Here’s what kind of house you can get in NC right now for $300K, $400K and $500K
If you’ve ever wondered how big of a house you can afford in North Carolina based on your budget, a new report can calculate it for you.
GOBankingRates.com, a personal finance website, calculated how much house you can buy on a $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000 budget, and the price per square foot for homes in every state.
North Carolina came in at No. 28 on the list, with a price per square foot of $214. Here’s how much house you can buy for each of the three budgets, according to the report:
Square feet for $300,000: 1,401
Square feet for $400,000: 1,868
Square feet for $500,000: 2,335
But is it a good time to buy? Here’s what you need to know.
Buying vs. renting
Data show North Carolina is one of the top states for single-family rental construction.
More than 12,398 new, single-family rentals are currently in the pipeline, according to a new Point2Homes build-to-rent report, just behind powerhouses like Texas (28,812), Arizona (13,692) and Florida (13,591).
Popular with Millennials and Gen Z, build-to-rent homes (BTR) are designed to offer the perks of homeownership without steep down payments, maintenance costs, real estate and school taxes, or homeowners’ association fees.
The growth in rental construction comes as home prices continue to climb in the state.
In Raleigh, the median sale price (mid-point where half cost less and half cost more) was $456,000 in December 2024, according to Redfin — a 14% increase since last year. The median home sale price in Charlotte went up 3.5% during the same time period, The Charlotte Observer reported.
What’s the outlook on prices in the future?
Homebuyers in North Carolina can expect to pay more for homes in the coming months due to tariffs placed on all steel and aluminum exports by President Trump.
The U.S. sources steel and aluminum products primarily from Canada and Mexico, The News & Observer reported.
Tariffs on imports will only drive up the costs of materials and construction, “which will ultimately be passed on to homebuyers,” National Association of Homebuyers Chairman Carl Harris said in a news release.
NAHB estimates proposed new tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could raise the cost of imported construction materials by up to $4 billion.
An analysis from John Burns Research and Consulting, which focuses on the housing industry, estimates the cost of a newly constructed home will increase by nearly 5% if the White House’s proposed tariffs are implemented, USAToday reported. That’s about an additional $21,000 on the national median-priced home ($427,000), according to the Census Bureau.
News & Observer reporter Chantal Allam contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Here’s what kind of house you can get in NC right now for $300K, $400K and $500K."
