Rated in the Top 20 Places to Live in the USA, Charlotte, North Carolina, is Ripe for Investment
A survey by U.S. News & World Report earlier this year ranked metropolitan cities by their quality of life, cost of living, job prospects and property values.
Charlotte, the most populous city in North Carolina, came out 15th on the list – an impressive achievement considering the competition.
The high ranking has echoed the city’s thriving property market, where house prices have encountered a steady rise overall throughout the current decade.
Living in Charlotte
Miriam Weiner, product manager of Real Estate at U.S. News, notes:
“The Best Places to Live ranking accounts for the most important concerns people have about where to live, such as cost of living, employment opportunities and access to good schools…
Top-ranked areas not only have steady job markets, but they also have attributes that contribute to a high quality of life – affordability, low crime rates, shorter commute times and quality health care.”
Seeing as Charlotte performed so well in the rankings, this shows how its inhabitants are happy with the general standard of living and their prospects for the future.
As a prospective investor, it pays to find areas with a strong local economy and high employment rates. This both guarantees you’ll have enquiries for your property, as well as assured rental income should you decide to let.
Charlotte, with its vibrant banking sector, offers a fantastic opportunity in this regard. It encompasses the second largest financial centre in the U.S, only behind New York, and an increasing number of foreign companies seeking investment. This in turn leads to higher mortgage approval rates and more confidence in the property market overall.
Charlotte Property Market
The Vice-President of real estate analytics company RealtyTrac, Daren Blomquist, is confident Charlotte is a safe bet when it comes to an investment:
“All the data we look at indicates Charlotte is in the midst of a housing boom that is strong, but not too strong, which means it is sustainable and will continue through 2016, at least.”
This view is backed up by the President of Allen Tate Co, Pat Riley, who concludes that the path of sustainable growth from 2016 will continue next year.
Price appreciation at a steady rate means that houses remain affordable for the average earner and thus encourages activity in the market. Combined with robust employment figures and increasing economic investment, this makes acquiring property in Charlotte a wise move for long-term investors.
As the largest city in North Carolina, your options for investment across the state are substantial. In one area in particular, around the West Boulevard-Freedom Drive intersect, house prices increased by an impressive 70% within the last year but still remain at a median of around $110,000.
This is highly attractive for investors looking to make their money stretch further. Combined with the fact Charlotte is thriving socially and economically, as shown with the U.S. News & World Report survey, there’s no reason why the city’s property market won’t continue to perform well into 2017.
