Your Home Your Castle: Meck County Seeks Input and Ideas on Corporate Home Purchases

Mecklenburg County wants to hear what residents think about the purchase of single-family homes by corporate investors. 

In recent years, large institutional investors have increased their purchases of single-family homes for the purposes of converting them into rental properties. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg region consistently ranks at the top of these “corporate” home purchases: many neighborhoods have seen swaths of homes purchased by such investors. In the summer of 2021, corporations owned more than 13,000 single-family homes, concentrated within six companies.  

During the pandemic, the median single-family rental price increased nearly 27% in the region, intensifying affordable housing concerns in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Plus, institutional purchases of single-family homes are typically cash purchases, often curbing homeownership by local buyers who likely require a mortgage. 

In FY2023, Mecklenburg County began developing a process to ensure everyone’s voices are heard on the issue of corporate-owned rentals, and to help inform decisions by the Board of County Commissioners. Mecklenburg County is collaborating with the Lee Institute to conduct the public participation process. 

For this process, the County defines corporate landlords as large, institutional investors owning 100+ single-family homes, not “mom-and-pop” LLCs that own and rent out a handful of properties.  

PARTICIPATE: A variety of opportunities are offered for residents to participate and voice their opinion: in-person “open house” meetings, virtual meetings, interviews, and an online survey. The process includes engaging with neighborhoods, individuals, non-profit organizations, and the private sector across the County.

Mecklenburg County staff anticipate presenting the results of this engagement and initial recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners in summer 2023.