Charlotte Faces a Shortage of Affordable Housing

Did you know the Charlotte region faces a shortage of more than 30,000 rental homes affordable to lower-income households, particularly those earning below what is needed to compete in today’s housing market?

This gap reflects the growing challenge for many working residents, especially those in essential and service-sector jobs, who are increasingly priced out of available housing options.

At the same time, the cost of building new housing, particularly multifamily apartment communities, has increased significantly in recent years due to:

• Higher interest rates
• Rising construction and labor costs
• Regulatory and development requirements

While the region has seen a surge in new apartment deliveries in recent years, those projects were largely financed under very different economic conditions than those that developers face today.

Key takeaway:
Expanding housing supply remains one of the most effective ways to address affordability, but rising costs and policy barriers could make that more difficult in the near term.