The Carolina Builder Conference, (formerly the 21st Century Expo and Conference), runs from August 31 to September 2, 2026. This show is a pivotal event for the Home Building and Development community and presents a great opportunity for education, networking, and forecasting.
This morning’s Housing Summit Breakfast featured the well-respected Rob Dietz, NAHB’s Senior Economist who painted a not so rosy picture of the current state of the industry. Dietz pointed to stagnant interest rates, high inflation, and tariff policies as the main contributors to a difficult market.
On a positive note, the Charlotte MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) has cracked the top ten list in terms of largest single-family markets in the nation. Unfortunately, the unit count for July 2026 vs. July 2025 shows a nearly 30% drop off in number of permits.
When it comes to job growth since the pandemic, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina round out the top six states with the best numbers, with Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia occupying the bottom spots.
Rob mentioned the national annual growth rate of 2.1% was mediocre and pointed out that nearly 50% of that growth comes from data center investment and development. Material costs are up 7% in the last year with aluminum (40%) and copper (35%) leading the way. The regulatory cost of the average new home comes in at $131,734 or 26.4% of the total cost. This represents a 40% gain from 2021.
One last area of concern is the decreasing birth rate. Sometime between 2030 and 2032, and for the first time in the history of our country, we will have more deaths than births.
We will post the presentation slides on the REBIC website when they become available.
My Take: Although the presentation was sobering, it communicated an honest assessment of the facts.
Seeing the drop in birth rates, and the positive economic impact of data centers, all metrics should be digested factually and awaken our leaders to completely retool their ideas about how to keep the future growing.
During his presentation, Dietz emphasized the importance of productivity in the workplace. Today U.S. workers are 50% more productive than they were 30 years ago. That’s significant. If you break out those in the construction industry, workers are only 20% more productive than 30 years ago. Why the difference? Dietz points to the continued regulatory strain of executing the job of policy compliance. This takes more people out of the field where they are swinging hammers, and puts them in an office behind a computer screen. It will be in all of our best interests to move this data point to a more positive trajectory which would result in more Americans enjoying the achievement of homeownership. Let’s quit vilifying growth. Let’s stop governing with fear. We are confronting some serious challenges, but what a privilege it is to live in Charlotte, still a vibrant and growing part of the country. A place where opportunities are still very abundant.
Mecklenburg County is delighted to expand the availability of its updated, enhanced live remote inspections (LRI) process.
Live remote inspections are an optional service that Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement provides on qualifying residential inspections. Using this service, some residential inspections can be performed using video chat on the contractor’s phone or tablet. LRIs benefit our customers by allowing for faster inspection or re-inspection completion, and in some cases, can eliminate the need for a homeowner to stay home to provide access for the inspector.
Live remote inspections may be used, but are not required, for the following residential inspection types:
Sewer and water trenches up to 100 feet in length
Shower pan inspections – rough plumbing and building insulation if exterior wall is opened and insulation is needed
HVAC changeouts (no new duct work)
Water heater changeouts (including tankless water heaters)
Sheathing inspections
Trenches for gas piping – outdoor work for generators, fire pits, gas grills, etc.
Re-roofing
Underground electrical trench work – generator trenches, outdoor buildings, etc.
EV chargers (up to 50 feet of piping)
Plumbing backflow inspections
Re-inspections with no more than four issues that do no impact life safety – foundations, slabs, building framing, insulation, rough-in plumbing or mechanical, plumbing, mechanical or building finals.
NOTE: The preceding are available for LRIs as re-inspections only, not first-time inspections. No additional work can be inspected for the LRI that was not previously in scope. LRIs are not available for commercial work at this time.
Customers have two options for obtaining an LRI:
Scheduled Live Remote Inspections: For contractors who anticipate they would like to use remote inspections and are able to schedule it in advance.
On-Demand Live-Remote Inspections: For contractors seeking a quick turnaround on an eligible inspection. This is particularly useful for projects with a short lead time or where there is a need to minimize the homeowner wait. On-Demand LRIs are generally available from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on days our office is open (most weekdays, barring holidays or inclement weather). Availability of on-demand inspections may fluctuate, however, depending on request volume and staffing levels.
Contractors can request an LRI similarly to how they would request a traditional inspection, through AccelaMeck. We utilize a software called VuSpex to allow these inspections to be conducted and the results to appear in AccelaMeck alongside any other inspections that have been resulted, so all the project information remains in one place. This means that the customer will need to create a free VuSpex login to schedule an LRI.
When the inspection time arrives, the contractor will receive a link via text to join the video chat. If cellular signal is weak, connecting to a Wi-Fi network, if available, may provide a better experience. Shortly after the conclusion of the LRI, the inspection results will appear alongside any other inspections for that permit in AccelaMeck.
We have created a dedicated LRI webpage and a step-by-step guide for customers on requesting a live remote inspection using AccelaMeck.
My Take: We are pleased Mecklenburg County is rolling out an expanded version of its live remote inspections (LRI) program and hope this assists in getting folks through the process more efficiently. This is one of several enhancements the County has brought forward in the past several months. Having said that, we are still actively working toward encouraging the County to make the necessary changes that would result in a better customer experience. For those of you who find yourselves enveloped within the “hold doom loop” that results from County/City software integration failures, you know exactly what I mean.
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