CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Renters on the hunt for a new home might feel a relief in their wallets as cities across North Carolina are seeing a drop in rent after years of increases.
Rent.com reports a 7% drop since the July peak of median prices of $1,839 in Charlotte, while Raleigh saw over 4% of a drop in the past year. Some renters in Charlotte have already used the changes to their advantage.
“I just wanted to explore different cities that I hadn’t lived in before,” Alyssa Brigulgio said.
After years of living in Florida, Brigulgio found herself moving to the Queen City.
“It took a lot of work to come to Charlotte and spend a lot of time looking at all the apartments and make sure I was picking the right one. For me, It was the kind of environment I wanted to be a part of when I was in Charlotte, so ultimately I ended up in South End,” Brigulgio said.
Brigulgio lives in the eighth fastest-growing submarket in the nation, and that’s reflected in the rent she pays.
“They were going to increase my rent by about $100 a month so that just didn’t seem very fair to me,” Brigulgio said.
Instead of looking for a new apartment, Brigulgio was able to negotiate a new lease to match the declining market rate.
“The one above me and directly below me are available and showing around 100 bucks less than what I’m paying right now for my lease. So I ended up emailing the leasing staff and calling them, but I just felt like it was very unfair that someone was being offered to move in $100 less than what I’m currently paying,” Brigulgio said.
The boom in construction and more apartments on the market are huge factors in driving these prices down.
According to data from real estate and property management software, Real Page, Charlotte has seen the construction of over 70,000 new apartments in the last decade, and Raleigh is expected to see a 50% growth in supply with over 18,000 new units just this year.
“I feel like people are getting paid more in general so it makes sense that things are on the rise. But it would be nice if they continue to go down and if I could pay less in rent,” Brigulgio said.
In the last year, Charlotte saw over 11,000 new apartments for an annual growth rate of 5%.
Prices are expected to continue to fall as more units become available throughout the year.