WUNC-FM: Raleigh Housing Market Goes Boom (appraiser, work, sold)

[architect77]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

There are few similarities between NYC and Triangle geography and development potential.

And, no one has a clue what "choke itself off" means. What the heck DOES it mean?

Metro Atlanta has more or less choked itself off, unless you're amenable to 2 hour commutes each way.

Wake County, however, has the opposite school situation as Metro Atlanta.

At my last job with an office smack-dab in downtown Atlanta, almost all of the employees commuted over an hour each way in horrific traffic to get to their affordable home in a decent school district, 30 miles out in all four directions.

_________

If any of you want to make some money, I suggest buying a small piece of land between Rolesville and Louisburg within a mile of US-401.

In three years or so, it will be 4 lanes all the way to the Royal community (a crossroads).

It will be an easy 15 minutes to Capital Blvd.

You could build a row of thin, 3 story brick townhouses, and have one common grassy area, no HOA but rather an agreement with the few owners, and make several hundred thousand dollars in profit.

With less yard, the focus could be on nicer finishes. And there is a lot of economy in sharing walls (best sound blocking technology of course).

This seems to be a can't-lose off US401. I think a $300K price point might be a good start?

Pictured are ridiculously overprized in the 800,000s with proximity to Lenox Mall as the only attribute.
FullSizeRender by Stephen Edwards, on Flickr
IMG_0362 by Stephen Edwards, on Flickr

[m378]

Wow those are the ugliest townhouses I think I've ever seen.

[DPK]

Originally Posted by m378

Wow those are the ugliest townhouses I think I've ever seen.

Wow... yeah I agree. There's no character at all to that building outside of it being several flat walls at different depths. No thanks indeed.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by theS5

Your point is valid, but let's not forget that those homes that are in close proximity to conveniences and jobs/city center, will always hold their value.

Totally agree. In fact once the area within reasonable commuting distance is built out, the ones closest to employment centers hold their value the best. See the crappy houses in western Nassau County, NY going for $500K and up with $12K and up taxes.

[Sal_M]

Originally Posted by twingles

Totally agree. In fact once the area within reasonable commuting distance is built out, the ones closest to employment centers hold their value the best. See the crappy houses in western Nassau County, NY going for $500K and up with $12K and up taxes.

^^^^This^^

[JaPaKoMom]

Originally Posted by CapitalBlvd

Without good mass rail transit this area will choke itself off.

In Long Island, it was a famous joke to suggest adding lanes to the Long Island Expressway as the governments here constantly tout.

Bringing more traffic in from far away suburbs will clobber the inner areas with enormous traffic jams.

You can see that now as you watch the traffic from Wake Forest crawl to and from Raleigh.

Many folks will want to live in areas close to work or easily reached by fast rail transit. The scattering of employment areas in many parts of this area will greatly complicate this effort.

When I worked in Manhattan, I lived there too. Had to settle for a middle income project but avoiding a disgusting commute was well worth it.

You do realize that most metro areas in the US do not have good mass rail transit, right? It hasn't stopped growth.

[Sherifftruman]

Originally Posted by JaPaKoMom

You do realize that most metro areas in the US do not have good mass rail transit, right? It hasn't stopped growth.

You literally can't use logic with a person who claims taxes are too high and rising and at the same time insists that we need much more mass transit, which will need tax money to be built. Who complains housing prices are too high, but insists we need large taxes put on developers and builders, which will simply drive housing prices up.

As far as people moving further out, it's been happening, but people have long since discovered that Durham is a nice location for RTP area workers so too late there. Chatham does have some potential, but I don't think you'll see any rock bottom prices there either.

[architect77]

Those ugly townhouses don't bother me, maybe I'm only seeing the brick exterior which I perceive at solid and attractive.

Yes the top floor is bland, I think if it terminated in a much bigger cornice, reminiscent of old downtowns or row houses, that it would look better.

Still, overwhelmingly I see efficient use of land and shorter drive times when I look at a development like this.

Of course, in front of them is an alley way of parking spots, so the full frontal ugliness isn't facing the street.

With your strong opinions, what do you think of these very unusual town homes?

brookhaven by Stephen Edwards, on Flickr

[m378]

Originally Posted by architect77

With your strong opinions, what do you think of these very unusual town homes?

I think those all look like commercial buildings - I personally don't like townhouses that look like a storage warehouse.

[Crashj007]

I sent this link to the jerkwad appraiser who evaluated my house for less than an identical house across the street sold for in 2012.