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People have made some good suggestions, but just wanted to point out that $800-1M would be an incredibly high amount to spend around here for what you're describing: a modest-sized house in a very wooded neighborhood with not very big lots.
Carolina Trace in Sanford might work. But for your budget - as an indication of home value - I would definitely look closer to the core of the Triangle.
Lochmere is a great choice. I'd add "Stonebridge" (in quotes on purpose - any neighborhood bound by 540, 6 Forks, Creedmoor and Mount Vernon Church Rd) in North Raleigh. They are big lots - almost an acre - but many of them have left all the trees and have little grass.
People have made some good suggestions, but just wanted to point out that $800-1M would be an incredibly high amount to spend around here for what you're describing: a modest-sized house in a very wooded neighborhood with not very big lots.
We can always spend less. Homes in Pinehurst are going for over a million with the look we like, though many would need to be updated. We just don't need the room anymore. If the view out our front and back door are exactly what we want, but the house is bigger we can handle that. And a large yard that has no maintenance requirement (grass) would work as well.
We can update a house, but we can't "update" the trees etc. At least not with natural growth. Does that make sense. Just planting a bunch of trees won't really work.
We just know that living in Pinehurst isn't what we want. Too far from a major city. We love the access the Raleigh area provides. Airport, shopping etc. I don't need it in my backyard (true urban) but quick access.
We also don't want an area where the population soars during certain times of the year. Pinehurst and golfing season would not work for us. We currently live in a resort area and it sucks! I don't mind crowded as the norm, as the restaurants, groceries etc support the population year-round, but areas that surge make it tough.
We love the layout of Pinehurst, meaning houses situated amongst pine trees. Not really looking for the cute commercial area like Pinehurst, we don't golf, so don't see the need to actually live in Pinehurst. We do like the idea of being nearer to Raleigh, open to anything in the area. Retired so commute is not an issue.
In Raleigh, I'm seeing lots of new builds, with every tree removed, or super old homes on massive lots, and big separation between homes. We like a neighborhood, but like visual separation like you get in Pinehurst. We also like that big grass yards are not a thing unless you want it.
Any suggestions on similar neighborhoods closer to Raleigh? Looking in the $800-1M range. We don't need a big house, would actually prefer something about 2500 sq ft, but those seem to be in super cookie-cutter, zero lot lines etc.
If I was looking for a heavily wooded lot in the $800K-1M price range I would check out neighborhoods off of Raven Ridge Road, Possum Track Road and Durant Road (west of Falls of Neuse Road) and neighborhoods off of Six Forks Road north of Durant Road in North Raleigh and unicorporated Wake County.
Now some of those neighborhoods have mainly very large homes but you can also find some smaller sized homes too. Most of the homes are on wooded 1 acre lots and lots of trees because of their proximity to the lake and density restrictions. They feel very wooded and secluded but at the same time provide easy access to North Raleigh ammenities.
I love pine trees, but one thing to mention about having a yard full of them--they are dangerous in summer storms (occasional hurricanes, but mostly just strong storms, which are not uncommon) AND in ice storms, which are also common in the winter. The large limbs fall on roofs and power lines, and the trees themselves have shallow roots, which makes them susceptible to falling over in a sudden gust of wind. They are also top-heavy because the lower limbs tend to lose their foliage, making them even more dangerous in ice (pine needles can hold a LOT of ice, and you'll see smaller pines bent completely over into an arch sometimes in ice storms).
We had a backyard full of pines, but finally had them all taken out because they made us very nervous in strong storms, after plenty of LARGE branches (almost as big as a small tree themselves) snapped off and hit either the roof or the fence. We had just moved into our current house in 1996 when h
Hurricane Fran hit, blowing over several LARGE pine trees, thankfully AWAY from the house because they'd have crushed the house if they'd fallen this way.
I mention this since you specified "pine trees". I'm aware that Pinehurst/Southern Pines etc are known for their pines (my parents retired there 30 years ago so), but maybe the weather they get there is different enough from Raleigh (especially the ice) that they aren't seen as as much of a danger.
Wooded lots are lovely, but you might look into more hardwood trees in a mature lot. Raleigh is the "City of Oaks" and we have lots of wooded lots that were developed before about 1990 with mature trees now.
I love pine trees, but one thing to mention about having a yard full of them--they are dangerous in summer storms (occasional hurricanes, but mostly just strong storms, which are not uncommon) AND in ice storms, which are also common in the winter. The large limbs fall on roofs and power lines, and the trees themselves have shallow roots, which makes them susceptible to falling over in a sudden gust of wind. They are also top-heavy because the lower limbs tend to lose their foliage, making them even more dangerous in ice (pine needles can hold a LOT of ice, and you'll see smaller pines bent completely over into an arch sometimes in ice storms).
We had a backyard full of pines, but finally had them all taken out because they made us very nervous in strong storms, after plenty of LARGE branches (almost as big as a small tree themselves) snapped off and hit either the roof or the fence. We had just moved into our current house in 1996 when h
Hurricane Fran hit, blowing over several LARGE pine trees, thankfully AWAY from the house because they'd have crushed the house if they'd fallen this way.
I mention this since you specified "pine trees". I'm aware that Pinehurst/Southern Pines etc are known for their pines (my parents retired there 30 years ago so), but maybe the weather they get there is different enough from Raleigh (especially the ice) that they aren't seen as as much of a danger.
Wooded lots are lovely, but you might look into more hardwood trees in a mature lot. Raleigh is the "City of Oaks" and we have lots of wooded lots that were developed before about 1990 with mature trees now.
Thanks for the thoughts. I currently live in NW Florida we have tons of pine trees on our property, over 100! Some big some small. We are actually not allowed to remove the longleaf pines unless they are dying or damaged. They withstand hurricane-force wind better than any other trees as they have very deep roots.
But we don't get a lot of ice storms so that is something to think about.
I'm not necessarily a pine tree lover...or even a tree lover...just a lawn hater! But I love a shady yard vs a seriously xeriscape landscaped yard. I also like the privacy that trees in the front yard provide yet allow me to live in a neighborhood. We also use pinestraw for mulch around here, and things just don't grow under them, if I can get the same look with an Oak that is fine. But I know Oaks and Magnolias come with their own maintenance issue/clean-up issues. That is why I love Pinehurst, some of the houses you can barely see, but they are relatively close together. It seems that you can do what you want with the landscaping, vs some new neighborhoods. And I don't mean do what you want and have it look like a dump, but with landscaping choices that aren't a manicured lawn.
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