Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The real estate in Holly Springs is on fire and moves very quickly. Folks are getting full priced offers, some even getting more. We sold our house in 24 hours, we have friends that sold their house for $10,000 more than asking and the buyers didn't even visit, only saw it online. Having said that, it has pushed prices up considerably over the last year or so. This site is full of very good realtors that know way more about real estate than I do, I am only going on personal experience and what I hear/see.
I've noticed that homes are selling fast there. Fortunately, we plan on renting for a year and then looking to buy. Maybe we can miss the runup and things can get settled back to a more reasonable level. I'm seeing some areas I was watching a few years back settle down and not have nearly the competition they once had. Listings are doing multiple price reductions over a period of 100+ days. I'm not going to bite on a price that I can get up in NJ. That's for sure. Carrboro seems to be blown out right now. No inventory and high prices. Cheaper to build your own at that point.
Plenty of good public schools in Raleigh. My kids are younger and will most likely be going to private school so I'll allow others to chime in that have more knowledge/experience.
FYI: Unlike in NY, schools are county wide districts. Kids aren't always assigned to a school in the town in which they reside. Cary, Raleigh, Holly Springs, Apex are in the same district.
Why buy a home in a place where your kids aren't going to stay put in those schools? That's very strange to me.
250K is not a healthy budget for Cary or Apex. Even 400K is not a healthy budget for Chapel Hill.
Nah, you can get decent 4BR in Cary for low to mid $300's. I think it just depends on where the market is at the time you buy and the value it's bringing to you. Personally, if I were going to spend $400 I'd stay in NJ or PA for that and still have Access to NYC and Philly.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,793,171 times
Reputation: 10888
Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickhealy
I'm not going to bite on a price that I can get up in NJ. That's for sure. Carrboro seems to be blown out right now. No inventory and high prices. Cheaper to build your own at that point.
You are correct. Your budget is low for Carrboro or Chapel Hill in the house size you want. And yes, prices are rising here. People hear that you can live cheaply in NC in a new home in nice neighborhood - and it's true. But those neighborhoods are farther out from the cities' core downtowns, often in former rural areas, with not as highly-ranked schools. If you start ticking the boxes of walkable downtowns, close to the city, highly ranked schools, etc. then the prices start approaching northern cities' prices - not the NYC metro area necessarily, but Philly, South Jersey, Balto. etc.
Have you considered Wake Forest? It has a decent sized downtown, and the schools have a pretty good reputation. It's a bit farther away from downtown Raleigh than Cary or some other suburbs, so that helps keep the costs down.
Why buy a home in a place where your kids aren't going to stay put in those schools? That's very strange to me.
Wait until you hear about "reassignments" and "capping"
There are a few threads on CD that will explain how the school systems work around here...I can't seem to find them at the moment...
In all honesty I don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be. Most assignments are fairly stable, but especially in those high growth areas (Western Wake - Holly Springs, Apex & Cary) you will see a bit more shifting around.
Like a PP mentioned, the real estate market is hot all over the triangle. If you see a house that you like that you can afford, jump on it. We got one of those mailers from a local RE firm the other day and the two houses that were sold last month in our West Raleigh subdivision were on the market for less than 3 days and sold above asking price.
you're not getting ITB (the area encompassed by the I440 "beltline") for your budget and stated needs. You're also not getting North Hills (27609 zip, just outside the Beltline and convenient and somewhat walkable).
I'd be surprised if you can get walkable in Chapel Hill/Carrboro either. I'd have to check on Southern Village (south of Chapel Hill, but a self-contained multi-use subdivision).
Downtown Apex has some of the things you seek, as does downtown Cary. It's just neither one has the housing stock you seek - it's mostly smaller homes. But both areas are also very small - like less than 3 square blocks. Within 1 mile of downtown Apex you're going to pay $330-350K for that 2,500 sqft house (and only 15 have sold this year). Downtown Cary? Even fewer choices, lots of mid-70's styles, and thus only ~$300K.
I agree with Bo for your budget you are not going to find all the things you are looking for. I know that coming from NY there is this perception that this area is cheap. If you own a home on LI and sell it and take that profit with you and then save on property taxes here then this area is cheaper than NYC/LI but there are far more cheaper places. Home prices have been rising here. If you view it as giving up NYC, I am not so sure you are ready for this transition.
I am LI and I do get nostalgic for NYC but only as a visitor. I will never be rich enough to live comfortably in NYC. Living on LI feeling like I am drowning in the COL so I schlep into Manhattan and waste upwards of 3 hours of my day or need to take loan out just to entertain a family of 4 at the museum, no thank you, I am not giving up anything. It is all perspective and it can make or break your move.
One more point to make. You keep saying if you need to go to $400 you will just get a house in NJ, I hope you realize the 2 are not comparable and if that is how you feel, you should not be looking here.
I agree with Bo for your budget you are not going to find all the things you are looking for. I know that coming from NY there is this perception that this area is cheap. If you own a home on LI and sell it and take that profit with you and then save on property taxes here then this area is cheaper than NYC/LI but there are far more cheaper places. Home prices have been rising here. If you view it as giving up NYC, I am not so sure you are ready for this transition.
I am LI and I do get nostalgic for NYC but only as a visitor. I will never be rich enough to live comfortably in NYC. Living on LI feeling like I am drowning in the COL so I schlep into Manhattan and waste upwards of 3 hours of my day or need to take loan out just to entertain a family of 4 at the museum, no thank you, I am not giving up anything. It is all perspective and it can make or break your move.
One more point to make. You keep saying if you need to go to $400 you will just get a house in NJ, I hope you realize the 2 are not comparable and if that is how you feel, you should not be looking here.
I am originally from Central NY, moved here in 2003 after graduating from college, without a job just taking a chance. There is so much talk about numbers and $ and I agree those are huge items. However, 1 point I want to throw out there is for me & my family, the OVERALL quality of life here is 1000 times what it was where we were at. I don't feel there is enough emphasis put on how much better the overall quality of life is here than NY (in my opinion).
Last edited by spsmith713; 07-23-2015 at 12:44 PM..
Reason: fat finger typing
Nah, you can get decent 4BR in Cary for low to mid $300's. I think it just depends on where the market is at the time you buy and the value it's bringing to you. Personally, if I were going to spend $400 I'd stay in NJ or PA for that and still have Access to NYC and Philly.
I said 250K was not a healthy budget for Cary but you can get a decent home in the low 300's.
If you are moving here soley for the cost of housing, you are probably making mistake.
I am originally from Central NY, moved here in 2003 after graduating from college, without a job just taking a chance. There is so much talk about numbers and $ and I agree those are huge items. However, 1 point I want to throw out there is for me & my family, the OVERALL quality of life here is 1000 times what it was where we were at. I don't feel there is enough emphasis put on how much better the overall quality of life is here than NY (in my opinion).
Without a doubt on the QOL... Can't put a price on that no way.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
