Which Raleigh NC Suburb Fits You Best?

If you're moving to Raleigh North

Carolina, then you probably fit into one

of these five different categories.

We've helped countless families relocate

to Raleigh and had it probably thousands

of conversations with families trying to

figure out where is the right place for

them to live. The crazy part is most

people calling us firmly believe that

they fit squarely into one of these

categories, but by the time we hear out

what they actually want, [music] they

usually end up fitting somewhere

completely different. And I'll be

straight with you. There is no single

best Raleigh suburb. It's really going

to come down to the type of home you

want, how much space you need, your

budget, what you want your daily life to

look like. But I have found that most

people are going to fall into one of

these categories and it's really going

to help you unlock where you should be

focusing your efforts and which areas of

Raleigh you should just completely

avoid. The very first category that

comes to mind is the relocator who is

very school driven. This is absolutely,

without a question of doubt, the number

one call that we get. Hey, my family and

I are moving. I have kids. I really need

them to be in the top [music] schools.

Sure the house is important. Sure I want

to like where I live, but at the end of

the day, I need to be in the

neighborhoods that are going to get my

kids into those top school districts.

Now, when it comes to schools, here's

what people typically do. They read some

things online. They go through Reddit.

They watch some videos and [music] the

conclusion that they come to is that

Cary is the place to be. They're also

looking at Mooresville here. They're

also looking at Apex and they're also

looking often at Holly Springs. [music]

Um the west side of Raleigh, it has an

amazing reputation when it comes to both

public schools, but also charter and

private schools. There are a lot of

top-rated schools in here and that data

is out there. Absolutely, we have some

amazing schools on the west [music]

side. Now, the mistake that people make

is they box themselves into being on

this west side because that's where the

good schools are, right? But, they

completely overlook some of the other

equally top-rated schools that are

sprinkled throughout all of Raleigh.

[music] For example, in North Raleigh,

there's some really strong school

districts that a lot of locals will

fight over in this area here and even up

into here with Leesville ISD. This area

up here near the airport in Briar Creek

is really cool cuz it can get you into a

year-round public school that's

top-rated, and a lot of people don't

know that we have year-round schools

here. They're not [music] really common

on this west side, but for some folks,

that's actually a really great option

for their kids where they basically are

on for 3 weeks and then they get like 2

weeks off or something like that. That

can be a really cool option. You have

top-rated schools up here in Wake

Forest, [music]

Wake Forest High over on the west side

here. And one thing that's cool about

some of the schools up in here is they

have oftentimes equally, you know, as

great ratings as you would see on the

west side, and yet they're much newer

[music] schools that have just been

built, and there's more room for kids.

And what really catches people off guard

is they look at these schools on the

west side, they say, "I've got to move

into this neighborhood here or this

neighborhood here cuz it's going to get

me into those top-rated Cary schools."

They forget to account for the fact that

because of that reputation and

everybody's fighting after, you know,

schools, there's a limited amount of

seats. And so, most of the schools in

Cary sprinkled [music] throughout,

they're actually going to be on a

waitlist. Meaning, you pay top dollar,

you know, go over budget to move into

this neighborhood here, and your kid

actually gets bused [music] out to a

school in Apex or your kid get gets

bused out to a school in the inner

beltline here or even bused out into

Northwest Raleigh. I've even heard of

examples of kids getting [music] bused

all the way to either Durham or even to

Chapel Hill schools. And I don't mean to

scare you, but 100% caps are a real

issue on this west side of the triangle

that nobody seems to talk about or

really know about until it's too late.

So, here's what I suggest you do. Don't

just go with what people are saying

online, start with something that's

trusted like niche.com. Here they give

>> [music]

>> rich data and reviews and everything on

Wake County schools. Most people already

know that Wake County schools as a whole

is one of the top-rated school districts

not just in North Carolina but across

the states. We get [music] families

moving all over from the country for our

Wake County schools and that's just the

public schools. That's not including all

the private options that we have. It

overall has an A on niche.com and that's

counting for the lower-rated schools and

the top-rated schools. So many of our

schools, the large majority are actually

in that A+ range. Wake County has been

rated the best school district for

athletes, the fourth best district in

North Carolina, number 14 out of 115

districts for best teachers in North

Carolina. Again, take these rankings

with a grain of salt but that's really

important to know. But this is the

feature that I'm really most interested

in and that is their map. So this

outline that you're seeing right here,

this is all of Wake County. We are one

of the largest geographical uh school

counties in the [music] United States.

