The inevitable ebbs and flows of the stock market can be maddening for investors.

A key strategy in countering that unpredictability is complementing your stock portfolio with other kinds of investments. Real estate should be at the top of the list of alternatives, says David DiGioia, owner and broker-in-charge at DiGioia Realty – Signature Properties.

“Investing in real estate is a great hedge for anyone’s investment portfolio – a way to balance out the volatility of only investing in the stock market,” DiGioia explains.
It also has proven to be an effective strategy for building wealth in general.

“More millionaires have been created in the U.S. through real estate than any other source,” DiGioia notes. “It is a safe, secure investment strategy that offers price appreciation and tax advantages while the tenant is paying down your loan and you are building equity.”

DiGioia practices what he preaches. He has invested in real estate for more than 20 years and has a personal portfolio of a dozen properties. But, you might be saying, that’s fine for him because real estate is his business. What do I know about buying properties? And why would I want the hassle of being a landlord?

Not to worry, DiGioia says.

“Our firm offers investors one-stop shopping,” he explains. “As a seasoned real estate professional who is also an investor, I can help our clients find the right investment properties, handle the sale, then also manage the property or provide assistance on how they can manage it themselves.”

The time is also right for a move into real estate locally, DiGioia adds. Realtor.com ranks the Charlotte area as the No. 3 housing market in the U.S. for 2021. And with a declining supply and increased demand, prices will continue to rise in the future, ensuring continued appreciation on today’s investments.

“Companies are coming in and buying hundreds of homes in the area,” DiGioia notes. “That’s how hot the Charlotte market is and speaks to the potential investors see in residential real estate.”
Why are investors so attracted to the Charlotte area? Here are some contributing factors:

Rising values

The Charlotte region’s 13.6 percent annual home-price appreciation in the fourth quarter of 2020 was 15th-highest among the top 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. Local prices grew 3.5 percent when compared to the third quarter and were up more than 53 percent over the past five years.

And that trend is expected to continue. Realtor.com estimates that home sales in the Charlotte region will rise by nearly 14 percent in 2021, and that prices will climb more than 5 percent. The report adds that a high quality of life, great weather, strong schools and rich history are drawing a mix of younger and older homebuyers to the Charlotte area.

Supply and demand

Population growth in the Charlotte metro area has generally outpaced housing supply. Between 2010 and 2019, the regional population grew by 1.9 percent and the number of housing units rose just 1.6 percent.

An average of 125 people move to the Charlotte area every day. As working remotely becomes the norm for more employees, many people – largely from the West and East Coasts – are looking to move to communities with a high quality of life where they can afford larger homes. The Charlotte region is becoming the choice for many of those transplants. The Charlotte area also was No. 6 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 list of Top 25 places to live in the nation.

“Trends and projections point to continued consistent growth in home sales for the Charlotte area,” DiGioia says. “I and my experienced team of professionals are ready to help you diversify your portfolio by making the right real estate investments at the right time, then effectively managing those properties as they continue to gain in value while also generating consistent income for you.”

Courtesy of Lake Norman Media Group:  https://www.lakenormanpublications.com/articles/nows-the-time-to-add-real-estate-to-your-portfolio/