WCNC Charlotte This is Flashpoint where
power and politics collide and e
tough questions get asked and answered.
Thanks for joining us here on Flashpoint.
I'm Ben Thompson.
Well, it is no secret Charlottes
exploding with growth between nw
businesses and dozens of people moving
to the Queen City every single .
Everybody's just working to kee.
In fact, a new report found that
Charlotte is facing a housing
crisis as it works to build up
supply to meet the growing dema.
In a moment,
we're going to dig into the businesses
helping bring thousands to the .
But first,
joining us now is Tiffany Johan.
She is the president of Canopy Realtor
Association, based here in Charlotte.
Tiffany,
thanks for coming on Flashpoint.
We appreciate it.
Thank you so much for having me,
Ben. I appreciate being here.
Of course we are now in traditionally
one of the busiest times of ther
summer for for your profession Realtors.
So what is the market looking
like right now here in Charlott?
It does it is it as hot as it s?
It is pretty hot right now.
We're not seeing what we saw
last year and the year before,
but this year we're seeing more
of a normalized market out there
and earlier this year I know Ziw
had predicted that Charlotte would be.
This year's hottest real estate market,
is that coming to fruition?
I would say that we're not quite
the hottest real estate market
out there because when you look
at what's happened over the last
couple of years, it's different.
But we are in the top eight
markets in the country right now
when you look at where people ae
moving and where they want to b.
So we are a hot market from
across the country's perspective
and what. Distinguishes this yer
as opposed to say last year.
You compare the two earlier,
just more of a leveling out at this point.
Traveling out, we are starting
to see more days on the market,
but that is in perspective 43 ds
versus 14 to 20 days last year.
So homes are on the market a
little bit longer and sellers
have to look at their price poi.
They need to look at the conditn
of their home and be ready to g.
We still are seeing some multiple offers
and when you look at price comparison,
we were getting over asking this
time last year and we're probaby
at about 98% on average across
our markets in Charlotte today.
So in this market sellers I
assume still have the upper han.
What, what, what does that meanr
for buyers and more importantly
what does that mean for the
the prices of homes. Right now
the prices of homes have
really flattened out.
We're not seeing a ton of decli,
but we are seeing basically a ft
line over the last few months wn
you look at month over month sa.
We also are seeing buyers have a
little more opportunity to get
out there and look at more homes
before they make a decision.
It's not that I have to make a
decision in four hours mode that
we were in this time last year.
So buyers do have a bit of an opportunity
and we're seeing more new construction.
I think we were up 20% in new
home starts and so that was a
huge piece when you look at.
What you need to continue to expand the
listings that we have on the ta.
We also really need more sellero
look at putting their houses one
market to meet that demand of the buyer.
So there's still just not
enough inventory there.
There needs to be more houses
out there. People are selling.
Yes, we definitely need more inventory.
And when you look at it
from a buyer's perspective,
rents are still incredibly high.
It's almost about the same as iu
were had your mortgage and traditionally.
As a renter, you're not building
wealth and creating generational
wealth like you would as a homeowner.
So we're all talking to renters to say,
hey, let's talk about how we can get you
into a home that makes sense for you,
that makes a strategy that's
going to work for you long term,
not just that short term approa.
Even with the interest rates to,
you can get into a home and rent
a rate and refinance as the rats
go down over the next 18 months,
help our viewers be a little bit smarter.
What would you recommend?
What do we think? What part of ?
Right now gets you the best
return on your investment.
What neighborhood?
There's really not one neighbor.
There are a lot of great options from
new construction and basically renewing
communities to also on the outer skirts.
You've got a lot of great deals.
As you go into Fort Mill and into the
South Carolina markets and around the edge,
so if you're looking for affordability,
it's probably around the edge of Charlotte
and in Charlotte still is an incredibly
hot market and the prices are going over
asking and a lot of scenarios t.
You mentioned Fort Mill
outside of Mecklenburg County.
Let me drill down on that a
little bit more where you seen
that the biggest sort of demand
outside of Mecklenburg County.
We are seeing it up in Iredell County.
We're seeing it in Concord,
Cabarrus area, York County,
Fort Mill, Indian Land,
Union County and anywhere from
Indian Trail to Monroe to Waxha.
You're definitely seeing more and more
people look at pricing in those areas.
I I know where the big problems is comes
to affordability and affordable housing.
A new report shows Charlotte
is short nearly 18,000 homes.
What I know this you talk to ciy
leaders and they say that this s
the biggest issue we face as as
as a city from your standpoint,
you know in your industry what's
it going to take to fill that g?
It's really going to take gettig
interest rates back down.
We probably need to see around %
for at least 12 months to see te
inventory start to rise and for.
Leaders in our community and acs
the state to look at regulations that
will help builders build more aa
more economical price and of coe
accelerate accessory dwelling u,
things like that,
that are going to provide more opportunity
for affordability in our commun.
As we start the second-half of this year,
do you expect the current trends to continue?
Where do you expect this housing market
to go in the in the months to c?
I don't think we're going to see
a whole lot of change because I
don't see the interest rates fag
drastically or getting into the
5% range for probably until 202.
So I think we're going to pet hr
along like we have been moving forward
with supply and demand being an issue.
We have buyers out there looking for the
right home sellers wanting to stay put.
But I think when we look at the
economy and we look at housing prices,
we're not going to see any drasc
drops and we're not going to see
any numbers really appreciatingh
higher than what we're seeing t.
You mentioned lawmakers and
legislators and what they can d.
They they often watch
this program on occasion.
What what would you say to them
from your vantage point could
help When it comes to housing
here in the Charlotte area,
there are a number of pieces of
legislation that are out there
today and a number of pieces tht
are in front of our city today.
Let's continue to find ways to .
Mindful of affordable housing,
whether it's from the developmet
standpoint or the consumer standpoint,
so that we all have a fair playing field,
so we can build generational weh
in our community by homeownersh.
All right.
Tiffany Johannes,
president of Canopy Realtor
Association here in Charlotte.
Tiffany, thanks for coming on.
We appreciate it.
Thank you so much, Ben.
Appreciate the opportunity. All right,
more flashpoint after this.