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NC added 32,000 apartment units in 2024, nearly matching California

Carolina Journal


Brianna Kraemer

Carolina Journal


North Carolina experienced one of the highest growth in apartment construction in 2024, ranking fourth nationwide with a total of 32,355 new apartment units added. 

Texas led the nation with about 88,000 new apartments, followed by Florida with 66,000 new units, according to the rental website RentCafe. North Carolina’s added units represent 6.2% of the total national apartment completions for the year and closely follows California’s 34,917 new units.


With its 2023 GDP at $638 billion compared to California’s $3.9 trillion, North Carolina’s apartment boom highlights its growing housing market while still maintaining affordability compared to the nation’s largest economies. The average rent in North Carolina is around $1,534, which is about $1,000 less than California’s average of $2,533.


Charlotte was the top city in North Carolina for apartment growth, with the Queen City contributing 11,252 new units. In contrast, Los Angeles saw the highest growth in California, with 4,750 new apartments.


The Triangle experienced one of the largest increases nationwide, with a 5.12% rise in new apartments in 2024, surpassing last year’s 3.80% as well as the national average of 2.59%. The state capital, Raleigh, added 5,281 units, while Durham and Wilmington followed with over 2,000 new units in each city.


According to a recent report from United Van Lines Movers, North Carolina was among the top five states for inbound migration in 2024.


“Deregulating and allowing more high rises in urban areas is becoming increasingly popular for states and cities to do that have fast-growing populations like Raleigh and Charlotte,” explained Kelly Lester, a Policy Analyst at John Locke’s Center for Food, Power, and Life.

“Raleigh and Durham have done a lot of good work in incentivizing the building of new homes through deregulation and upzoning, the idea being to create more density and more homes in the center of the city, increasing supply and making housing more affordable.”


The Piedmont Triad, which encompasses Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point, is the second-hottest rental market in the US, with a severe housing shortage becoming more acute as demand continues to grow.


The North Carolina General Assembly passed a disaster relief bill in December that included many other changes, including a provision to block cities from downzoning without property owners' consent. Previously, state law allowed local governments to initiate a downzoning amendment, but the change will now require property owners’ consent if the city aims to reduce allowed land uses or density. 


Researchers at the Mercatus Center recently published an op-ed outlining how the new amendment expands North Carolina’s protections against nonconsensual down-zoning, strengthening state law and safeguarding landowners against local government overreach.


“North Carolina took a bold step to protect property rights from local restrictions,” the authors wrote. “Although the change is powerful, it will restrict few legitimate, desirable local regulations while forcing planners to take more permissive, affirmative approaches to land use. It’s a small start toward reducing the thicket of land-use restrictions which prevent North Carolinians from providing homes, jobs, and services to their neighbors.”

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