📈 Prices Rising Faster Than Income Growth
• According to the 2025 State of Housing in Charlotte report, the median home price in the region rose from about $430,000 in 2024 to roughly $444,000 in 2025. A family now needs an income of around $146,000 to afford a median-priced home, well above the actual median household income (~$80,000) — making ownership out of reach for many residents.
• Only ~1.9% of homes sold for under $150,000 in 2025 and about 18–19% under $300,000, a dramatic drop from several years ago, meaning fewer truly affordable starter homes are available.
📉 Affordability Not Keeping Up With Demand
• Rapid population growth (tens of thousands of new residents annually) continues to put upward pressure on housing demand and prices.
• Even with a recent uptick in housing supply, experts warn that construction — particularly of truly affordable units — will slow, risking renewed scarcity.
🏘️ Structural Barriers Worsen Sustainability
• Outdated land-use rules and zoning that historically favor single-family homes over diverse housing types limit the number of affordable units that can be built, slowing the ability of the market to adjust.
• Institutional and private equity ownership of single-family rentals is high in Charlotte, meaning more homes are owned by large corporate landlords rather than owner-occupants — a trend linked nationally to less affordable rental markets and reduced local ownership opportunities.
• Local debates over infrastructure and development investments — including transportation projects — have raised concerns that these could increase costs and displace existing residents, further threatening affordability.
🧩 Broader Implications
Taken together, this suggests that while Charlotte’s housing market remains active, affordability is not sustainable for many local residents under current conditions. Home price growth outpaces incomes, the supply of lower-cost homes is shrinking, and policy and land-use practices have yet to deliver the kinds of housing mix and volume needed to serve working households.
If you want, I can pull in policy recommendations (e.g., zoning reform or subsidy ideas) that researchers and advocates are proposing to help make Charlotte’s housing market more sustainable.
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