Spotlight On: Gary Scott, President, Howard Hanna Allen Tate Real Estate

Key points:

• • Charlotte’s housing market has stabilized, with rising inventory and slower, steady price growth.
• • Affordability pressures are pushing buyers toward surrounding markets and simpler, move-in-ready homes.
• • Brand unification has strengthened market reach, while demand for agents remains high despite tech advances.

May 2026 — In an interview with Invest:, Gary Scott, president of Howard Hanna Allen Tate Real Estate, offered a grounded assessment of Charlotte’s housing market while reflecting on the brand unification that has redefined the firm’s presence across the Carolinas. “More than 45% of the in-migration into North Carolina comes from markets where Howard Hanna is the No. 1 firm,” Scott noted.

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How would you describe the housing market in Charlotte, and what key trends are shaping it?

I would describe the current real estate market in Charlotte as balanced. We’ve seen a truly incredible run, from COVID to June 2022, when inflation went to 9% and interest rates went over 8%. Since then, we’ve had a much more balanced and normal market. It is not without its challenges, but every day that goes by where a market looks and feels one way, it becomes more normal.

Highlights include an increase in inventory and continued price appreciation, albeit at a much lower rate. Sometimes the consumer gets lost in the media on this point: prices aren’t going down; they’re just going up much slower than those incredibly robust years we had in 2021 and the first half of 2022. We’re optimistic about the residential housing market in 2026 and, quite frankly, beyond.

How is Charlotte’s growth shaping housing demand and the evolving needs of today’s buyers?

The Charlotte market is expanding geographically, whether that’s Concord and Cabarrus County or Gastonia and Gaston County. Affordability is probably the single greatest headwind our industry has faced. As prices and interest rates rose, the ability to afford housing was challenged, and we’re seeing an expansion of the market outward.

We’re also blessed that there is still land available for development, though that process is lengthy and involves a tremendous number of regulations. The journey from a developer buying a piece of ground to delivering the first house might take up to two years. Beyond geography, today’s consumer wants a less complicated life. They want to walk in, buy a house, and move in. I call it simplifying the complicated, which is evidenced by everything from Instacart to the Amazon truck at your door every day.

How are buyers and sellers approaching the market differently today?

There probably hasn’t been a time in the last decade when educating today’s seller has been more important. Our fundamental belief now is that today’s competitor of a new listing isn’t what already closed; it’s the active competitive inventory on the market. That’s a pretty big shift. I’ve been in the business for 40 years, and on a scale of 1 to 10 for importance, seller education is a 10 right now.

People who have owned their property for a while have built incredible equity, and that equity is still growing, just at a smaller percentage. Real estate is like a stock: it only goes up or down if you have to sell it. Every week you’re on the market, you’re losing money — that’s time-tested empirical data. Price your home to create multiple buyer interests and let the buyer determine the price.

For buyers, the market has become more patient. They have more choices and more time. The average 30-year fixed mortgage over the last 30 years is 7.92%, and today we’re at around 6.38%. It’s not 3% we saw in COVID; that 3% was the outlier. Where we are today is the norm. Inventory in most markets sits at 2.5 to 4 months’ supply, so one would still argue it’s a seller’s market, but I think it’s a great time to both buy and sell.

What was the strategy behind the brand unification that created Howard Hanna Allen Tate?

The history of it is phenomenal. The Howard Hanna Company was founded in Pittsburgh in 1957. The Allen Tate Company was founded in Charlotte in 1957. Over the course of decades, a ton of public money came into our industry, and many family-owned real estate companies without effective succession plans were selling to Wall Street.

When Allen Tate passed away in 2015, our chairman, Pat Riley, and the Tate family realized they needed a partner to provide greater financial strength and stability. In 2019, Howard Hanna acquired 60% of the Allen Tate Company, so we’ve been partners for seven years. It was like having a private equity investor, but one that was a family, passionate about the real estate business, the agents, and the consumer.

On Aug. 12, 2025, we embarked on the brand unification, becoming Howard Hanna Allen Tate and Howard Hanna Beverly-Hanks in the mountains. The synergies have outperformed even our highest expectations. More than 45% of the in-migration into North Carolina comes from markets where Howard Hanna is the No. 1 firm. When someone moves from Pittsburgh, Rochester, or Columbus to Charlotte, they now see a brand they recognize. We are now the preeminent independently owned and operated real estate company in 15 states, and we think it’s been a great opportunity to separate ourselves in a sea of sameness.

How are you attracting, developing, and retaining strong agents?

The answer, at its core, is culture, and culture is about people. It’s not about the building where you operate or the logo on the door. People create culture by how they treat each other and how they invest in the community. It was Allen Tate’s vision and entrepreneurialism that built this company’s foundation.

Then Pat Riley became the architect of taking an incredible local company and making it a regional force by acquiring other like-minded, family-owned companies that cared deeply about the consumer, the community, and each other. What we have to do now is hold onto the values of the culture built over seven decades while grabbing hold of innovation and a clear vision for a future that is going to look different. If it looks the same, we’re probably going backward. Treating each other like family members is the most valuable part of our value proposition, creating a culture of abundance, not scarcity.

What role is technology playing in how your agents serve buyers and sellers?

We hold true to what I believe is the real AI in the world: authentic interactions. I started in 1986 when there was no internet, and we had a monopoly on both information and service. By 1993, information became democratized. And yet, in 2025, the highest percentage of sellers in history used a realtor to sell their home — 91%. At a time when data is abundant, sometimes data conflicts with itself. We are now the interpreters of complex data.

Technology will continue to evolve, but more is not always better. More can create more complications, more opinions, and maybe fewer facts. We’re rolling out a new program called HannaList, which gives listings market exposure for about 24 hours before entering the multiple listing service (MLS). Our job is always to educate the consumer on the opportunities and options they have and let them decide. Technology doesn’t eliminate the need for a real estate agent; it enhances it.

What are your top priorities for the firm in the Charlotte region over the next two to three years?

In no particular order: growing our listing market share, because when you control listing inventory, you fundamentally control the market. Second is growth and expansion. Within the past year, we’ve acquired two companies in Hilton Head, and the Triangle is one of the Top 5 real estate markets in America. Third, making sure the agents we have are taking advantage of everything we offer. Our greatest strength as an organization is our greatest weakness; we have it all, and we keep introducing the next thing. Sometimes we have to slow down the conveyor belt of new programs and maximize the tools we already have.

I would also encourage anyone considering homeownership. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second-best time is today. Those who did not buy in the last five years gave up 54% equity growth. Real estate will remain the American Dream and one of the top ways to build generational wealth. And let’s not forget the memories built in a home — the holidays, the birthdays — that you simply cannot monetize. We’re just fortunate to be part of that solution for so many people.

Want more? Read the Invest: Charlotte report.