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Raleigh, NC

Housing

No Place Like Home

Greater Raleigh offers a variety of housing options, from urban dwellings to historic neighborhoods to brand-new subdivisions and everything in between. Although the median home price has topped $200,000, homes are available in all price ranges, and the area is still more affordable than many other regions with similar economies. Whether you choose Raleigh, Wake Forest or one of the other Wake County communities, you’ll find neighborhoods and subdivisions with prices ranging from the low $100,000s for a modest starter home up to $4 million for an executive-level estate, all in good school districts and close to amenities such as shopping, dining and recreation.

Raleigh Neighborhoods

Brier Creek
Brier Creek is one of Raleigh’s most prestigious addresses. Adjacent to Research Triangle Park and surrounded by a spectacular Arnold Palmer championship golf course, the homes in Brier Creek Country Club offer excellent design, quality craftsmanship and numerous customizing possibilities. Brier Creek offers something for singles or families of all sizes, from carriage homes and golf villas to luxurious executive homes. Starting prices range from $339,000 for carriage homes, to $443,000 for executive homes, to $575,000 for estate homes.

Crabtree Valley/70 West
Crabtree Valley encompasses the area surrounding Crabtree Valley Mall on Glenwood Avenue, including Highway 70 and the Rex Hospital area westward toward the airport. Home prices in established neighborhoods, such as Harrington Grove off Leesville Road or Pemberton off Westgate Road near the airport, range from $140,000 to $275,000. In Olde Raleigh, a popular gated community, housing costs run from the high $400,000s to over $1 million.

Downtown
For city dwellers, downtown residential options are more exciting than ever with the area’s burgeoning revitalization. Apartments, condominiums and single-family homes are within easy walking distance of all that downtown has to offer, and many more are planned. Condominiums at The Paramount, a new luxury 10-story building near Glenwood South, are priced from $194,000 to $850,000. Two other premier condominiums in downtown are The Dawson on Morgan and The Hudson, starting from the low $300,000s. The Mordecai neighborhood’s turn-of-the-century bungalows are available for $130,000 to $500,000. Boylan Heights offers large, architecturally diverse 19th- and 20th-century homes from $140,000. Properties in Historic Oakwood, which features many beautifully renovated Victorian homes, sell for $130,000 to $700,000.

East Raleigh
East Raleigh stretches from Capital Boulevard near the Interstate 440 Beltline to Rock Quarry Road. Homes in established neighborhoods, such as the golf course community of Hedingham off U.S. 64, are priced from about $100,000 to $250,000. The New Bern Avenue area offers convenient access to Raleigh Country Club. New development occurs mainly around Buffalo and New Hope roads and off Poole Road, but the widening of the U.S. 401 corridor has spurred new development as well. Home prices in Cobblestone range from $94,000 to $130,000, while houses in New Hope Crossing cost $110,000 to $160,000.

Inside the Beltline
Renowned for its established Southern homes along tree-lined streets, Old Raleigh is a premier address. Popular bungalows and smaller homes built in the 1930s generally start around $200,000. The older homes of Country Club Hills, surrounding the exclusive Carolina Country Club and its golf course off Glenwood Avenue, range from $450,000 to more than $2 million. The new Gardens on Glenwood condominiums are priced from $375,000 to $800,000. Houses in the trendy Five Points neighborhood range from $200,000 to more than $750,000, while the adjacent Hayes Barton estates run anywhere from $350,000 to about $1.5 million.

North Raleigh
North Raleigh is one of the area’s fastest-growing sectors, attractive for its mix of well-established subdivisions and new developments. North Hills, one of Raleigh’s more established subdivisions, has many solid homes on generous lots beginning at about $225,000. North Ridge, an older neighborhood close to the Beltline, offers houses from $200,000 to more than $1 million. New homes cost $200,000 to $400,000 in Falls River, off Durant Road, with some condominiums available in the $100,000 range; homes in the adjoining Bedford community range up to $600,000. Other upscale neighborhoods in North Raleigh include Chatsworth, Crossmoor, Olde Creedmoor and Traemoor, with homes from $500,000 to $800,000. Homes in Devon range from $900,000 to $2 million.

Wakefield Plantation is a premier country club community off Falls of Neuse Road. The 2,200-acre tract contains more than 3,500 homes and apartment units; one of two Tournament Players Club golf courses in North Carolina; swimming, tennis and dining facilities; a YMCA; greenways; and an elementary, middle and high school complex. Houses in Wakefield start at $185,000, while some of the larger homes can cost nearly $4 million.

