Phillip Britt can hardly keep up with everyone who wants to move to Robeson County.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, buyers had many options, according to Britt, a real estate agent, as there were around 400 homes for sale in the county at one point. In recent months, the number has been closer to 60 or 65, he said.
Yes, the real estate boom is indeed booming in rural southeast North Carolina, which has seen no significant growth in decades.
“We used to not see it seeping into the smaller areas that much,” Britt said of the demand for apartments. “However, we have this time.”
Much of North Carolina is seeing an influx of people, including those who chose to leave crowded, expensive cities like New York and San Francisco during the pandemic. While the housing market is particularly hot in the state’s largest metropolitan areas, including Charlotte and Raleigh, more potential homebuyers are also considering areas known for cornfields and pig farms rather than housing developments.
Now that low interest rates keep driving demand, economic development leaders in NC counties along the South Carolina border are asking themselves an increasingly pressing question: How can they build more homes?
“We’re asking brokers to find a contractor who’ll start building special homes,” said Mark Ward, director of economic development for Scotland County, which is about 36,000 people and about 45 miles southwest of Fayetteville.
(Unlike custom built homes, where buyers make a lot of design decisions in advance, spec homes are built according to predetermined plans and usually sold at a lower price).
POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS
One way to attract specialty home builders could be through public-private partnerships, according to Ward and Chuck Heustess, executive directors of Bladen’s nonprofit Bloomin ‘Agri-Industrial Group.
In densely populated areas, roads and water and sewer lines may already be in place by the time developers and builders arrive. But this is often not the case in rural communities, which means an additional effort.
So maybe the counties could use taxpayer money to pay the bill for the infrastructure, Heustess said.
“If you can get these builders’ costs where it is more economically feasible for them and where the risk for them is less, maybe we can get some of this living space in our area,” said Heustess.
In Scotland, perhaps the county could buy the land for new houses, in addition to running water and sewers, Ward said. The investment would be worthwhile because the new apartments would increase the tax base.
However, Shaun Gardner, owner of Precision Custom Homes in Fayetteville, said it may take more than just financial incentives.
Gardner’s company builds homes in Deercroft, a gated golf course community in County Wagram, Scotland. They sell for up to $ 320,000, he said, and plans to build about 10 a year.
Given the high cost of lumber and other building materials, Gardner says it makes more financial sense to build larger homes like the one at Deercroft, up to 2,600 square feet.
“It’s really hard to build smaller houses right now,” he said. “It is almost impossible.”
But most importantly, builders need to be sure that there is enough demand for specialty homes, Gardner said.
“If someone is willing to take the risk, it could happen,” he said of affordable housing developments in southeast North Carolina. “Someone has to be the first mover.”
While conditions could be great for a spurt of growth now, the populations of North Carolina’s four southeastern counties – Bladen, Columbus, Robeson, and Scotland – are expected to decline over the next decade, according to projections by the NC Office of State Budget and Management.
Columbus County, home to around 56,000 people today, is projected to see the biggest decline and could lose nearly 5% of its population.
Even so, one company has big housing plans in the area. But the neighbors are not happy – a clear reminder that obstacles to growth, even in rural communities, often come from within.
NEIGHBORS PUSH BACK
Thriving LLC, headquartered in Wilmington, plans to position 48 double-width RVs on approximately 44 acres near Whiteville.
While some say the development will create much-needed housing, nearby residents are concerned about traffic and the potential impact on schools and water quality.
“We have tractors and combines that drive up and down the road at all times,” Patricia Wright told Columbus County commissioners earlier this month, according to The News Reporter. “It doesn’t go well with our farming community.”
Jackie Ray-Pierce, owner of J. Ray Realty in Whiteville, said she hopes the district leaders will accept building offers from developers. The local real estate market has not been as busy since the real estate bubble in the early 2000s, she said.
Some people are moving to the area from northern states, attracted by the warmer weather and proximity to the beach, Ray-Pierce said. Others who live on the coast move about 50 miles inland to avoid homeowner fees and property restrictions.
The problem is that “there really isn’t anything to go here,” she said.
The demand is so great that some homes are selling for $ 30,000 above asking price – a phenomenon that is happening in cities and suburbs but was previously unknown in this part of the state.
The county hasn’t seen any new subdivisions in years, and rental options are just as rare. Columbus County needs more housing, said Ray-Pierce.
“It’s just not feasible if, for example, a new teacher moves in,” she said.
There are also not enough rental options in the surrounding districts. According to Britt of Britt & Co. Real Estate Professionals, the problem in Robeson County worsened when Hurricanes Matthew and Florence swept the area, demolishing some homes and requiring others to have major repairs.
Displaced from their homeland, many people turned to rental.
“That demand has basically gotten insane overnight,” said Britt.
LOOKING AHEAD
A few years ago, homes in Robeson County, home of Lumberton, typically sold for around $ 99,000, according to Britt. Now they sell for around $ 125,000.
Despite the higher prices, first-time buyers also want to enter the market. Some use their tax refunds and government stimulus payments while interest rates are historically low, Britt said.
But competition is fierce with so few homes for sale.
“When buyers lose 10 homes, it’s human nature to be frustrated,” he said. “So the need is there.”
Heustess said he hopes to bring some ideas to Bladen County’s executives about possible ways to create more housing over the coming months. He is pushing for a new approach and using public funds to attract private developers.
There have been more RV sites in the area in the past, Heustess said. However, stricter infrastructure regulations have slowed this growth.
And maybe that’s not bad, he said.
“You can’t let people just throw trailers on farmland and invite people to live in it,” said Heustess.