Home values in urban Charlotte rose more than home values in the outlying, suburban areas of Charlotte last year.
Online real estate company Zillow reports that urban Charlotte home prices rose by 6.4%, while suburban prices were up just 6% over last year.
The trend, Zillow reports, is nationwide due to young professionals choosing living locations closer to jobs rather than settling down in the suburbs so early.
Nationally, suburban home values were up 5.9% in 2015, while urban homes gained 7.5%. In 1997, the trend was reversed and suburban growth outpaced urban, 4.1% to 3.8%, respectively, the report said.
“This trend, in part, reflects home buyers’ changing preferences, as they seek amenity-rich, dense and walkable areas that are often closer to their workplace,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “In the future, this lifestyle trend will change some suburbs as we know them, and they’ll start to feel more urban as buyers move further from city centers in search of affordable housing in communities that still feel urban.”
Young buyers are willing to trade space for convenience. That’s a good thing, because those larger, suburban homes are costing more than urban spaces right now. Zillow reports the median price of a home in the Charlotte suburbs is $186,922, while median price of an urban space is $170,506.
Construction is booming around Uptown right now, and the Chamber of Commerce just reported in its “New and Expanded Business” report released Jan. 29 that homes sales in 2015 increased 8.8% over year-ago figures.
“Pent-up demand” also pushed closing prices up 5.1%, according to the Chamber report.
There are more than 60 projects ranging from apartments, hotels, mixed-use, office space and residential towers going on around the Queen City, many of which are happening in Center City and will bring more people Uptown.
Follow the boom in the Charlotte Business Journal’s “Crane Watch” report and interactive map.
If you want to follow the trend and move Uptown, there are spectacular homes available in Skye, The Ratcliffe and 1 Brevard. There has never been a better time to live in Center City!