Maya Ward never thought she’d have to consider a fixer-upper home with a $400,000 budget in Charlotte. But in spring 2023, she and her fiance found themselves touring a house packed with clutter and dust.
Discouraged after being outbid by cash offers over asking price time and time again, the public relations professional wasn’t deterred by the state of the home. She was tired of renting and wanted a yard for her Siberian Husky, Zoey, to run around off-leash. But even as she made the call to put in an offer the same afternoon, 12 others had beaten her to the punch.
The couple ended up buying a home in Enderly Park, off Tuckaseegee Road northwest of uptown, right in the middle of their $375,000 to $400,000 budget range — but the 30-year fixed rate mortgage had a 7% interest rate. The rate pushed their monthly payments up to $2,200, which is $200 more per month than they hoped to pay for the 1,330-square-foot home built in 1938.
“We bought at a spot where ideally we were like, buy now, because interest rates are dampening prices and hopefully we’ll refinance when everything gets cheaper,” Ward said. “But interest rates have not changed.”
Charlotte is one of a series of fast-growing U.S. cities where the low number of houses for sale has created pent-up demand that has not softened significantly even as mortgage rates reached 8% last year. At the same time, investors and buyers are waiting for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, a move that would likely bring down mortgage rates. Local real estate agents, too, have said they hope lower rates this year will reinvigorate Charlotte’s housing market.