| Scope The housing section covers housing units and types, home ownership, residential construction, home sales and apartment rents. Regional Context Until recently, housing patterns in the region fell into a few traditional categories: detached single-family subdivisions, apartment complexes, and mobile homes. New construction was focused on the suburban fringe of growing cities and towns. Public housing was concentrated in “projects.” Affordable housing consisted of basic apartments, or starter homes in older decaying neighborhoods or in near-rural subdivisions where land prices were low. As the region has grown in population and in demographic diversity, and as land prices have risen, the housing market has responded with a widening array of housing patterns and choices. In Mecklenburg, the most urban county, these include attached single-family townhomes, mid- and high-rise condos and apartments, lofts, live-work units and more. Gentrification has occurred in some older “inner ring” neighborhoods, and residential in-fill development is increasingly common. In cities and urbanizing counties elsewhere in the region, similar housing diversification changes are underway. New housing developments in Concord, Gastonia, Rock Hill, Salisbury and other small cities reflect this trend. In Charlotte, mixed-income developments including a mix of subsidized and market rate housing units have been introduced in the city’s First Ward, inside the I-277 loop. Housing that is affordable for teachers, police and firefighters is in increasingly short supply. Housing Charlotte 2007 was an initiative to find new solutions to address this growing problem. There is an interactive relationship between housing and the economy. If the economy turns up or down, the housing market may follow. Likewise, the housing market can have the same effect on the economy. However, the region’s housing markets have over the past two decades remained robust even in times of national economic downturn. Home values, and therefore property tax bases, have risen steadily and generally have out-performed the national rates of increase. During early 2007, almost every metropolitan area in the country except Charlotte experienced a slowdown in new home construction, according to the Charlotte Business Journal’s May 9 edition. Summary of Indicator Results The indicators suggest the region’s housing market remains strong and, at least through 2006, was insulated from the recent downturn in many markets across the country. From 2000 to 2005, the number of housing units in the region grew faster than the region’s population. Though new residential housing building permits decreased from 2000 to 2003, the number began to increase in 2004. From 2005 to 2006, the number of closings and new home sales rose, indicating a steady resilience in the housing market. However, as the housing market weakens across the country because of subprime lending problems and tighter mortgage requirements, the Charlotte region needs to keep a close watch on its market as well. In painting a picture of the regional housing market, the numbers show a majority of homes are owner occupied (nearly 70 percent) and that the majority of dwellings consist of single-family homes. Mecklenburg has the most multi-family housing of any county, while Chester has the most mobile homes of any county. With apartments, vacancy and rental rates have varied from 2000 through early 2007, depending on the supply and demand of available housing. In 2006, the last full year of data examined, Mecklenburg County had the highest vacancy and rental rates among the counties studied. Growing regions often face challenges in providing adequate affordable housing. The rising per capita number of housing units suggests that there is an increasing supply of housing. One indicator that warrants further monitoring is the measure of rental rates, as rising rents make housing more expensive for those who choose to rent their home. Missing and Future Indicators Because of time constraints, two indicators of interest that were not pursued were “Home Cost and Price Appreciation” and “Home Cost and Income.” The most accurate data for home cost would come from tax appraisers’ offices in the 14-county region. These indicators are targeted for future study. Another high priority indicator for the future is obtaining more complete data on home sales by county in the region. The Carolina Multiple Listing Service, owned by the Charlotte Regional Realtor® Association (CRRA), provides data for only seven of the 14 counties covered by this report. Reliable data for the missing counties were difficult to obtain. This report’s 14-county region does not match any other geographic footprint, such as the Metropolitan Statistical Area or other statistical areas. It also crosses state lines, which makes comparing county data difficult unless the data are available on a federal basis. The authors also would like to look at percentages of housing types and see how they change over time. Declines in mobile homes within rural areas may signify that those areas are becoming more urban and/or land prices are rising. Increases apartments in urban counties may signify a push for higher density development. Another useful indicator would be tracking the number of houses on the market at given times. Such information could suggest whether the market has an excess supply of housing or whether the supply is consistent with market conditions. |