So we cover a large spread of Raleigh

but all of its suburbs. There's very few

parts of what we would consider the

triangle region that it doesn't cover um

on the Raleigh side here. The first

thing that you're noticing is the dark

green cluster of schools on this west

side. So again, I'm not here to say that

what people are saying online about, you

know, the west side having the best

schools isn't [music]

valid, right? Almost every single one of

these public schools over here is just

rated absolutely amazingly, whether

that's [music] an A+, an A or an A

minus, it's all dark green. There's one

school over here at Kingswood Elementary

School that was given a B+. [music]

So you've got a lot of options here and

even as you go down into Apex, same

thing. And some of these schools are

brand new and they even have new schools

that are being [music] built um over on

this west side of Apex here. And when

you go down to Apex, it's going to be

the same thing. All these schools are

really well rated [music]

and in fact, on this west side of Apex,

uh we're going to talk more about this

throughout the video, but they're even

building brand new schools over here,

something that we don't see in Cary to

try to [music] fix that um the cap issue

that is happening on this west side.

[music] And then finally, as we start to

make our way down into Holly Springs,

still most of the schools are top-rated.

Um a few of these schools are actually

going to be more Fuquay Varina, which is

just south of Holly Springs, and that's

when you really start to see the

rankings dip a little bit as we get

further away from the city. But here's

what I wanted to point out. First of

all, you have a lot, and I mean a lot of

top-rated schools in what we call the

inner beltline, that's within this

circle [music] right here near downtown

Raleigh. There are so many options in

here that you don't have to move into

Cary, you don't have to move into Apex

or Holly Springs to have access to. Now,

I can't say that the prices in the inner

beltline are any better, in fact, they

can often be worse than they are on this

west side. So, I'm not necessarily

saying that you should move into the

inner beltline for the schools. [music]

Some people do, but most people aren't

going to do that. But, you also have

top-rated schools on this northwest side

of Raleigh, and this is that Leesville

ISD that I talked [music] about. So,

we've got Leesville Road Middle School,

right next to it is going to be the high

school as well. And then you have

several other, like York Elementary,

Pine Hollow, you have Sycamore. Up here,

we have Pleasant Grove Elementary

School. And there's that Briar Creek

Elementary School. [music] And then

there's a bunch other sprinkled

throughout that are all equally rated to

these Cary schools, [music] and the best

part is most of these schools up here

don't have the waitlist, because the

truth is people are just immediately

overlooking [music] this northwest side

of Raleigh and going straight to Cary.

The truth of the matter is I'm sure

schools are super important to you if

you fall into this bucket, but what you

need to know is that you do not have to

go to this west side and pay top dollar

in order [music] to get the top schools.

You could be in northwest Raleigh, you

could be in the inner beltline, you

could also be up here in Wake Forest,

where if you notice, most of these

schools are at least light green if not

dark green. You have a lot of good

options up here [music] and again,

you're really starting to avoid that

wait list. If we're being honest, the

fact that we've got bees and A's

throughout pretty much the entire

triangle should just go to show just how

strong of a public school system we have

here and this is not even accounting for

all the private school options. Some of

the top private rated schools are in

North Raleigh, they're in Wake Forest

[music]

and yes, they're in Cary as well, but

they're really sprinkled throughout the

triangle. And so what I'm starting to

see more and more of from people who

would generally say that schools are

very important to them this year is

instead of just boxing themselves into

this west side, they're starting to

really get open [music] to exploring

alternative areas that still can get

them into top schools like Northwest

Raleigh, like Wake Forest, like Briar

Creek area and they're even starting to

explore other areas that offer new

construction and affordability and they

can still get into an A-rated school,

[music]

