· Jaken Finance Group Investor Pulse
April pulled capital toward Southeast and Florida corridors where insurance geography and landlord statute still favor scale — even as permanent rates hovered 7.0%–7.625% and bridge IO stayed 10.5%–11.0% on heavy rehab. Charlotte’s LYNX Blue Line rent bands, Orlando’s STR vs LTR fork, and Triangle-vs-Charlotte BRRRR basis debates dominated sponsor conversations. The through-line: underwrite operating model at acquisition, not at refi surprise.
Market Overview
Charlotte Mecklenburg saw renewed interest in NoDa, Plaza Midwood, and Optimist Park duplex stock within 0.35 mi of Blue Line stations. Achieved rent premiums of $100–$175/mo per side versus off-corridor comps — but sellers price extension optimism into ask. Disciplined operators separated today’s lease from tomorrow’s speculative ARV.
Florida insurance continued to sort markets. Central Florida (Osceola, Orange) remained investable for pool-home STR and workforce LTR when wind and flood diligence pass. Coastal and South Florida files required insurance quotes before proof of funds — not after inspection. Orlando sponsors increasingly modeled LTR DSCR as the default exit and STR as the upside case, not the reverse.
North Carolina Triangle vs Charlotte basis spread widened slightly. Raleigh-Durham BRRRR attracted tech-corridor rent growth; Charlotte attracted light-rail adjacency and faster hard money velocity on pre-1950 bungalows. Both run non-judicial foreclosure — a structural advantage for out-of-state portfolio builders documented in our NC foreclosure investor guide.
Compare live rate bands on the real estate investor dashboard before you scale Q2 acquisitions.
Fix-and-Flip Activity — Top Cities
| Rank | Market | April activity driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte (NoDa / Plaza Midwood) | Rail-adjacent duplex BRRRR; 7–12 day bridge closes |
| 2 | Orlando / Kissimmee (Osceola STR corridor) | Pool-home acquisitions; STR vs LTR exit decided at close |
| 3 | Raleigh-Durham (Triangle) | Tech-wage rent growth; mid-scope ranch and split-level BRRRR |
| 4 | Charleston metro (North Charleston fringe) | Value-add outside historic overlay; flood zone diligence |
| 5 | Broward / Coral Springs (Florida) | Inland insurance advantage vs coastal; DSCR hold scaling |
Charlotte April files concentrated on 1920s bungalow and duplex stock with $165K–$240K as-is basis. Light-rail walk distance was the rent underwriter — not a listing keyword. Operators who mispriced off-corridor comps by $150/mo missed 1.15 DSCR by a full tenth. Full rent band tables live in Charlotte light rail rental premium.
Orlando / Kissimmee April activity split cleanly: STR sponsors targeting $4,500–$6,500/mo seasonal gross on 4/3 pool homes vs LTR sponsors at $2,100–$2,500/mo with cleaner Florida DSCR treatment. Hard money structure is identical at acquisition — furnishing capex and Osceola STR registration define STR carry. See Orlando STR vs LTR DSCR for side-by-side math on the same basis.
Triangle vs Charlotte BRRRR sponsors used April to rebalance — Raleigh for rent growth trajectory, Charlotte for acquisition speed and rail premium. Triangle vs Charlotte BRRRR math walks through when each metro wins on yield-on-cost.
Run acquisition and carry scenarios through the fix-and-flip calculator — especially STR furnishing and insurance line items.
DSCR Rate Update
| Product | Typical range (April 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DSCR 30-year fixed | 7.0%–7.625% | NC and FL inland files at 70%–75% LTV |
| DSCR STR (select lenders) | 7.25%–7.875% | 12-month operating history or pro forma scrutiny |
| Hard money IO (12 mo) | 10.5%–11.0% | Charlotte duplex and FL pool-home scope |
| Florida insurance reserve | $200–$450/mo | Model before ratio calc — coastal higher |
North Carolina remains a portfolio-scale hold jurisdiction: no statewide rent control, non-judicial foreclosure, and DSCR ratios that clear 1.15+ on honest 25%–28% opex for inland SFR and duplex. Florida rewards operators who pick submarkets by insurance quote first — see Florida insurance-driven market selection.
Stress-test stabilized rent and insurance with the DSCR calculator before you commit to STR furnishing capex.
The benchmark rate picture
The “typical range” figures above are market bands, not quotes. For context, here is where the public benchmarks sat during April 2026:
- Freddie Mac’s 30-year fixed average opened the month at 6.46% (week of April 2) and closed it at 6.30% (week of April 30), per FRED’s PMMS series.
- The 10-year Treasury yield traded between 4.26% and 4.42% in April, per FRED series DGS10.
- The Federal Reserve’s target range topped out at 3.75% all month, per FRED series DFEDTARU.
A flat Fed and a range-bound 10-year kept April quotes stable. That gave sponsors a window to lock DSCR exits on rehabs finishing in late spring. Jaken Finance Group’s published bands are 5.75%–10.5% for DSCR and 8.99%–13.5% for fix-and-flip and bridge, and file pricing sits inside those bands.