West Raleigh
West Raleigh is the area near Hillsborough Street and Western Boulevard and is home to North Carolina State University. Housing prices vary in neighborhoods such as those off Avent Ferry Road near Lake Johnson or farther out off Blue Ridge Road. Homes built in the 1980s in Glenoe range from $215,000 to $350,000. Homes in Trailwood Hills, near the McKimmon Center, are $140,000 to $200,000, and homes at Lake Johnson Harbor, adjacent to the park, lake and greenway, are $140,000 to $200,000. The area also claims the early-20th-century neighborhood of Cameron Park, which features many large two-story homes with front porches and gardens, and Cameron Village, where condos average around $135,000 and homes are $225,000 and up.

Multifamily Housing
Persons who prefer to rent in Raleigh have a choice of as many housing options and lifestyles as their home-buying counterparts. Rents average about $650 per month for a one-bedroom apartment, $750 for a two-bedroom and $925 for a three-bedroom. Many luxury apartments and town houses include upscale interior finishes and architecture and offer amenities such as fireplaces, garages and access to health spas and executive centers. The rental housing market also thrives in the area, with units ranging from small one- or two-bedroom homes to larger houses suitable for families. Typical monthly rents run from $750 to $950 for smaller houses to about $1,300 for a 1,600-square-foot residence.

Wake County Communities
In addition to Raleigh, Wake County has 11 municipalities that offer the appeal of a small-town community with the cultural, educational, employment and other benefits of a large metropolitan area. The towns range from Rolesville, with just 1,000 people, to the more urban Cary, with over 111,000 residents. All of the towns are growing rapidly, and their leaders and citizens are planning well to make sure they can meet the demands of growth while maintaining a high quality of life. The towns all offer excellent schools, abundant recreational opportunities and easy commuting access to major commercial centers. Home buyers will discover quaint older homes and impressive new communities, many complete with golf courses. (More information about the city of Raleigh is contained in this guide or is available from the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, 919-664-7000 or www.raleighchamber.org.)

Apex
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 362-6456
www.apexchamber.com

Located in southwestern Wake County, Apex was named the best small town in North Carolina by Business North Carolina magazine for its economic vitality. Apex is a progressive, family-oriented community of 29,674 that touts itself as the “Peak of Good Living.”

The town was first settled around 1867 and incorporated in 1873; its name was adopted because the community was situated on the highest point on the Chatham Railroad between Richmond, Va., and Jacksonville, Fla. The historic downtown district is on the National Register of Historic Places and offers specialty shops and several restaurants, while the relatively new town hall campus includes a community center with a full gymnasium, exercise and craft rooms, and a game room. The town is in the process of adding an additional gymnasium to the campus. The 1914 Apex Train Depot, home of the Apex Chamber of Commerce, is the venue for a series of free outdoor concerts.

A convenient 20–25 minutes from Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Sanford, Research Triangle Park and Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Apex offers a variety of housing choices for all stages of life.

Cary
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 467-1016
www.carychamber.com

Progressive and vibrant, Cary seems more like an urban area than a small town. While more than 111,000 people call Cary home, it’s still known as the “Town of Cary” and offers a historic downtown area and comfortable neighborhoods and subdivisions, many on small lakes. In January 2004, Money magazine named Cary the most desirable place to live in the eastern United States and one of the six “hottest towns” in America. Cary has repeatedly ranked among the top regions in North Carolina to start a business, buy a house, raise a family and retire. It is located in the heart of the Triangle, adjacent to Research Triangle Park, and is only minutes away from Raleigh-Durham International Airport and the state’s capital. It’s also ranked as one of the safest cities in the nation and the safest city in the South.

Known as the “Technology Town of North Carolina,” Cary is home to one of the region’s largest employers, the privately owned SAS Institute, an international software company. Cary’s citizens are also computer-oriented (nearly nine of every 10 have access to the Internet). Each August, the town hosts Lazy Daze, one of the largest arts and crafts festivals in the Southeast, drawing some 500 vendors and more than 60,000 attendees. Cary is also known for its golf courses, including Prestonwood, which hosts nationally televised events like the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic (named for the late N.C. State University basketball coach Jim Valvano) and the Senior PGA Tour’s SAS Championship.