Knightdale being an example, Wendell

being an example, Rolesville being an

example, areas that once again just get

completely overlooked thanks to this

area here, but people are realizing they

no longer have to pay top dollar to be

in the hottest part of our market when

they can still check all their other

boxes and still get top schools in some

of these alternative areas. Cuz at the

end of the day, you're balancing more

than just getting your [music] kids into

the top schools, you're also balancing

commutes, you're balancing home prices,

you're balancing the age of the home and

the space that you get and what your

day-to-day looks like. For example,

people love it over here because of the

schools, but you also have quick commute

into the Research [music] Triangle Park,

which is this area in here where our top

employers are. You also have immediate

access to the airport [music] here as

well and that all sounds great until you

realize these are some of the most

expensive homes in our market [music]

where the median home price could be

close to 700k,

which is just unattainable for a lot of

families, [music] especially if they're

buying their first or their second

house. And so, what people are starting

to do is they're looking at some [music]

of these other areas. For example, both

of these pockets are going to have brand

new construction, while most of the

homes over here are going to be 30, 40

years old and need fixing up. [music]

You're going to have larger lots on this

side. The one thing that you're really

giving up is you're giving up commute,

cuz now you got to take 540, [music] get

all the way over into here, assuming

that you're going to work in the

Research Triangle Park. That is where

most of our top employers are, but you

do have now a little bit more of a

commute. And that's why I really love

this northwest side of Raleigh. It is

older homes like Cary is, but your

average price point drops way down to

closer to 500 or 550K.

And so, now you're saving $200,000 on a

typical [music] home. You're equally

close to jobs into the airport. You have

built-in shopping and dining in

established neighborhoods in here.

Equally close [music] to downtown

Raleigh and, you know, very central to

the entire triangle. But, it just

doesn't have that new construction that

these guys offer for closer to 450K. So,

if you've got good schools sprinkled

throughout the west side, but then

you've also got good schools sprinkled

throughout the northwest side. You've

got some up in Wake Forest, [music] and

you've even got some over on this east

side of Raleigh. The question is, do you

want to pay the 700,000 to get into this

area here? [music] And there's a lot of

good reasons to love this part of

Raleigh, but you're not boxed into this

part of Raleigh. You do really have a

lot of good options. And most people,

when they say schools are the priority,

they just don't realize that. And that's

exactly why I want to invite you to call

or text the number at the bottom of the

screen. You can scan that QR code, or

just click that link in the description

and set up a time to chat with our team,

because at the end of the day, we don't

want you to move alone. We want to help

you avoid mistakes that are going to

ultimately make your move to Raleigh

super rough and bumpy. We want it to be

a smooth transition for you and help you

buy the right home in the right

neighborhood for you and your family, no

matter what your goals are, no matter

what bucket you're going to fall into.

So, [music] make sure you reach out at

that contact information below and get

that conversation started today. Now,

the second bucket for relocators that

has become insanely huge over the past 2

years has been [music] new construction.

One of the problems that we talked about

with this west side of the triangle,

especially [music]

Cary and even Apex, new construction, it

just doesn't really exist over here.

You're dealing with older homes at

top-dollar prices. And when you combine

these prices [music] with the interest

rates that we have right now, it makes

these suburbs absolutely unaffordable

and we're actually starting to see less

and less people move into [music] this

part of Raleigh. When you look at the

appreciation over the last 2 years,

these areas are almost completely flat

because people just can't take the the

home prices like they used to be able

to. And we're seeing more and more

people flood into all these outer

suburbs that offer new construction.

[music]

We're seeing it in Wake Forest, we're

seeing it Knightdale, Wendell, Zebulon.

We're seeing it down here in Clayton.

[music] We're seeing it in

Fuquay-Varina.

And we're even starting to see people

cross that Wake County line to get into

Durham. [music]

These are all the spots that are going

to have your new construction,

especially your affordable new

construction. And over the last few

years, what we've seen is communities

pop up all over these pockets like

[music] weeds. The truth is, you just

can't drive anywhere around these parts

and not find new [music] construction.

And it's not just that the homes are

newer, they're also significantly

cheaper than what you can find in

[music] the top areas of our market. So,

now instead of paying 500,000, 600,000,

700,000, you're paying 400,000, 500,000,

getting a brand new home. And [music] a

lot of these builders are throwing out

those rate incentives. So, now you're

saving $200,000 on your home and you're

saving 2% or even 3% on your interest

rate, meaning this house over here in

Knightdale, brand new, is going to cost

you so much less per month than this old

home over here in Cary. Now, here's the

problem that we're seeing. When people

call us and they say, "Hey, new

construction is the most important thing

[music] to me. I just want a brand new

home. I don't want any mess." So, this

area is completely out and they start

sending listings from all over the

triangle. Now, we're looking in Clayton.

