Real Estate Rebound in Charlotte

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 CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte’s housing market has seen some dark days, but it looks like the sun is shining brightly again.

Sales, and prices, are up; but inventory is way down. And that means lots of frustration for buyers looking to get into the most desirable neighborhoods.

“People are just in a frenzy, trying to take care of their real estate needs at the moment,” says Charlotte realtor Mike Sposato.

It’s good to be a realtor in Charlotte again. But Mike Sposato with Carolina Realty Advisers says people looking to buy are frustrated.

“They’ll see something come on the market, and before they can even get to it, it’s under contract,” says Sposato.

There is lots of construction going on across the Queen City, but the bulk of that is apartments.   Residential inventory is the issue. New listings are down; especially in desired locations like South End, Uptown, NoDa, and Plaza Midwood.

“Finding a single family home, or a condo, that you can purchase is difficult,” says Sposato. “Which is why there’s so much pressure on the market right now.”

The Charlotte housing market is red hot right now. This is pretty much the rule: houses go on the market, but they don’t stay there for long. It’s a good time to be selling. A tough time to be a buyer.

“There’s a house about a thousand square feet up the street that went on the market a couple weekends ago for about $250-260,000,” says Joe Sweeney. “And it was gone in a matter of, I think the weekend.”

Sweeney and his family have been in in Plaza Midwood since 2006, watching homes get snatched up all around.

“Rented our house about a year and a half ago, temporarily, and we had folks trying to purchase as we were renting,” says Sweeney.

Sweeney is staying, but neighbor Ryan Deruby just sold his home after a few frantic weeks of showings.

“Gosh, like 40 to 45 times,” says Deruby. “Well, it was about two months.”

Deruby is a contractor who’s been in the neighborhood for 12 years, doubling the size of his house along the way.

Now he’s looking for more land and better schools, and the price he got for a coveted Plaza Midwood address will help him make the move. 

“You’ve always got to negotiate, but yeah, I think I’m pretty happy with the price I got for this house,” says Deruby.

A recent Redfin housing report says the number of properties for sale in Charlotte is at it’s lowest point in three years.