With operations across our portfolio running smoothly, we remain focused on two fronts: uncovering acquisitions in North Carolina and staying ahead of the macroeconomic drivers that impact the market.
Indeed, in recent weeks, North Carolina has secured an unprecedented slate of announcements: billions in aerospace, biotech, pharma, and data infrastructure. These are durable projects, backed by incentives and tied to long-term employers. These kinds of investments don’t cycle with headlines; they anchor entire markets and reinforce our interest in the area.
In Charlotte, for example, new investment is already creating housing pressure with elevated ownership costs and slowing sales velocity steering more households into rental markets.
Nationally, the signals remain mixed. The Fed is steady, inflation is bending lower, and capital is selective.
Here's what we're seeing:
GLOBAL CAPITAL REWIRES NORTH CAROLINA’S INDUSTRIAL BASE
North Carolina is cementing its role as a hub for advanced industry. Biogen committed $2 billion to expand its Research Triangle Park (RTP) operations, with an expansion of RTP manufacturing and fill-finish capacity. Johnson & Johnson followed with a $2 billion Holly Springs expansion through Fujifilm Biotechnologies, securing domestic drug manufacturing and high-wage jobs.
In Rowan County, Jabil is investing $500 million to retrofit a former textile site for AI and data-center components, creating more than 1,100 jobs. And JetZero’s $4.7 billion aerospace campus in Greensboro represents the largest job commitment in state history, with 14,500 projected positions tied to blended-wing aircraft production.
These aren’t marginal announcements. They are structural anchors, capital and employers planting flags that ensure housing demand deepens across the region for decades. Recent expansions underscore the breadth of that momentum: in western North Carolina, Eco King Solutions committed $80.5 million to open its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Robbinsville, bringing 515 jobs; while in the Triangle, Coriolis Pharma announced a $10 million expansion in Morrisville, adding 50 biotech positions. Together with multibillion-dollar anchors like Biogen, J&J, and JetZero, these mid-scale investments show how both global leaders and specialized entrants are wiring long-term employment into every corner of the state’s economy.
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CHARLOTTE HOUSING PRESSURE BUILDS AS OWNERSHIP STALLS
In Charlotte, the affordability gap continues to widen. The median home price holds at $440,000, while listings now average 47 days on market. Those barriers are pushing households into the rental market, where demand remains resilient.
The math is stark: $440,000 homes require significant down payments and qualifying income, while quality rentals offer flexibility and cost savings. With Charlotte gaining 157 new residents daily and 57,300 through migration in 2024 alone, many corporate relocates and young professionals, the rental market captures households who can afford premium rents but face ownership friction. Average rents range from $1,485-$1,666, while luxury units in South End average $2,069 and Uptown $2,030. Occupancy across the South registered 95.4% in July, with Charlotte absorbing new supply even as the pipeline remains active. In Raleigh–Durham, rents rose modestly - 0.4% over three months - while Charlotte rents stayed flat, still outperforming national averages, which softened.
The result is consistent: migration inflows and ownership costs are sustaining multifamily demand, positioning Charlotte as one of the Southeast’s most durable metros.
POLICY HOLDS STEADY WHILE INFLATION EASES
The Federal Reserve kept its target range at 4.25–4.50% in July, but the tone shifted in late August. At the Jackson Hole symposium, Chair Powell signaled that rate cuts are now on the table, with September positioned as a potential inflection point if inflation progress continues. Markets interpreted the remarks as a dovish pivot, with risk appetite rebounding immediately afterward.
Inflation continues to ease: July CPI rose 2.7% year-over-year, with core at 3.1%. The 10-Year Treasury hovered near 4.35% through August, while multifamily financing in growth markets like North Carolina remained in the mid-5% to low-6% range depending on leverage and product.
For disciplined operators, the takeaway is clear: policy is no longer only about restraint. With inflation bending lower and the Fed preparing for an eventual pivot, selective growth markets like the Carolinas stand to benefit from more accommodative conditions as early as this fall.
The North Carolina story is not a passing headline. It is the layering of durable employer commitments, migration inflows, and structural barriers to ownership that are sustaining multifamily demand across the region. While national signals remain mixed, the Carolinas continue to distinguish themselves as growth markets where disciplined capital can find both resilience and runway.
We remain focused on ensuring our current assets perform at the highest level while positioning for the next phase of opportunity.
For more information about our investment approach or upcoming opportunities, please visit coresrealestate.com or contact our investor relations team at [email protected]