We're looking in Fuquay Varina. We're

looking in Zebulon. We're looking in

Wendell, Knightdale, East Durham. We're

everywhere [music] that new construction

is because the truth is, when you're

chasing new construction, then it just

becomes about what's cheapest, what has

the best interest rate, [music] and you

start to almost forget all the other

variables that really do matter like

what your day-to-day life going to look

like, how is your commute going to be,

how close to shopping and dining are

you. For example, we're seeing a lot of

people move to Clayton, North Carolina

right now. And Clayton is a beautiful

place, especially this area right here,

actually, Flowers Plantation. We

featured here on the channel. It's a

gorgeous master-planned community. A lot

of people moving here. The problem is,

it is one of the most disconnected

suburbs of our market. It falls in a

completely different county, meaning

that you have completely different

schools. And do your own research, but

this county does not pull its weight in

terms of the reputation when it comes to

those schools and how their rankings

are. A lot of people are giving up a

long commute to get to Research Triangle

Park, which I've had clients who

literally bought into Flowers

Plantation. They were driving over an

hour each day to go to work both ways,

and that's, you know, sometimes even

worse with traffic. [music]

Not what I would consider a great

lifestyle. Even if you've got a lot

built into the community here, [music]

your options are still going to be very

limited. Every time you want to go to

downtown Raleigh or hang out with

friends or go or a new restaurant up in

North Raleigh, the truth is you are very

isolated and there's not a lot happening

in this stretch here in terms of

development, in terms of things to do.

So, [music] again, very disconnected

you'll be in Clayton from the rest of

the triangle. Now, their home prices are

great. You can buy a brand new

construction townhome [music] for

250,000 and you can buy a brand new

single family house for almost under

400,000. I've seen them in the mid 3s.

There's a lot of options over in here

and that's why people immediately go to

it when they're scrolling on Zillow. At

the end of the day with new

construction, you need to be thinking

about the quality of the builder. You

[music] need to be thinking about the

community. Is it in an area that's going

to hold its resale value or is there too

much competing new construction that

it's going to drive home prices down and

make it harder to sell when you do want

to move. That's another issue that we're

seeing not only in Clayton, but we're

also seeing it over here in Zebulon,

where there's just too much land. So,

yes, you can get space. You might be

able to get acreage, but it's going to

be really hard to sell that home and not

be underwater if you need to move 3 to 5

years from now. So, here's where most

people I find right now are buying new

construction where they are still very

connected to Raleigh. They do still have

top schools and all the other things

that might be important to you. We're

seeing people especially right here in

Wake Forest and Rolesville because you

are in [music] Wake County with those

schools. This is the second largest

suburb next to Cary here in the triangle

and so you have a lot of brand new

shopping developments that have been

popping up all over throughout Wake

Forest. [music] You've got really good

prices in here. You've got quick access

to Falls Lake, quick access to downtown

Raleigh. It's not too bad to commute

over into RTP, 20-25 [music]

minutes tops, which I find most people

are comfortable with. And this area

right here, Rolesville, it's tiny little

area, but it is blowing up with families

who are literally fighting over resale

homes even in some of the neighborhoods

here because it gets you into those

Rolesville schools. Um, they've also

done a really good job of putting strong

amenities in these communities,

pickleball courts, you know, pools, you

know, master-planned type amenities,

resort-style amenities in here as well.

Really cool area. This is where I call

home right now, [music]

but I'm also seeing people start to

really consider Durham. And you know,

depending on what you've heard about

Durham, it doesn't have near as good of

a reputation online as opposed to Cary,

Morrisville, Apex, or even Raleigh as a

whole. The truth [music] is, not only

are there some strong schools in Durham,

but if schools aren't super important

and it really is more about the house,

well, the good news [music] is you have

a 5-minute commute into the Research

Triangle Park right here. You have all

these communities which just have

affordable new construction with strong

rate incentives. [music]

And they're starting to build like a

brand new public school is put over

here. They're starting to build some

stuff. You've got the Briar Creek area

down here right in front of the airport.

