Two For Tuesday | July 18, 2023

1.  New Census Bureau Report offers complex statistics about home ownership.  Shows U.S. South and Midwest Ranking Highest in Rental Vacancies and Homeownership Rates

Comprehensive and detailed, this article that profiles owners and renters is a must read.  For those who are looking to rent their next home—and want to find something fast—the South and the Midwest regions of the United States might be their best bet.  Those regions have the highest rental vacancies in the nation, in part because they also have the highest homeownership rates, according to a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau.  Sample screen shots offer a glimpse!

The Bureau’s Home Vacancies and Homeownership report ranks the Midwest as having the nation’s highest homeownership rate (70.3%) in the first quarter of 2023, followed by the South (67.3%), Northeast (62.7%) and West (61.9%).  Compared a year ago, homeownership rates have not changed much; the largest gain was in the West (up 1.7%).

When comparing the regions by rental vacancy rates, the rankings remained much the same. Rental vacancy rates were higher in the South (8.3%) and Midwest (7.5%) than in the West (4.3%) and Northeast (4.1%).  The Bureau’s report Owning or Renting the American Dream goes on to illustrate the demographic profiles of owners and renters, based on its 2021 American Housing Survey.  It also examines trends and forecasts for new home sales, features and benefits.

My take:  Calling all nerds (yes, I will cop to being one as well) – this report is chock full of really interesting data and statistics.  Sure, a lot of the information probably reinforces what we already know, but the fact that the median monthly housing cost (including utilities) is only $16 more for owners versus renters surprised me a bit.  It also looks like the sweet spot for new homebuyers is now in the mid-thirties age group, higher than when I started to consider purchasing a home several decades ago.  

2.  New CLT UDO Recommendation Tool Introduced,  Your Participation in Area Planning Strongly Encouraged

Charlotte’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) has been in place for about a month and a half.  We are now seeing how some things made sense in the policy laboratory but not so much in the real world.  As such, it’s as important as ever to get engaged.  Here are two ways to do just that:

• In collaboration with, and at the request of City Staff, REBIC members have developed a UDO Change Request Form, (which is a fillable PDF form,) to assist Staff and Members of Council with reviewing suggested changes to the ordinance based on challenges identified in the field since the new rules became effective.  Specific examples and recommended language changes along with justification for the requested amendments should result in a more efficient process for obtaining clarity where necessary, and to accelerate the process of administrative as well as legislative changes.

• Community Area Planning Workshops continue to be held around the City and there is also a virtual option.  You are strongly urged to participate in these events as staff and elected officials need to hear from residents with background and knowledge of the real estate industry. 

Click here for the upcoming schedule of events.

My take:  If we want to make progress on needed changes, we need to demonstrate the need and justification for said modifications.  This tool should assist all parties with understanding the challenges and adopting a path forward.  Also, the workshops are an important venue to provide feedback on how our City grows over the course of the next few decades.  Don’t miss this opportunity!  

Rob Nanfelt
Executive Director, REBIC