of the biggest school districts in the Southeast.) Its third growth spurt came with a military base during World War I.
In contrast with North Carolina’s history as a Confederate state in the Civil War, in the 1960s Charlotte was the site of the one of the largest sit-ins in the South, organized by Smith University students. In 1963 — a year before the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed — the mayor welcomed demands for integration while other cities were responding with fire hoses and police dogs.
A banking center, and home to a diverse population
Cultural offerings in Charlotte range from the NASCAR Hall of Fame to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, both of which draw scores of annual visitors. (Credit: Getty Images)
Charlotte’s role as a financial center dates back to the 1970s. In the 1990s, Bank of America became the first coast-to-coast bank when a local financier bought it and moved to the Queen City, making it second only to New York as a banking town, a ranking it has maintained ever since.
A major Latino influx started in the 1990s, diversifying Charlotte along with smaller communities of Vietnamese, Chinese, Italians and others. In the decade starting in 2004, the metro area was the fastest-growing in the U.S., hitting a million residents.
With a population of about 2.7 million, the Charlotte metropolitan area is now the 22nd-most-populous in the U.S. For recreation, those millions enjoy North and South Carolina’s sandy beaches and the nearby Smoky Mountains. The city’s sports offerings include NASCAR races on the organization’s longest track as well as the NFL’s Carolina Panthers (along with the NBA’s Hornets).
Cultural offerings range from the NASCAR Hall of Fame to the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, housed in a building designed by postmodern star Mario Botta and — an unusual one — the Museum of the Alphabet, studying thousands of years’ worth of writing systems.
Charlotte’s relative affordability, along with its high quality of life, and its broad and hardy economic base, create a solid foundation for a healthy Charlotte real estate market, so expectations are that it will continue to entice residents, and real estate investors who will cater to them.
