CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Good news for some people asking "Where's the money": New numbers show rent is finally cooling off in the Charlotte region.
Over the last few years, the region has seen high rent increases due to the high demand for housing. But that may no longer be the case.
Experts say the main reason rent is going down is all the new apartments and apartment construction across the Queen City. It's good news for renters who will be able to keep more money in their pockets.
“This is the first time we’ve seen declines like this really since the recession in 2009, 2010," Chuck McShane, CoStar's Charlotte-based director of market analytics, said.
McShane said the shift in trends is because of supply and demand.
“More apartments have been opened, completed, in the last year than at any point in time," he said.
According to CoStar, the latest data shows so far in 2023, 7,417 apartments have been filled, but there have been 12,039 new apartment units delivered. The increase in vacant apartment levels has apartment owners dropping the price of rent, which means at times new buildings are having to offer perks.
“More competition means you’re going to offer more concessions, so you're seeing a few months of free rent," McShane said. “Before tenants, renters were having to compete for spots -- now landlords and property owners are having to compete for renters."
CoStar's data shows the areas that saw the biggest decrease are South Park at 2.2%, Uptown at 3%, and South End at 4.6%.
While rents are down about $30 across the board when compared to this time last year, right now the average monthly rate is still around $1,559. It's still not at pre-pandemic levels when the average was $1,271 in 2019.
“The interesting thing about Charlotte, the fundamentals of job creation, a great place to live and it still being affordable compared to a lot of other markets, are all in play,” James LaBar, Charlotte Center City Partners' economic development director, said.
Looking ahead, supply should remain high through 2024, which will likely keep rents steady.
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“We still have many apartments in the pipeline to be delivered," LaBar said. "For South End and Uptown alone, there are more than 10,000 apartments in the pipeline."
McShane said because of economic challenges, there are fewer groundbreakings for apartments right now, which could mean less supply and possibly higher rents come late 2025 and 2026.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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