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We moved down here from CT/NY in October and currently live in West Cary in an apartment complex. So far, we are loving the area.
We are doing our preliminary single family home search (will be getting an agent in a few weeks to really begin it). We have so far checked out parts of Morrisville, SW Durham (Fairfield/Grendale divisions - very nice), Cary, NE Raleigh, a little by Knightdale, and parts of Wake Forest.
This weekend we will be checking out Apex, Holly Springs and FV.
My wife works in Durham (she seems to indicate a 40-45 minute drive one way for commute would be OK) and I work remote but sometimes go into RTP once a week. Our preferred budget is $200,000-250,000. With a max of up to $330,000 if we find 'that dream home'. We have no kids but are planning in the next few years to begin our family.
I was wondering if anyone could talk a bit about the comparison between the two general areas just so we can get a general idea of the two. Such as shopping, restaurants, crime, and subdivisons, and schools. I'm not asking for a book on the matter, just a few general words to get the idea in my head. There are so many areas and subdivisions and whatnot to choose from and having another perspective could help in our search.
Our initial impressions of NE Raleigh it was nice, but didn't really like Route 1/Capital Blvd. E Raleigh, we only went into a subdivison off of where 540 ends and don't know much about shopping/etc. Wake Forest seemed very nice (by the Harris Teeter and the Heritage/Thorn-rose divisions).
My advice is do not go by town names or by zip codes. Both can be very deceiving. Plug in the actual address into a map service and see for yourself where it is located. You may be quite surprised how far from the center of town some locations are, which can be both good and bad.
I dont live in any of those places, but do Apex, Cary, HS, and Wake Forest. BUT what came to my mind is the commute. IT gets old fast. If you are planning to start a family in a few years, is your wife REALLY going to want to drive 40-45 minutes each way each day? One there are kids, I'm betting she would rather have less car time and more kid time. 40-45 minutes can turn into over an hour with an accident, weather condition (think ice) or construction. I would focus on areas closer to where she will be working.
From Holly Springs the toll road would do doable to Durham/RTP, but as I'm sure you've read, the Holly Springs market is smoking hot. In the 200-250k range, the houses are gone within hours of being listed with multiple offers. If you decide you want to settle here, be sure to be prepared to be on your toes. I think one of the realtors in the area stated in another thread that you may have to be prepared to make an offer without visiting.
We moved in June 2015, our house was listed at 5pm on a Sunday and we had a finalized offer by 8pm Monday night. We had friends that sold their house for $10k more than asking and the people didn't visit, saw pics online. These types of stories are the norm here. It's a great time to be a seller!
Rule out Wake Forest for the commute, for sure. Of course, Fuquay and Holly Springs wouldn't be a picnic to Durham, either.
What about Durham itself? Or Morrisville, which is spitting distance. Or the Leesville area of NW Raleigh.
I figured that Wake Forest would be too far, but we actually haven't driven it to Durham to check just yet. So that is great information.
We found some nice subdivisions (on first appearance) in SW Durham - Fairfield and Grendale. There were a few homes at the top of our price range so it may be possible to get into these with a little bit of luck. Someone suggested NOT to go anywhere near east Durham since that is the bad part of Durham (I guess)? My wife was mostly concerned about the schools in Durham. But are there options for private schooling?
I think we'll also be checking out what lies west of Durham, such as Chapel Hill and beyond.
We liked what we've seen in Morrisville. Our friend has a really nice house there (6,000 sqft) and everything seems quite nice.
Ideally, we'd probably like to stay in Cary or West Cary. But we do realize we may not be able to afford what we want (probably around the +350k budget for that).
Quote:
Originally Posted by spsmith713
From Holly Springs the toll road would do doable to Durham/RTP, but as I'm sure you've read, the Holly Springs market is smoking hot. In the 200-250k range, the houses are gone within hours of being listed with multiple offers. If you decide you want to settle here, be sure to be prepared to be on your toes. I think one of the realtors in the area stated in another thread that you may have to be prepared to make an offer without visiting.
