During yesterday’s Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission’s regular work session, the group received a presentation from Dr. Yongqiang Chu, (Director of the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate and Childress Klein and distinguished Professor of Real Estate and Urban Economics, and Professor of Finance at the UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business.) Dr. Chu provided a condensed and updated version of his most recent report of the State of Housing in Charlotte. As has been repeatedly indicated in recent years, the data still supports the fact that housing prices continue to rise, and salaries are not catching up.
Jen Schuster, Executive Officer of the HBA of Greater Charlotte also provided additional data with up-to-date figures on the new home market within the region. Her presentation pointed to the mounting challenges faced by home seekers throughout the region. There appears to be a lot of construction activity but it isn’t anywhere near enough to catch up to the demand. Even after the arduous journey to approvals is complete, including those that are granted access to sewer and water, the problem appears to get worse. It is complicated further by many perimeter municipalities and counties in the region that continue to embrace “no growth” policies and seem unwilling to be accountable for their gross ignorance about constitutionally mandated property rights.
View the PowerPoint of the State of Housing update here.
View the PDF of the New Home Market Update here.
My Take: I don’t want to miss the opportunity to highlight a couple of items in the presentations referenced above. First, for those unaware, the Median Multiple figure equals the median sales price divided by the median household income. When we started working with the researchers at UNC Charlotte six years ago on the annual housing report, that ratio was just under 3.5 which meant our region was moderately unaffordable. A figure under 3 represents affordable and over 4 denotes unaffordable. Today the Charlotte region is at about 4.75 in what appears to be an all out sprint to 5. To put it in context, the well known unaffordable cities of Denver, Portland, and Sacramento all come in at about 6.
Here’s another staggering fact: In 2019, a household family income of just over $75,000 allowed you to qualify for the median sales price home. Today the number needed to qualify for a median priced home has nearly doubled to $147,979. We should understand our vacant developed lot supply is in many cases well below what is considered at an equilibrium of approximately 24 months. And we anticipate in counties like Cabarrus, Iredell, and Mecklenburg that we will likely see additional cost increases.
Until we can bump up the supply to meet our growing needs, these numbers will continue their dismal course.
We are sharing this important Legislative Update, forwarded to us from Pam Melton, VP of Advocacy for the NC REALTORS®. Of particular note, this document shares other important NCR bills advancing past crossover deadline such as Senate Bill 493 – Land Use Clarification and Changes. This bill eliminates extraterritorial jurisdiction in counties with a population of 50,000 or less. The changes would be phased in over two years.
My Take: We’re always pleased to forward reports of our NC REALTORS® moving forward the important job of advocacy. Although this report is packed with information about the current state of HB 765, we want you to know that parts of the bill continue to be promoted and will likely reappear in other legislation. So, all hope is not lost! We will keep you posted as it bumps its way through the legislative process.
FYI: In NC, “crossover” (which was May 8, 2025) refers to a self-imposed deadline for the General Assembly to consider legislation, a date by which a bill must pass through one chamber (either the House or Senate) to be eligible for consideration by the other chamber. If a bill doesn’t meet the crossover deadline, it’s generally considered dead for the current legislative session. However, there are ways to circumvent crossover, such as by using special rules or by leveraging the power of the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate. (ref: BPR News)
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