Fuquay-Varina
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 552-4947
www.fuquay-varina.com
The Town of Fuquay-Varina, nestled in the southwest corner of Wake County, began as two communities: Fuquay Springs, a resort near a spring on Stephen Fuquay’s property, and Varina, named for a young woman who wrote to soldiers in the Civil War. The two towns merged and eventually added a hyphen to the name to acknowledge the historical significance of both settlements.

Today, the town is home to more than 10,000 residents who enjoy the balance of a strong sense of history with high-tech industries and innovative businesses. More than 20 manufacturers and industries are based in Fuquay-Varina, including such major employers as Guilford, John Deere’s Turf Care Division, Freight Handlers and the Bob Barker Company.

Garner
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 772-6440
www.garnerchamber.com

The convenience of being 10 minutes from Raleigh, two minutes from Interstate 40 and 30 minutes from Research Triangle Park has contributed to solid growth in Garner. Over the last three years, Garner’s tax base has increased by $297 million. With four major shopping centers, including a newly constructed $70 million project and a large new mall in the works for 2006–07, shopping in Garner is becoming increasingly more convenient.

Garner is the fourth-largest town in Wake County, with a population of 22,000 citizens. It still claims small-town charm and promotes itself as “A Great Place To Be.” Citizens turn out for Friday night high school football games and the annual Independence Day Festival. Garner also draws business, industry and research through Greenfield Industrial Park, which is conveniently located to Interstates 40 and 95. Recent additions to the park include a $50 million expansion by Pergo, a new $16 million plan for Papa Johns Foods, and a $5 million car dealership.

Holly Springs
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 567-1796
www.hollyspringschamber.org

In 1990, about 1,000 people lived in Holly Springs. Today, over 14,000 call the town home, earning it the distinction of being one of the fastest-growing towns in North Carolina. The town’s population is expected to double over the next five years.

Growth has brought exciting development opportunities to the town, including the new Jones Park, a new town hall, a medical center and improvements to the industrial park. A recently passed countywide bond referendum will fund a new library and cultural arts center as well as a new high school in coming years. Holly Springs already has its own elementary school and middle school.

The community, only 20 minutes from downtown Raleigh and 30 minutes from RDU Airport, offers abundant recreational opportunities, with both Jordan and Harris lakes nearby and the four-star Devil’s Ridge golf course inside Holly Springs’ limits. Holly Springs is geared heavily toward families and offers housing options from older homes and farmsteads to modern subdivisions.

Knightdale
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 266-4603
www.knightdalechamber.com
With 6,000 residents and an annual growth rate of 12.5 percent over the past 10 years, Knightdale is also one of the fastest-growing towns in the state. The town’s leaders have partnered with the county to provide facilities that include a new regional library in the Town Hall complex and a new elementary school and high school with a 70-acre community park, complete with baseball and soccer fields, swings, picnic tables, and an outdoor amphitheatre. The Knightdale Environmental Park offers a nature trail system with picnic areas and a trellis, and the town’s active Parks and Recreation Department provides sports programs for more than 1,000 children annually. A new Community Center provides programs for youth through seniors, while the pool features summer swimming, lessons and water aerobics. A new Frisbee golf course rounds out the wide variety of recreational opportunities.

While a few 18th-century plantations still exist in Knightdale, which is located just four miles east of Raleigh, current growth includes a number of upscale developments that are attracting new families.

Morrisville
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 380-9026
www.morrisvillenc.com

Morrisville is called the “Heart of the Triangle” because of its central, convenient location in the dynamic Triangle region. More and more people have discovered this 150-year-old town in recent years, making a once tiny hamlet one of the fastest-growing communities in Wake County. Morrisville’s population, only 250 in 1980, has grown to just under 12,000 and is expected to reach 25,000 before build-out is completed.

Morrisville borders both Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Research Triangle Park. With easy access to major highways and nearby Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, Morrisville is attractive to retailers and business, enjoying an enviable tax base of $1.7 billion in 2003. More than 800 businesses call Morrisville home, and The New York Times has called the town one of the best places in America to start and grow a company. Morrisville is also home to the largest retail outlet center in the Triangle, Prime Outlets, which has more than 50 manufacturer-owned outlet stores. The real estate market offers a wide selection of housing to suit any lifestyle.

