For-sale housing might be recovering, but Zillow chief economist Stan Humphries tells us the demand for apartments in Charlotteisn'tgoing away. Although, theres always the possibility of a mini-bubble(he stresses the mini part), since thats the way CRE markets evolve. In the near term,demand will continue to fall heavily on the rental side because would-be buyers still have busted credit, and younger householders (that means you, Gen Y) are still less than eager to buy a place to live. (So a lot of Gen Z is going to get its start in apartments.)

Charlotte apartments might not be able to maintain their robust rent increases--6.3% year-over-year in Charlotte, well above the national average of 4.3%, according to Stan. But thatdoesn'tmean rent growth will stop anytime soon, since demandisn'tgoing to stop either. Developers are certainly betting that way: Gvest Partners recently unveiled plans to break ground on a 342-unit apartment complex in the NoDa neighborhood, on the site of a development that the recession put the kibosh on a few years ago.