Inventory check: the Southeast in March 2026
Listing data for the five markets in the activity table tells a more mixed story than the headlines. These are Realtor.com metro figures for March 2026 compared with March 2025, read through FRED.
| Metro | Median list price, Mar 2026 | Change vs. Mar 2025 | Active listings change | Median days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | $424,463 | −0.1% | +22.6% | 49 (was 43) |
| Raleigh | $449,900 | +1.1% | +13.8% | 46 (was 44) |
| Charleston, SC | $497,000 | −0.6% | +13.0% | 46 (was 43) |
| Orlando | $419,000 | −0.2% | −1.5% | 67 (was 60) |
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach metro | $499,000 | −2.5% | −9.6% | 74 (was 67) |
Sources: FRED median listing price series for Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, Orlando, and Miami–Fort Lauderdale, plus the matching ACTLISCOU and MEDDAYONMAR series.
What it means for April underwriting:
- Charlotte added more than a fifth to its active listings in a year while asking prices held flat. Buyers have room to negotiate on bungalows that need work. Resale exits need a longer marketing assumption than in 2025.
- Raleigh was the only market with rising asking prices, which supports the Triangle rent-growth thesis but also raises basis.
- Orlando and South Florida saw listings shrink or hold while days on market lengthened. Homes are sitting longer even without a wave of new supply. Model 70-plus days to sell on Florida flips.
Florida insurance: the Citizens shift
The insurance story in Florida changed fast over the past year. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation had 841,470 policies in force on March 31, 2025 and 321,957 on March 31, 2026, per its policies-in-force reports. That’s a drop of about 62% in twelve months.
Fewer Citizens policies means more properties are now insured by private carriers. For investors, that brings three practical checks:
- Confirm the carrier on the seller’s policy. If the property moved from Citizens to a private insurer, ask what the renewal premium will be.
- Get your own quote before you commit. Don’t assume you can step into the seller’s rate.
- Price wind and flood separately. A policy that drops wind or caps it can make a DSCR file fail late.
The Florida DSCR loans page and the Florida hard money and DSCR rate report track how these costs feed into ratios.
Carolina landlord rules worth knowing
Both Carolinas limit local rent regulation, but they foreclose very differently.
- Rent control. North Carolina bars counties and cities from regulating the rent charged on private residential property under G.S. 42-14.1. South Carolina has a similar ban in S.C. Code § 27-39-60.
- Foreclosure. North Carolina’s power-of-sale process runs through a hearing before the clerk of court, who must find a valid debt, default, the right to foreclose, and proper notice under G.S. 45-21.16. South Carolina forecloses through the courts, which render judgment and order the sale under S.C. Code § 29-3-650.
- Property tax on rentals. South Carolina assesses an owner-occupied legal residence at 4% of fair market value, while other real property is generally assessed at 6%, under S.C. Code § 12-43-220. At the same millage, an investor’s tax bill on a North Charleston rental runs about 50% higher than an owner-occupant’s on the same house. Use the investor ratio in your DSCR math.
April pre-offer checklist by state
The files that closed cleanly in April had these items answered before the offer, not after the inspection.
| State | Check before you offer | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | Rent comps within the same walk band to the nearest LYNX or transit stop | Off-corridor comps missed the 1.15 DSCR target by a tenth on Charlotte duplexes |
| North Carolina | Title search for open permits on pre-1950 bungalows | Unpermitted additions slow appraisals and refi timing |
| South Carolina | Tax bill modeled at the 6% investor assessment ratio | The seller’s owner-occupied bill understates your carry |
| South Carolina | Flood zone on the FEMA map for Lowcountry addresses | Zone changes block by block around North Charleston |
| Florida | Binding wind and flood quotes from your own agent | Carrier shifts make the seller’s premium a poor guide |
| Florida | STR legality at the city and county level for any pool home you plan to rent nightly | The STR case only counts if the use is allowed |
None of these items is exotic. They are the questions underwriters ask in week two. Answering them in week zero is what turns a 7–12 day bridge close from a goal into a schedule.
Compare the two states in more depth with the North Carolina and South Carolina rate reports.
Notable Funded Deals
North Charleston Park Circle flip — Lowcountry flip with 90% LTC and Zone X flood diligence — model for Charlotte-spillover operators in Cabarrus and York counties where basis runs $40K–$80K below Mecklenburg.
Greenville Nicholtown BRRRR → DSCR — Upstate South Carolina analog to Triangle value-add: 87% LTC bridge, $52K rehab, 75% LTV DSCR refi extracting ~$38K — compare to Triangle vs Charlotte BRRRR math.
Fountain Square Indianapolis BRRRR — Midwest cash-flow pattern applicable to inland Florida SFR holds: duplex gross $2,750/mo clearing 1.22 DSCR at 70% LTV when insurance stays inland-tier.
Recommended Reading
- Charlotte light rail rental premium — NoDa and Plaza Midwood rent bands by walk distance
- Triangle vs Charlotte BRRRR math — yield-on-cost comparison for NC portfolio builders
- Orlando STR vs LTR DSCR — Kissimmee pool-home economics on identical basis
- Florida insurance-driven market selection — why inland beats coastal for hold exits in 2026
- North Carolina non-judicial foreclosure for investors — structural hold advantage for out-of-state sponsors
- South Carolina vs North Carolina BRRRR — when to cross the state line for basis
Explore deal screening workflows with our AI lending tools — calculators and analyzers paired with Jaken Finance Group pre-qual.
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