Why Buying A Home Now May Be Cheaper Than Renting In Charlotte, NC.

Everyday we all hear in the news about the housing market. The latest is that housing prices are starting to trickle in an upwards direction. All of the statistics out there show that Charlotte, NC. is rebounding with the rest of the nation in home prices. But, after all we just went through is now a good time to buy? or should you still rent? I was thinking of this the other day; as I have four buyers closing this month that all were renters prior to this purchase. Ironically, all four of them are moving into larger places than they are renting now and are going to be paying less a month than they were for their rent... All of the people I have been talking to have been in the same position with their rentals in the Charlotte, NC. market. The prices are going up substantially. It is a supply and demand market for housing and rentals. Currently the demand is higher than the supply. In three of the cases I have the apartment complex notified my buyer that they already had a new tenant waiting to move in and were working off a waiting list when asked if they would not raise the rent... That sparked them to begin the process of looking for a house now; versus later and seeing what they coudl afford out there compared to what they were paying in rent. They all were shocked at what they could buy and what they could get for the same or less than they were paying in rent currently. Interest rates are at a historic low and based on history should stay there for the remainder of the year with an election coming up. Affordability is high. You can purchase a lot more home than you thought for your money now than before because of interest rates being so low. Prices are starting to inch upwards. However; we are not seeing the giant gains in prices spike like we did just before the housing collapse. It has become more of a slow and steady increase since January. I think a big reason for that is the supply is down. The housing market has seen some tough years in Charlotte, NC. where you had your pick of the litter (so to speak) of homes to buy. There were a lot of foreclosures and short sales on the market and they dominated the housing market for the past couple of years. However; now it seems that resale homes are picking up momentum and new construction is seeing it's largest gains in over 4 years. I personally think with the economy improving and the housing market stabilizing more people are trying to hold onto their homes and renters are trying to get into homes as they are watching their rents go up year after year.... So, with rental prices climbing higher(according to a study rental prices in charlotte are up 9% from last year) than most anticipated and housing prices slowly starting to climb; NOW may be the time to consider buying a home in the Charlotte, NC. market. It may be cheaper for you to buy a home in Charlotte, NC. than to rent one..... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com