How Long do Homeowners Stay in Their Homes in Charlotte NC?

Charlotte Homeownership Tenure Has Increased

Past data historically shows that most Charlotte residents lived in their homes for 4-5 years. With Charlotte being such a large financial, technology and healthcare city, those jobs tend to involve more relocation needs than others. Hence, the transient nature of Charlotte’s population.

However, The Great Recession changed all of that! Those fortunate enough to maintain employment during the recession were absolutely not interested in selling their homes – at all! This went on for 4+ solid years. Imagine living in a home too small or too large for you for that amount of time.

Hence, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) historical data on the median tenure of homeownership (same home) has changed dramatically. As the graph below shows, over the last twenty years (1985-2008), the median tenure (nationally) averaged six years. However, since 2014, that average is almost ten years – an increase of almost 50%.

Why the dramatic increase?

While Charlotte’s average is probably two to three years less than the national average, we are still seeing a considerable increase. The fall in home prices during the housing crisis left many homeowners in a negative equity situation (where their home was worth less than the mortgage on the property). Also, the uncertainty of the economy made some homeowners much more fiscally conservative about making a move so, ‘staying put’ was their best option.

With home prices rising dramatically over the last several years, that negative equity has turned to 95.3% of homes with a mortgage, now being in a positive equity situation, according to CoreLogic.

With a much improved economy and wages on the rise, many Charlotte homeowners are in a much better financial situation than they were just a few short years ago.

One other reason for the increase was brought to light by NAR in their 2018 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report. According to the report,

“Sellers 37 years and younger stayed in their home for six years…”

Homeowners, who are either looking for more space to accommodate their growing households or for better school districts to do the same, are likely to move more often (compared to typical sellers who stayed in their homes for 10 years). The homeownership rate among younger buyers, however, has still not caught up to previous generations either.

The Bottom Line

In Charlotte, a large portion of homeowners are not in a house that is best for their current circumstances. Whether it be baby boomers living in an empty, four-bedroom colonial, or a millennial couple living in a one-bedroom condo, planning to ‘grow’ their household.

These Charlotte homeowners are ready to make a move but, with the lack of housing inventory, they are facing a major challenge in the current housing market. When inventory begins to rise, we will likely see homebuyers taking the plunge.