And that is home to everything. Super

Target, all your shopping, your dining.

So, it's actually a pretty convenient

location that [music] right now is

pretty rural, but it's so connected to

everything that this area is blowing

[music] up. And I would not be surprised

if 10 years from now East Durham looks

entirely, and I mean entirely different

from from what it looks like today.

We're also seeing plenty of people buy

into this area over here on the east

side. Similar to Durham, the east side

has been kind of overlooked for a long

time. You know, it seems more rural,

more boring. But the truth is, they've

really blown up Wendell and Knightdale.

Specifically down in here is Wendell

Falls. And Wendell Falls is a another

master-planned community. It has some

really cool stuff. We featured that

whole community here on the channel. You

should check that out. But there's so

much in there. You've got your Publix,

you've got

>> [music]

>> really cool restaurants, you've got cool

coffee shops and lakes and everything.

And Knightdale, same thing. They blew up

Knightdale Station Park. There's a bunch

of things to do in here. And both these

areas very family-friendly, lots of new

construction, lots of new businesses.

These are both really great areas that I

I would be totally happy living in. and

I have clients who have moved there as

well. It's really when you start to get

into true Wendell [music] and and

especially Zebulon where it starts to

feel like you're giving up for the

house. Fuquay Varina also, that is

really your last chance before you hit

the edge of Wake County to get into Wake

County schools, still be on that west

side of the triangle, but you got to

understand your commute. It's going to

be a long stretch RTP. It's actually

going to be close to 45 minutes.

>> [music]

>> Same thing to get to downtown Raleigh,

that's at least 30 minutes. The truth is

Fuquay Varina's pretty far out there.

It's more far out there than Wendell or

Knightdale or It's it's it's actually

very similar to how Clayton feels, very

disconnected. But they are putting way

more development attention in Fuquay

Varina because all the people who love

the west side of the triangle, they are

absolutely going to make Fuquay Varina,

you know, have that reputation that

Holly Springs has, that Apex has.

They're really going to blow that up

because the people over here who are

getting priced out and they need new

construction, they have to have

somewhere to go. This is going to be the

last stop on the train at the end of the

day. Right now, Fuquay Varina's nice,

it's got a fair amount of stuff, but

there's nothing crazy nice about it and

we are starting to see those home prices

for new construction start to to rise

up. The home prices here are going to be

higher than anything that you've seen

throughout these other sub pockets that

we've looked at. So you're already

paying a premium just for that west

side. I'm a much bigger fan of like the

Wake Forest area or even this area here

as opposed to Fuquay Varina, but I also

get why people do choose Fuquay Varina

right now as an option. And lastly, if

you tell me, "Hey, I just I really want

to be in this west side. Price is not a

problem to me and I really want new

construction." Well, then we can really

start to talk about where new

construction is popping up in these

areas. Cary, it really doesn't exist

except for there's a few communities

that have popped up over on this kind of

southwest side of Cary right before you

hit the Apex line. And then same thing,

this area right here, New Hill, is

definitely one of the most up and coming

areas. It's an unincorporated part

[music] of Wake County. It's basically

like a subset of Apex. Technically, it's

not, but all the communities for Apex

are starting to pop up right here. And

you're also starting to see some [music]

pop up in this area here right before

you hit Holly Springs. Oddly enough,

there really isn't a lot of new

construction in Holly Springs, but if

you do find some, it'll be typically

right before you hit Fuquay Varina. Most

of these prices are going to be anywhere

from 700,000 to 900,000, [music] and

then everything above that might be a

million plus. And it won't be long

before most of this new construction is

starting at a million dollars. Like I

said, it's getting really unaffordable

for most people. [music] So, you're

really choosing between

the resale home that needs some fixing

up, but is in an established area, or

you're going to some of these emerging

parts of our market for brand [music]

new construction. And that brings me to

category number three. This is going to

be your luxury buyer. For this person,

it is all about the community. It's all

about the house. Schools probably are

not near as important, or maybe they're

not important to you at all. You just

want to be in a nice area. You want to

build to build a pool. You want to have

acreage. And most likely, you want new

construction working with a top builder

in the area. Good news is, here on the

channel, we've released tons of

resources on new construction, on luxury

communities, [music] and on luxury

builders, ranking the worst and the best

that you can work with. We have those

connections, and we [music] encourage

you to always reach out if that's

something you're looking to do. But this

is where I really shock people when they

call and say they want to be luxury, cuz

they do, once again, assume that they

should be in this area. And even though

the prices are higher here, that doesn't

mean there's a ton of luxury

communities. You will see some luxury

one-off micro subdivisions, or single

houses that have been torn down and

built up new. But that's not really what

I find most people are chasing, right?

