by Times Are Tough for Renters, Too
The Charlotte real estate market remains robust — and challenging. As inventory continues to decline and prices spiral up, the impact on the rental market has been significant. Nationwide, rents have grown more than 10% since early 2020.
Charlotte, which has seen steady economic vitality throughout the pandemic, has also seen higher-than-average demand for housing, which directly affects rent prices. In fact, the greater Charlotte area ranks 15th out of 50 metropolitan areas in apartment rental increases, reflecting a 16.4% rate of increase in rental costs.
However, we should point out that despite these increases, the average rent in Charlotte, $1,382, remains below the national average of $1,577. Also, other metropolitan areas in North Carolina have seen even higher increases than what we’ve seen here. For example, rents have climbed by 18.3% in Raleigh, putting that area at number 12 among the top 50 metropolitan areas. In Greensboro, rents have escalated by 19.2%, which places it at number 10.
The October real estate market update tells us we can expect to see both home prices and rent to continue their upward trend. As of October 31, the median sales price in the greater Charlotte region posted an increase of $45,000, or 15.5% over last year, to a new high of $335,000. The percent of original list price received nudged up, this month by 1.7%, to a total of 100.4%. Inventory, which has been a major challenge for home buyers, dropped by 37.3%, a decrease of 2,415 homes from October, 2020, leaving an inadequate 4,065 homes on the market. The red-hot intensity of home sales we’ve been seeing for several years shows no sign of abating, with the number of days on the market shrinking to 17, a decrease of 34.6% from last year.
These are the overall numbers for the greater Charlotte Metro area. For more detail, see the reports for Charlotte, Matthews, and Huntersville.