We moved in June 2015, our house was listed at 5pm on a Sunday and we had a finalized offer by 8pm Monday night. We had friends that sold their house for $10k more than asking and the people didn't visit, saw pics online. These types of stories are the norm here. It's a great time to be a seller!
Wow that is crazy! Had no idea it was that hot. There would be no way we'd buy just based on pictures of a house. We got burned in a previous home purchase so we'll be taking things in a more rationalized and less quick way this time (we bought too quickly and ended up losing +50k on everything). But, do realize that this does not gel well with the how things ultimately are working in Holly Springs. Is this type of behavior the same in the entire Triangle? If so, maybe it is best we wait for a few years and save up and wait for things to cool down. We will, of course, still look around with an agent and see how it pans out for us.
It is not the same all around, at least not on that level. Inventory is low and we are in a sellers' market but the western portion is en fuego.
None of us can be certain how things will look in a few years but it seems reasonable interest rates will be higher and we have not seen evidence of home prices depreciating.
Personally, I don't know why anybody would willingly take on that kind of a commute, if it were me, I'd stay in West Cary, or maybe one of those older subdivisions along Cary Parkway, or Davis Drive, such as Park Village. (if you take new construction out of the equation, a whole world of possibilities opens up.)
But to answer your question...
Apex has everything you would ever want in a generic suburb, tons of shopping, chain restaurants, good access to highways going in every direction, always ranks high on the "best of" lists. Quaint downtown, although it is literally only a block and half long. New skate park for the kiddos. A lot like Cary, without the cool stuff, but you are close enough to Cary that you will have good access to anything that Apex is lacking. Good access to downtown Raleigh on HWY 1, if that matters.
Holly Springs is heading in the Apex direction, the new shopping complex pretty much removes the need to leave town, even a movie theatre looks set to open this year(?). Awesome parks and rec, it was already good with facilities like Womble Park, but the new baseball stadium and "minor" league baseball team make it the best services per capita in Wake (IMO). Horrible traffic, with only one highway servicing the town, only going to get worse at the rate the town is expanding (the completion of 540 will help). No real downtown to speak of, but good access to Cary, Apex and FV for that. Still some sketchy areas that you will want to avoid on dark nights.
FV still feels like more of a standalone town but only a matter of time before it too is swallowed up. Has all the essentials (Harris Teeter, Kohls, Home Depot, Walmart, bagles, etc), but no Target, and no movie theatre. Nice downtown(s) with around 100 businesses. 4 breweries, if you are into that. Less upscale housing options than neighboring towns, mostly 180-300K. Horrible traffic, infrastructure not keeping up with growth. Don't let the short lines at Harris Teeter fool you, the cashier will want to talk to everyone in the line, so it still moves slow. Good access to downtown Raleigh from the north side of town, but I can't help feeling that commute to Durham will get old fast.
Really, more similarities than differences between the towns. Don't get sucked into the "more house for your money" mentality, by stretching your commute. Choose the town that suits your needs best and then find the house there you can afford.
I live in Holly Springs and didn't know the market was quite that hot, but I'm not complaining! I agree with everything except the commute part. IF you are willing to pay for the toll road, your commute would be a breeze (as far as traffic volume...there are no backups on this road). I made downtown Durham from my house in 35 mins during rush hour using 540. I currently commute to downtown Raleigh which is 35-40 mins during rush hour. The traffic in HS is a big problem and the complaints have reached a fever pitch lately...but I do believe it will catch up...eventually. The 540 extension was just recommended yesterday, and that can only help our property values...not to mention my commute someday. Good luck to you are your family!
The market in the part of Holly Springs and Apex that is assigned to the new high school, Friendship, is absolutely nuclear.
We have spent the last several months looking at both for sale and rentals in this area, and I've never seen anything quite like it.
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