They want a nice gated community. They

want land. They want [music] privacy.

And that's not what you're going to find

in Cary and in most of Apex. If you're

going to look on this west side, then

you're going to have the best luck with

this part of Apex. There's a few

communities in there that do have kind

of that acreage and brand new

construction that have been popping up,

and there are of course some

opportunities more once you get into

Holly Springs area, especially down here

[music]

and on this side as well. We're seeing

some luxury developments that have

popped up here as well. If you're into

like 55 plus communities, there's some

Toll Brothers, you know, style 55 and

ups that have been built in Holly

Springs. There's also just some luxury

communities that are open to everyone.

For example, the Regency by Toll

Brothers is a 55 plus community that

they built down in this part of Holly

Springs. But, if you're looking for

something that's not necessarily 55 up,

but is more of a luxury development,

then the best that comes to mind on this

west side would be 12 Oaks in the

northwest side of Holly Springs. Huge,

huge master plan community. They do have

golf course and country club and all the

things, right? If you're looking for

that kind of lifestyle, and some of

those homes in there are just massive

[music] and beautiful and and custom,

right? Um, but really me personally, if

I'm looking for more of a luxury scene,

then I'm going to have a lot more luck

in this part of North Raleigh. This is

called North [music] Hills, and if

you've read up about North Hills, it's

basically Raleigh's second downtown.

It's It's got its own kind of skyline.

It's got a lot of cool development

happening in there, and the surrounding

real estate, although older, tends to

have large estate type homes, and

they've been doing a lot of tear-downs,

building up brand new construction with

our best custom home builders. And so,

all the wealthy are moving into this

area here and building ground up custom

right now, and they absolutely love it.

It's really hard to find a home in here,

and prices continue to rise, meaning,

you know, it's also going to be a good

investment for you if you get in [music]

over the long run. But, where most

people are buying luxury new

construction right now is not going to

be this area. It's not going to be the

west side. It's actually going to be

this [music] area up here, north of 540.

Now, here's what's super important about

this area here. Notice how green it is

compared to say North Raleigh. That's

not just because we're [music] further

away from Raleigh, and most of these

neighborhoods have a very quick commute

to get into the airport or into the

Research Triangle Park over here. You're

still 15 minutes to go down Creedmoor

and hop into downtown Raleigh. That's

not the thing. The thing is, because of

this natural lake here, this is Falls

Lake, absolutely beautiful place to go,

you know, boating, fishing, hiking, all

that stuff. This is a natural lake. It's

massive, and it's caused a watershed

that essentially makes this whole area

here and all the surrounding really

difficult to get permitting to build on.

Most of the communities out here are

going to be that estate style lot,

right? They're going to have half an

acre at minimum. They're going to have 1

acre. They're going to have 2 acres, 4

acres, 6 acres. You're going to see true

acreage out here. And it's not just the

land that's nice and large, it's the

homes that are large. Many of the

communities in here, whether you're

right up against the lake or you're way

out over here, you're going to have a

large house that's starting at 4,000 sq

ft, and maybe it's 6,000 sq ft. And

obviously, as you get closer to the

lake, home prices are going to go up.

So, if you're right off of 540, a lot of

these houses are going to be in the 600s

and 700s. Once you start to make your

way to the like this middle section

here, then you start to see houses climb

700s, 800s. [music]

As you're getting as close as one can

get to the lake, they don't build houses

off the lake, but they do build them

kind of [music] close, right? Then these

houses start to look more like nines,

and you can even start [music] to see

brand new luxury development. So, most

of the homes in here are going to be

older. They're still going to be

anywhere from a 1950 to a 2000s home.

