By Will Boye – Charlotte Business Journal
The Charlotte market ranks No. 16 on a list of markets to watch in the 2014 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, released by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Charlotte ranked No. 17 last year and moved ahead of the Raleigh-Durham market, which slipped six spots this year to 17th.
The Charlotte branch of the ULI is presenting the report at a lunch event today. The report provides an outlook on real estate investment and development trends, real estate finance and capital markets, property sectors, metropolitan areas and other issues. The report is based on survey responses from more than 1,000 real estate professionals.
The rankings of markets to watch is based on how respondents view real estate prospects in each city for investment, development and homebuilding. In those three categories, Charlotte ranked 17th, 18th and 13th, respectively. Charlotte made the biggest jump in the homebuilding category, rising from 19th, or “fair,” last year to “good” this year.
“Growth next year will be faster as the large service sector, including professional and business services, expands consistently,” the report says of the Charlotte market. “Well above-average population growth bodes well for gains in health care, consumer industries, and housing. Charlotte will outperform the country as a whole in the near term.”
The report also notes Charlotte has the second-highest five-year projected growth in the age 20-34 population, or nearly 15%.
“That is an impressive number,” says Stephen Blank, a senior resident fellow for real estate finance at the ULI. “That is a number that gets people’s attention. It’s a great statement for the city.”
Among the markets to watch, Miami was the highest-ranked market in the South at No. 8, and Nashville, Tenn., came in at No. 12.
On the apartment front, Charlotte’s multifamily units under construction represent 6% of existing inventory, according to the report. That’s the third-highest behind Austin, Texas, and Raleigh-Durham, the report says.
“I think there’s some sentiment that if you build them, you should sell them and take advantage of the fact that there’s great demand,” Blank says. “Or you should be cautious, because there’s a lot going on in the market and maybe it can’t all be absorbed.”
You can read the full report here.
Leigh’s Note: And you KNOW we are always glad to outrank Raleigh! Go Charlotte!
