On Oct. 21, 2021, ULI Charlotte hosted Coffee Talk: Housing Attainability and Economic Development – What’s The Tipping Point? The event was both in person at the Terrace at Cedar Hill and virtually. The program addressed how rising housing and rental prices are impacting the local Charlotte economy, our ability to attract businesses and their employees, and how we are planning for the future.  

Speakers included Shaun McCutcheon, Vice President of Advisory at Zonda; Christopher Ptomey, Executive Director at the Terwilliger Center for Housing at ULI; and Fran West, Economic Development Assistant Director for the City of Charlotte. 

Here are some key takeaways from the panel: 

• Housing affordability at all income levels is an issue across the country and has been exacerbated by the pandemic. 
• High housing costs threaten to worsen racial and economic disparities. 
• Compared to its peer cities of Atlanta, Austin, Nashville, and Raleigh, Charlotte is doing better or the same for affordability at all income ranges. 

• Charlotte’s household growth and employment growth dropped in 2020 but came back in 2021; median income dropped in 2021 as more low-income employees came back to the workforce. 
• Charlotte home sales and prices increased significantly in 2020 and 2021 and are expected to stabilize as interest rates go up. 
• Single-family building permits spiked in 2020 but builders have had challenges in executing due to supply and labor issues.  
• Homebuilders are delivering more affordable products in outlying areas. 
• Multifamily rents spiked to an average of $1,300, a 16% year-over-year increase, and occupancy levels are high. 

• Housing prices, both for sale and for rent, are an essential part of Charlotte’s growth and ability to attract new businesses and jobs. 
• Charlotte is more affordable than most large cities in the West and Northeast, which is still attractive to many businesses and workers looking to relocate here.  
• Housing demand is exceeding supply, so we need to find ways to increase production of housing.  
• There is a significant lack of housing at the low-income level but also for middle-income housing, in the $200,000 to $250,000 range.  
• Single-family-for-rent is growing rapidly and can provide opportunities for unsubsidized housing in the middle-income range, but they are also competing for land with other home builders.   

• Charlotte and other cities need to think about how to make better use of land through zoning changes, regulatory changes, parking requirements, and increased density. 
• Charlotte’s Unified Development Ordinance will address many of these issues, including increased density, bonuses for more affordable units, and more variety of housing types. All attendees were encouraged to look at the UDO and provide comments and feedback.  More information at https://charlottenc.gov/charlottefuture/pages/default.aspx/.  
• Investment in infrastructure is key to creating more attainable housing and should be a regional conversation – not just within the city.  

Overall, Charlotte has a bright future and is addressing the need for housing through proper planning. Thank you to our panelists and all our attendees, both in-person and virtual.  A recording of the program will be available on https://knowledge.uli.org.   

Resource:  Housing Attainability Index – https://americas.uli.org/2021-home-attainability-index/  

Notes provided by Angela Vogel Daley, Director of Strategy for Yellow Duck Marketing.