CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Homebuilding in the Charlotte region is not keeping up with the growing population, creating a lure for more outside competition.
According to the State of Housing in Charlotte report produced by the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate at UNC Charlotte in February, the region is adding new residents far faster than it is adding housing units. The region’s population grew at 2.03% per year since 2007, but the aggregate number of housing units has grown at just 1.34% per year.
[ [ALSO READ: How Charlotte rates for house flipping] ]
Such an imbalance is pushing up existing home prices and land prices on top of already escalating regulatory costs.
“Therein lies the opportunity for an agile developer,” says Sean Cooney, principal of Suncrest Real Estate & Land, a Phoenix-based developer that is launching its first two projects in the region.
Cooney scoured the market for the right deals for more than five years before landing Suncrest’s first two projects. After 18 months under contract on land in southern Gaston County and in Lancaster County, Suncrest’s projects are finally breaking ground.
The region faces some development challenges, but the strong market fundamentals of a diverse economy that’s adding jobs and residents has drawn in a number of homebuilders and developers based elsewhere.
Read more about how they've fared here.