CHARLOTTE, N.C. — UNC Charlotte’s Childress Klein Center for Real Estate has released its 2020 State of Housing in Charlotte Report. 

The report revealed that housing demand is strong in the Charlotte region, but the supply is limited. According to CKCRE Director and Distinguished Professor Dr. Yongqiang Chu, this trend is causing prices to increase. 

Dr. Chu says the increase in price has been more noticeable in lowered price homes. For example, a home priced at $48,990 in 2011 jumped in price to $145,000 in 2019. The report also reveals a household earning $65,000 a year can only comfortably afford 36 percent of the homes currently on the market.

“The Charlotte region has long benefitted from having good quality and relatively inexpensive housing,” Dr. Chu said. “However, there are several real challenges to maintaining that advantage, especially in areas of housing affordability. Through our data-driven report, our aim is to bring these issues to light, as they will take regional coordination to address.”

The purpose of the research is to present the housing trends to the public and policymakers to create awareness. The report aims to be the starting point to address housing problems. 

Researchers looked at proprietary and public data in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, and Lincoln Counties. They also analyzed data from Lancaster and York Counties in South Carolina. 

Abigail Voorhees, and agent with Millennial Realty, says she has experienced first-hand some of the findings of the report. 

“We definitely don’t have enough inventory to keep up with the demand. It’s such an amazing city and everybody wants to move here,” Voorhees said. 

She says due to the low inventory most homes receive multiple offers. 

“Even though we’ve put in full price offers and sometimes over asking price offers, it doesn’t necessarily mean that is going to be accepted. If somebody is a cash buyer, most people are going to want cash,” Voorhees said.

Voorhees helped Andrew and Sarah Haylett search for their first home. 

“Searching for a house in Charlotte was daunting to say the least. There were a lot of neighborhoods. There was low inventory and as first-time homebuyers, it was difficult to navigate through not only buying a home for the first time but also the numbers that were going on each house and inflated selling prices,” Sarah said. 

The couple put in offers for three homes, which were not accepted. The newlyweds later put an offer on their current home immediately after the showing. 

“They had other showings that night. We really didn’t want them to show it to other people because I believe we were the first couple to see it. It was really our goal to close the deal before someone could come in and outbid us or offer an all cash offer,” Sarah said. 

With the help of Voorhees, the couple was able to purchase the home below asking price. 

According to the report, in July the Charlotte region had the largest number of sales ever compared to the housing booming years of 2006 and 2007.

The report also touched on rent prices in the Charlotte area. This is the second year the report has been released.