(gentle music) - [Rochelle] The dream of home ownership can at times feel like a nightmare for people who want to purchase starter homes in the Charlotte region.

- It's not realistic.

Nothing is feasible.

- [Rochelle] A lack of affordable housing can make home ownership feel out of reach.

Kia Everett and her husband were living in an apartment and spent three years looking for a starter home to purchase.

- We needed this space with our growing families.

We were looking for a home.

We realized that the house prices have been astronomical.

- A home, two cars, two kids, and one on the way, sounds like the American dream.

But for Kia and Cameron Everett, they don't own this American dream.

Everett is a pre-K teacher working on her second master's degree.

Her husband is an account development representative, yet they couldn't afford to buy in the Charlotte area.

- When you have a very tight market and high interest rates and the cost of housing is really high, it's pushing more and more people out of that market to where they're kind of forced now to be a renter.

- [Rochelle] According to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, more than 100 people a day are moving to the region.

While construction has picked up post pandemic, homes aren't being built fast enough.

- There simply isn't enough housing to meet the demand that's out there.

- [Rochelle] To meet the rising demand for single family homes and sought after cities, property management companies like American Homes for Rent are building rental communities like Hazel Gardens in Steele Creek, where the Everetts are renting a four bedroom house.

- I feel like the benefits for now is just giving us that space, that wiggle room.

- [Rochelle] There is competition for single family homes in Mecklenburg County.

Corporate investors are buying up thousands of houses and turning them into rental properties.

A new government study of investor owned rental homes in 20 metropolitan cities ranked Charlotte in the top three with 18% of the single family rental market.

Eric Moore, a research associate for the Urban Institute at UNC Charlotte says these firms target properties in the lower to medium price range.

- It does seem to be a good number of them are concentrated within that 350 or even 500,000 and below value for single family homes at least.

- [Rochelle] Moore is part of a data science team studying institutional investors.

Using the latest numbers from the Mecklenburg County Tax Appraisal office, his team estimates there were about 5,800 firms that owned nearly 30,500 houses in the county.

145 are large companies that together owned 67% of all the investor owned single family homes in 2023.

- [Heather] There are several big companies out there that will pay top dollar in order to get a property.

- [Rochelle] Heather Strowd is a licensed realtor in North and South Carolina.

She says corporations often come to the table with cash offers over the asking price, making it hard for her clients to compete.

- I would say that a buyer needs to just put their best foot forward and put the best offer in that they can.

- [Rochelle] Former homeowner, Kaylee Baez sold her house in Huntersville when her youngest son went to college.

She said she did not want to sell to a corporation.

- The HOA for that neighborhood has a owner occupied rule that it must be owner occupied for at least 12 months before it could be rent or leased or anything else like that.

So I think that that helps to contribute to the solution of getting homes back into family's hands.

- [Rochelle] Baez purchased her last home on her own, but says she couldn't do that now.

- Now I have a good job and I make, you know, a good income, but I wouldn't be able to buy a house myself in this market.

- [Rochelle] She and partner Brandon Bennett spent a year house hunting.

Frustrated, they decided new construction was their best option.

- It feels great, definitely one of my, you know, like I said, one of the life goals.

- [Rochelle] On a quitter mile stretch of Planters Road Drive in Charlotte, out of 50 homes, 13 or 26% were rental properties.

- It's still jarring to see over 50% increase in the last few years in corporate ownership.

- [Rochelle] In December, 2023, the Lee Institute reviewed the acquisition of single family homes in Mecklenburg County by large corporations like AMH, Tricon, and FirstKey.

A survey of over 1,500 residents found that 75% had concerns about rising rent, poor maintenance, and unresponsive property managers.

But research also shows the positive impact of corporate investors.

- When you have an owner who invests close to $30,000 in new appliances and landscaping and other ways to improve the quality of that home.

That benefits not only in that property, that benefits the families who live in that home, it also benefits the surrounding neighborhood.

- [Rochelle] National Rental Home Council Chief Executive Officer, David Howard says, "Single family rental home companies are not competition."

- UNC Charlotte published a report earlier this year showing that single family rental homes contribute to the overall level of educational attainment.

Why?

Because they made homes in certain neighborhoods more accessible.

- [Rochelle] Howard says corporate investors are interested in growing cities like Charlotte because there's a demand for families who want to be near employment centers and quality schools.

That's what the Everetts want as they work toward their dream of home ownership.

- I can only imagine there's nothing like having like your own home.

- [Rochelle] Until then, the Everetts are grateful to have a safe space for their growing family.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Rochelle Metzger.