But, as soon as you start getting closer

to this top portion here, and start to

look at some of the communities up in

this area, and pretty much anywhere

around the lake, right? Now, we're

starting to see brand new luxury

developments, and the best example is

the one that I highlighted here at

Hasentree. This is a massive new

construction neighborhood that was just

recently built. It's got amazing,

amazing, amenities. It is a 55 up

community, but it is one of the best

examples in the triangle of a luxury

development where all the homes have

large lots, they have great HOA

amenities. If you're looking for more of

a custom home that's a little bit more

private, you're kind of off on your own,

you're going to have really great

success in just one of these random

neighborhoods off of 98 here. And

[music] 98 is nice cuz it takes you

across Falls Lake. It's easy to get to

wherever you want to go, and the traffic

is usually not that bad. But, there's a

lot of communities that were built from

some of our top builders. For example,

right in here, we saw Drees Homes, a top

luxury builder here in our area, build

custom homes. In here, there's only like

16 homes. They all have over an acre.

Some [music] have two, three acres in

here. And what's awesome is the HOA is

super low. You can pretty much do

whatever you want in here. Everybody has

large houses, you know, large lots.

[music]

And this is just one example. They're

building communities like that all over

this area. And I'm not even talking

about $10 million, you know,

top of market new construction. I'm just

talking about homes that are going to

cost anywhere from 900,000 to [music]

one or two or three million, right? So,

if you are in that budget, in that

space, and you really want custom

finishes, you do want the golf course,

you do want the land, [music] then this

is the area that you're going to want to

do it in. And what I really like about

this part of Raleigh [music] is it's so

heavily wooded, and it's so nature

driven because we have a lot of trees,

and you're near the lake.

>> [music]

>> And then we combine that with the fact

that you have to have large lots out

here. The privacy is just amazing. So,

if you really do want to have the best

house on the best lot,

>> [music]

>> and budget is not really an issue for

you, this is where I would go. Now, of

course, you can build luxury new

construction or find luxury resale

anywhere in the triangle. For example,

at the heart of Raleigh, in the inner

beltline, you've got established older

neighborhoods like Five Points, built in

the 1900s, 1950s.

Um so, lots of character and charm,

historic homes here in the Mordecai

neighborhood, also in historic Oakwood

in here as well. And so, if you're into

more of that scene, and you want to be

right near downtown, a lot of these

homes are going to trade anywhere from

8, 900,000 and up, and they're highly

desirable. This northwest side of the

inner beltline has the country club, and

the surrounding real estate is much

newer, some of it brand new construction

that they've built. And, of course,

being near downtown, we're seeing more

and more teardowns, infill lots, so a

lot of new construction popping up in

these areas.

Um [music] and what's nice is it gets

you close to everything, right? It gets

you close to NC State, gets you close to

the Lenovo Center over here, where all

the Hurricanes play, and the concerts

are. And then, of course, again, you

have downtown. And if you say to me that

you really want to build custom, but you

do want to do it more on a budget, and

maybe land is more important to you than

the house itself, one area that I'm

seeing a lot of people start to build in

is this [music]

kind of no man's land out here, and also

this part of unincorporated. So,

actually, both of these areas are

unincorporated. They are in Wake County,

but they're not in Raleigh, so you're

not paying city taxes, which is really

nice. You also do kind of see that in

this area up in here as well. We're

paying city taxes, but you still get the

schools. These two areas are going to be

a lot more affordable than even this

area up here. You can see luxury new

construction, custom, that's built in

the 600,000 range. And that's new

construction. If you're okay with

resale, you could find all sorts of

acreage, especially out in here for

sale. Um The thing I found is that you

tend to give up that kind of dense

forested [music] feel that you get in

this area up here. It tends to be a

little bit more rural out here. And same

thing for Southwest Raleigh, although

I'd say Southwest Raleigh does have

[music] more forestation, it has more

lakes. It does have a little bit more of

that, you know, protected land watershed

type stuff going on down here, too,

which is one of the reasons why we

haven't seen it built out very much,

even though it's so close to downtown,

it's close to Cary. Um I actually advise

a lot of people to look in this area and

see if it kind of lines up with, you

know, what their needs are and their

budget because this is really an

untapped [music] in area that does kind

of get you on that west side of Raleigh.

