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I live in Zebulon, and can recommend the area. We're not in the city limits, and are just over the county line into Franklin county. There is a lot of land for sale out here, and the price drops significantly once you leave Wake county. However, most of the places I've found don't have houses built yet.
The zip code is 27597, if you're interested in doing a search. I found a listing for a 2200 square foot home on 22 acres for 370,000.
Oh, and I work in downtown Raleigh. My commute is 35 minutes.
Just to give you a ballpark, land in Johnston County right now is going for anywhere from 12k and up (mostly up!) per acre. That does not include land. Not to discourage you, but I doubt you're going to find what you're looking for. You're either going to have to spend more $$ or lower your standards slightly!
Someone like Mike Jaquish can help you more than most of us here - it might help to give him or another realtor a call or e-mail.
But, I thought about the same thing, and looked in the Bahama-ish area. You can find 2-3 acres, with home in that range easily. I looked at one that was 10 acres. But don't expect the home to be in pristine condition if you want 5+ acres. I also didn't want a well or septic tank, and that limits options too. I'd suggest actually coming out here, driving to Bahama or further north, get an idea of what it would take to maintain a 5+ acre home, drive to Durham or Raleigh, and then see if it's still for you. It wasn't for us. Ouch, reality hurt.
I think Franklin County *may* hold some opportunity as well as parts Johnston County (Near smithfield and Selma). The only caveat being that you will need to take a close look at schools in those places since they may not meet your criteria.
Is employment a consideration? That will obviously play a large role in your decision if it is. I suggest you come and check out the area and start with where your job will be located and work from there. And yes, I think a realtor would be able to help you greatly. Good Luck!
I think that you can find land and a home, likely within 30 minutes of some Raleigh area.
The intangible will be the schools, and that is a very subjective choice, once you get past test scores, etc.
Another significant consideration will be finding a property that will accommodate another dwelling, i.e., will support another septic system in particular.
Edit to add:
Since you added, "Raleigh, Durham, or some other city," that opens up many more possibilities in rural Durham and Orange counties.
Last edited by MikeJaquish; 01-12-2009 at 07:23 AM..
Something else to keep in mind, Johnston County schools had a higher "average" than Wake County and we do not have relocations due to basically anything!
Smithfield/Selma area is on the cusp of the 40-45 minutes to Raleigh. I live in Willow Spring and it takes on average about 30-35 minutes to get to Raleigh/Cary area. I did a search for my area code (27592) and only found a house with 1.17 acres for $299.
Something else to keep in mind, Johnston County schools had a higher "average" than Wake County and we do not have relocations due to basically anything!
relocation?????.... do you mean redistricting?? If so, parts of Johnston Co has grown alot and will continue to grow. Johnston Co (like many other Triangle counties along with Wake) will see redistricting due to growth in the next 10 years, IMHO. Redistricting due to growth is very different than the redistricting that Wake does. But I do not think it's wise to think you can move to Johnston Co, Durham Co, Hillsborough, etc to avoid all redistricting. I think it depends on where you pick and how many more years of school your children have. I highly doubt my Kindergartener here in Durham will get through school without any redistricting.
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