Author: Phil Neari
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John Deere Adds a $70M Excavator Plant in Kernersville
John Deere is building a $70 million excavator factory in Kernersville and hiring more than 150 people to run it. The 380,000-square-foot plant expands a Forsyth County campus that has built excavators since 1988 and already employs roughly 600. The facility opens in 2027, and the jobs land inside a Triad commuter shed that reaches…
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What $421M and 500 Siemens Energy Jobs Mean for NC Housing Demand
Siemens Energy committed $421 million and 500 jobs to North Carolina in February 2026, split across Charlotte, Rural Hall, and Raleigh. The company has since reaffirmed the buildout, and is expanding manufacturing capacity through the end of the decade. The jobs land in three unlike places, which means three separate sets of towns absorb the…
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Jobs Bring People, People Need Housing: Reading SMBC’s Charlotte Move
SMBC Group is establishing its second U.S. headquarters in Charlotte, adding 2,000 jobs over six years at an average salary near $165,000. For real estate investors, the more useful read is what 2,000 new high-wage households mean for housing and neighborhood retail across the metro. We trace the announcement, why Charlotte won it, and where…
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11.7 Million by 2030: What NC’s Population Curve Means for Real Estate Investors
North Carolina is on track to surpass Georgia and Ohio and become the 7th-largest state in the country by the early 2030s. The state added 146,000 residents in the past year alone — third-largest gain nationally — and is the only state in the country ranking top-three by both raw population added and percentage growth.…
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Lumentum to Add 400 Manufacturing Jobs at Its New Greensboro Plant
Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ: LITE) will establish its largest U.S. manufacturing facility in Greensboro — a 240,000-square-foot indium-phosphide laser plant on Piedmont Triad Parkway. The retrofit is underway, production ramps mid-2028, and the project will preserve and create more than 400 advanced manufacturing jobs. Here’s why Lumentum’s announcement is another multi-year leg for Triad workforce-housing demand.
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Scout Motors Selects Charlotte for New Headquarters
Electric vehicle manufacturer Scout Motors has announced it will establish its corporate headquarters in Charlotte, bringing approximately 1,200 jobs to Mecklenburg County. The project was announced in coordination with the Governor’s Office, the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, reflecting continued alignment between state-level policy and local execution.…
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Raleigh and Charlotte Continue to Rank Among the Nation’s Best-Performing Cities
The Milken Institute has released its Best-Performing Cities 2026 report. Once again, North Carolina’s largest metros rank near the top among large U.S. cities. For those who track economic fundamentals over multiple years, the takeaway is consistent: both Raleigh and Charlotte remain high-performing, diversified regional economies. Raleigh–Cary: Top 5 Among Large Metros Raleigh–Cary ranks #5…
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FUJIFILM and J&J Lock in Long-Term Biomanufacturing Growth in Holly Springs
This is another clear economic development win for North Carolina—and it builds directly on momentum already underway. Rather than a new, standalone announcement, FUJIFILM’s Holly Springs milestone cements a long-term biomanufacturing anchor that was already signaled by Johnson & Johnson’s prior commitment. Capacity, demand, and duration are now aligned. Below is the short version of…
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Charlotte Ranks Among Top U.S. Metros for In-Migration in 2025
Charlotte’s in-migration performance underscores its role as a demand engine, not merely a beneficiary of statewide growth. We track migration data closely because population in-migration is a direct demand signal for housing and local retail. For a broader explanation of why this matters for real estate investing, see Why Population In-Migration Matters for Real Estate…
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Why Neighborhood Shopping Centers Belong in a Modern Investment Portfolio
Neighborhood shopping centers are one of the most reliable and misunderstood real estate assets. They don’t behave like malls, they don’t depend on fashion trends, and they aren’t threatened by e-commerce in the same way other retail categories are. Instead, they exist for one purpose: serving everyday needs. For investors who want stable income, inflation…