Rolesville
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 562-7069
www.ci.rolesville.nc.us

With approximately 1,100 citizens, Rolesville is both Wake County’s smallest town and its second-oldest, after Raleigh. Located just 14 miles northeast of Raleigh, the town’s population doubled in the 1990s.

Rolesville’s small-town atmosphere is reflected in its charming yet rustic downtown, which is filled with antique and specialty shops. Rolesville’s leaders are preparing for growth through a number of strategies collectively called “planning for livable communities.” Goals and achievements include planned unit developments that incorporate both commercial uses and upscale homes, a new Open Space and Greenway Plan, the purchase of more than 35 acres for Main Street Park in the center of town (Phase I of the park is near completion), a planned bypass to help mitigate traffic in downtown Rolesville and attract industry and commercial centers to the south part of town, and a new extension of Wake Technical Community College, which will locate south of town on Highway 401.

Ultimately, Rolesville, known as the “small town with a bright future,” strives to be a great community in which to raise a family, open a new business and enjoy the many recreational opportunities at hand.

Wake Forest
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 556-1519
www.wakeforestchamber.org

A town steeped in tradition and history, Wake Forest continues to progress and prosper and is now home to more than 16,000 people. The town grew up around the campus of Wake Forest College, which has since moved to Winston-Salem and become Wake Forest University. The original college campus in Wake Forest, a charming setting featuring Georgian architecture and stately trees, now houses Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The historic downtown business area is a growing, thriving center where people can walk to restaurants and shops. The town also has a busy commercial district along U.S. 1, which borders the Wakefield area of Raleigh. Wake Forest has been successful in bringing more companies and jobs to the town, and several national and international companies are located in the area. Like many other Wake County municipalities, Wake Forest has seen a flurry of commercial development in recent years, including shopping centers and office buildings, as well as a great deal of residential development. Town leaders have also been successful in preserving open space within town limits. Wake Forest is home to many parks and recreation facilities and is only five minutes from Falls Lake, a major state park.

Although Wake Forest’s growing population is moving it out of “small town” status, it still maintains a community atmosphere. Residents can get involved in numerous volunteer clubs and organizations. The town hosts one of the largest Fourth of July fireworks displays in the area, with activities that include a children’s parade. And downtown is the site of spring and fall community festivals, most notably “HerbFest” and “Meet In The Street.”

Wendell
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 365-6318
www.wendellchamber.com

While Wendell’s 4,600 citizens cherish their past, they also eagerly look forward and plan for their future. With a slogan of “Wendell: Small Town Charm — Capital City Connection,” the town is 14 miles east of Raleigh. Its name (pronounced “win-DELL,” not “WEN-dell”) came from a 19th-century schoolmaster who admired the American writer Oliver Wendell Holmes. A favorite spot of locals is J. Ashley Wall Towne Square, a relaxing spot amid tall shade trees and historic buildings and the site of numerous town fairs and festivals with its outdoor garden, gazebo and stage.

Citizens like to be involved in making their community better. The popular Eastern Wake Senior Center and Retirement Community resulted from a vigorous community fundraising effort to serve a growing senior population. Operated by the Council on Aging of Wake County, the center offers recreational programming, a nutrition program and adult daycare.

The Village of Wendell Shopping Center opened about 10 years ago, as new industries continued to propel the town’s economic growth. The Hugh T. Moody Nature Trail is both peaceful and educational for hikers. Citizens are also excited about the 45 acres recently purchased to expand Wendell Park, which will offer new recreational opportunities for coming generations.

Zebulon
Chamber of Commerce
(919) 269-6320
www.zebulonchamber.org

Proud of its Southern hospitality, Zebulon’s 4,600 residents enjoy getting to know one another at baseball games, the town’s library, the community park and the quaint, renovated downtown. Named after Zebulon B. Vance, North Carolina’s governor during the Civil War, Zebulon has attracted worldwide companies like GlaxoSmithKline, U.S. Food Services Inc., Nomaco and Nomacorc.

The town also is home to the Carolina Mudcats, a Class AA minor league baseball franchise that competes in the Southern League. During the summer, Mudcats home games are played in the 7,000-seat Five County Stadium, a newly renovated facility co-owned by Wake County and the Town of Zebulon.

The town provides many recreational programs for all ages. The county opened the Eastern Regional Center in Zebulon so that citizens could receive many public health, social and other services closer to home. Zebulon is located at the easternmost edge of Wake County on Highway 64, about 30 minutes from Raleigh.