Innovations That Inspire
State of Housing in Charlotte
Innovation Statement:
The State of Housing in Charlotte report is a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the housing markets in the Charlotte region, as well as an overview of recent trends in the market.
Call to Action:
With the goal of documenting regional real estate marketplace events and trends, the Belk College of Business Childress Klein Center for Real Estate (CKCRE) developed the Housing Summit Series, based on the State of Housing in Charlotte research report. CKCRE is establishing a community environment where public policy, and its impact, can be more fully examined and positive outcomes can be accelerated.
The November 2018 City of Charlotte bond referendum opened the affordable housing discussion for the city and its residents. During this growing conversation around the issue of affordable housing, it became clear that data was needed to make informed decisions, therefore requiring specific research that provided answers to targeted questions.
Innovation Description:
CKCRE led an analysis of housing affordability across all income levels, including a comprehensive inventory of the current housing stock. The research team discovered that Charlotte has a shortage of upper-level housing (300,000+ USD), which leads people to purchase more middle-income homes (100,000–200,000 USD). The residents then demolish and renovate these structures into higher-level housing.
This innovative study approach and its results provide continuing motivation for ongoing research and community engagement. By researching and sharing these facts in a very community-centric methodology, the Belk College of Business is encouraging and enabling more informed decision-making in the marketplace.
Innovation Impact:
The State of Housing in Charlotte report has opened the eyes of policymakers in surrounding states such as Georgia, and created dialogue that will be useful in the future. Our expectation is that, if we produce this report in subsequent years, we will be able to augment the data we use to include new data sources and new metrics.
The community and public policymakers now have the data needed to fully evaluate options for Charlotte’s 100 million USD housing trust fund, enabling them to make more sound investments in the city’s housing infrastructure. These decisions and investments will have both immediate and longer-term implications for residents of Charlotte.
To share the information with the community, CKCRE created the Housing Summit Series with the inaugural summit on the State of Housing in Charlotte on February 21, 2019. This event examined the report and included a comprehensive inventory of the current housing stock, an analysis of housing affordability across all income levels, and a higher-level comparison of the Charlotte housing market.
After overwhelming support from the Charlotte community, the Charlotte Housing Policy Summit was held on April 24, 2019. This event addressed Charlotte's housing policy implications based on the analysis discussed in the report. This annual series will focus on the report, housing finance, and housing policy.