Share
It's 3 p.m. on a recent weekday, and Andy Brantley, 24, and Eli Montague, 23, are relaxing on blue, oversized couches, watching “SportsCenter” on a 40-inch, flat-panel TV.
Montague's SUV is one of the only cars left on Idlewood Circle, a quiet, tree-lined street between Park Road and Freedom Park. Most of the neighbors are at work.
Brantley will have to leave in a couple of hours for his part-time job as a busboy at a nearby bar. Montague – who interns for the Panthers – plans to spend the afternoon playing Xbox 360 at the $375,000 house the roommates started renting in December.
“We love living here,” said Montague, who graduated with Brantley and a third roommate from UNC Chapel Hill last year. The three rent the house for a total of $1,000 per month.
The recession and poor housing market have given some young Charlotte residents a chance to live in some of the city's prime locations. As homeowners struggle to cover costs, younger people are gaining newfound access to some of Charlotte's traditionally elite neighborhoods by renting nice homes for cheap prices, some housing experts say.
Brian Augustine, a real estate agent for Elite Team Properties, which specializes in prestigious neighborhoods like Myers Park, said more young people are living the high life, as high-end homes that cost more than $400,000 sit on the market for months without selling.
The Charlotte-area housing market has faced widespread trouble. The number of single-family detached homes sold in Mecklenburg County during the first quarter fell 52 percent from a year ago, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises.
But the high end has been hit especially hard: Sales of pricier homes fell more sharply, with a 65 percent decline in the price range of $350,000 and above, according to the Rocky Mount firm that compiles data from court records. And countywide sales have really stalled for million-dollar-plus mansions: Only 12 sold during the first quarter, an 83 percent decline.
That means homeowners are more willing to rent and less picky about whom they rent to, Augustine said. Homeowners are scrambling to wash their hands of “unsellable” homes. Some bought fixer-uppers that won't sell, while others moved and are stuck with a first house that hasn't attracted a buyer.
Many of these people choose to rent for less than their monthly property costs, which opens the door for younger people – often considered the scourge of established neighborhoods – looking for deals.
“It's a golden opportunity for young people … to rent in these nicer neighborhoods. It's just golden, really golden, for people to rent across the board,” Augustine said.
Valerie Mitchener, owner of HM Properties, said her real estate and property management company is renting “way more high-end properties now than last year.” She said she hasn't rented to young people yet but can see how it's easier for them to rent in Myers Park now with stalled high-end home sales.
Mitchener's young niece has taken advantage of the chance to live in an area that would usually be out of her price range; she is renting a nice house in Dilworth with three roommates.
Prestige more than size
Many young renters are drawn more to the prestigious feel of the area than the size of the house they rent.
Montague's 1,400-square- foot house isn't exactly a McMansion, but its Myers Park surroundings give his post-college, pre-professional life a more established feel than an apartment would have, he said. Houses on the street range from $350,000 to $800,000.
Montague and Brantley pay $350 per month each, and Cameron Easley, the third roommate, pays $300.
That's about half the monthly rent for the average apartment in Charlotte, which is $725 per month for a one-bedroom, a March industry market report indicates. Still, apartment prices are the lowest they've been since 2005, and many apartment landlords are willing to cut deals to in an attempt to halt the climbing vacancy rate.
Montague, whose family lives in Charlotte, said he and his roommates found their house after his dad introduced him to a co-worker who had bought the house to fix it up and then sell it early last fall. But then the recession hit and the owner, who declined to be interviewed, decided to rent the house to help take the sting out of mortgage payments and property taxes.
It's been a great deal for Montague and his roommates. None of them has a permanent job right now, and Montague and Brantley make about minimum wage.
Brantley said that for such cheap rent, there's plenty of room in the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house. He and his roommates don't even use the dining room, screened patio, playroom or basement, opting instead to hang out in the living room or kitchen.
“It's really pretty spacious,” Brantley said, “and it's an awesome, central location.”
Central to the neighborhood bars, that is. The house is a five-minute cab ride from neighborhood hangout Selwyn Pub and Montford Drive hot spots such as Andrew Blair's and Brazwell's.
That's a perfect spot for the three fraternity brothers who moved to Charlotte so they could remain close to friends as they looked for jobs.
‘For Sale' signs helped
UNC graduate Brynn Hardman, 23, said she and her three roommates found their rental near Myers Park High School by driving around the neighborhood and knocking on doors of houses that had “For Sale” signs in the yard.
They knew that no one was buying because of the poor economy and were set on living in Myers Park, said Hardman, who works for a pharmaceutical company in Charlotte. When she and her roommates – University of Georgia graduates Emily Howard, Katie Fletcher and Lindsay Bissell – spotted a home in the area that was for sale by owner, they asked the owner if he'd be willing to rent to them.
He was, and the women now pay a total of $1,700 per month – or $425 each – for the $595,000, three-bedroom, two-bath house that's 2,300 square feet. The landlord, who couldn't be reached for comment, even left behind furniture for the women to use.
“It's such a homey neighborhood. We lucked out,” Hardman said.
She said she spends most of her weekday evenings going on runs through the tree-covered area. Although some neighbors might worry about people her age being too loud, Hardman said the group tries to be respectful of those around them.
The women haven't had any “outrageous” parties at their house “yet,” Hardman says, though they do routinely have friends over to drink cocktails – or “pregame” – before heading out to bars or day parties at Lake Norman.
Charlotte resident Andy Pressley, 38, who lives down the street from Hardman and her roommates, said he and the rest of his neighbors have enjoyed getting to know the women. Hardman said another couple who live on their street invited her to swim and sunbathe by their pool.
That's a more neighborly attitude than some local housing experts expected. Augustine thinks the increased ability for young people to rent in elite neighborhoods could antagonize homeowners who've had houses in those neighborhoods for generations. He said some neighborhoods – especially newer ones such as Piper Glen – try to restrict who can rent a home there.
Rusty Bryson, president of the Myers Park Homeowners Association, said that's not the case in Myers Park.
“The neighborhood has been historically associated with wealthier homes, but the truth is it has a range of diverse homeowners now,” he said. He said that change isn't a result of the recession and poor housing market, but is a gradual shift that's occurred over the past decade.
But Bryson does think the recession has allowed neighborhoods like Myers Park to compete with uptown apartment prices.
“Uptown apartments which used to be affordable to 20-year-olds aren't anymore, so they're turning to areas like Myers Park,” he said.
Staff writer Stella M. Hopkins and staff researcher Marion Paynter contributed.
