Data Shows Investors Are Buying Up Homes In Droves For Single-Family Rentals In CLT

CHARLOTTE, NC. — In January, Kati Bartik started looking for a house in Charlotte. Putting offers in on four, being outbid every time. In May, she decided her best bet—wait it out and rent for a year. She is the family member of a WCCB employee.

“It’s very frustrating when kind of the bigger guys have that cash on hand, like full cash to pay for the full asking price,” Bartik says.

Investors are contributing to inventory shortages in 31 of the top 50 largest metropolitan areas, according to Realtor.com. Charlotte ranked as the second most impacted metro area in the country, where investors took 287 homes off the market in April alone. Less supply and hefty demand drive home prices up. The median home sale price for July in Charlotte rose to $389,000. George Ratiu is a senior economist with Realtor.com. He anticipates investor interest to slow down as the market normalizes.

“There is good news on the horizon, price growth remains higher than a year ago, but it is slowing.

At the same time, new inventory is bringing more options in terms of homes for people looking,” says Ratiu.

New listings are up 6.4% in Charlotte, according to Realtor.com.

“Demand remains strong, but with increasing supply, price pressures are beginning to ease back. That’s fantastic news for buyers.”