Now, when it comes to acreage and new

construction, there is so much more that

goes into vetting the builder, making

sure the lot is buildable, making sure

that the lot is actually going to

[music] not have soil issues, it's not

going to have flooding issues, knowing

if the road is private or public, making

sure that you are aware if you're on

septic, on well, and what that might

look like for you. These are all things

that go into buying land [music] and

building with new construction, and

that's exactly what we help our clients

do. So, if you know you're going to fall

into this bucket, I'd highly encourage

you to reach out today. You can scan

that QR code or click the link in the

description, and let's have a

conversation about what that would look

like for you. Now, we're about halfway

done here. The last bucket that we're

going to go over is probably the one

that I see the majority of people fall

into, and it's the one that most people

don't actually understand that they're

in when they originally call us. But,

before we get into that, the next

[music] category of someone relocating

to Raleigh would be someone who really

wants space and acreage. And there is a

lot of overlap with this category and

the previous one that we just discussed.

The main difference here is the land is

so much more important than the house,

and you might be on a much tighter

budget. Now, recently, my folks just

moved from Dallas, [music] Texas, where

land is plenty, homes are a lot cheaper,

and it's typical to own acreage. [music]

Where they lived, they owned a good 10

acres. They were able to qualify as a

homestead and save on taxes. And when

they moved here, they said buying land

and not seeing our neighbors is the

number one priority. We really started

to see this as a trend from our

relocators during COVID when people just

wanted space. They didn't want to be

near anybody. And although we're not

seeing it as much this year, there are

still plenty of people who do not want

new construction, at least not the new

construction where it's cookie-cutter,

you're right up against your neighbor,

which is what we commonly see [music] as

you get closer to the heart of Raleigh.

Now, here's the biggest mistake that

people make. By the time they filter in

the acreage that they want, the prices

that they want, typically the options

they're going to see are on the very,

very outskirts, especially on this kind

of eastern [music] side of Raleigh. And

everything's going to start to look the

same. They're going to see stuff pop up

all along this area here, and it's going

to be really hard to differentiate

between what is a good lot, what is a

good area, and also what is going to

check all my other boxes. [music]

Because we can just keep going further

and further and further out here and

start to see prices, you know, drop and

acreage climb up. But now you're talking

about an hour commute

>> [music]

>> just to get into the heart of Raleigh

and just to go to the grocery store.

What I find most people really want is

they want to be close enough [music]

to everything. A good litmus test is 15

minutes or so to the grocery store.

Doesn't mean need to be a Trader Joe's

or Publix, but maybe to a Harris Teeter

or to a Walmart or a Target, something

like that. Maybe you still want access

to top schools. It might not be the A+

schools that everybody like fights for

over in Cary, but there's some really

good ones over on this east side that

you could still get your kiddo into. You

got to remember that even though Wake

County's huge, it is going to stop right

like this.

>> [music]

>> And so, if you're looking just on that

county line or just outside of that

county line, a lot of these really

good-looking options are actually

putting you in different counties

[music] where the schools are going to

completely change. Youngsville, for

example, a lot of people think it's, you

know, basically an offset of Wake

Forest, and yet all of Youngsville is

actually going to be on that other side

in a completely different county. Most

of Clayton we already talked about down

here is going to be in a completely

different county. And as soon as you get

outside of Zebulon, start looking at any

of these outer rim areas, they're all

going to be in different counties. If

you say that schools are important,

they're not the most important, but they

are a factor, then we again want to make

sure that we're staying inside [music]

of Wake County, which is really going to

have you fall in this area here. It's

not a massive window, but between

Zebulon and Rolesville, there is a lot

of acreage and affordable newer homes

and older resale homes in this pocket

here in this unincorporated part of

Raleigh. And this is exactly where I

would probably have you start to look.

People often ask me, with those Wake

County lines, they basically go like

[music] that. So, you really don't have

any acreage options on that west side of

the Triangle not without getting into

million-dollar plus price ranges. And

even on this south side, you will have

some options in this area down here as

well, also unincorporated Raleigh. We

don't see as much building going on down

here because you do have [music]

um the lake there, but also there's some

protected green areas here as well. And

so, you're much better off looking in

this region up here. You also do have

some acreage that pops up in this

southeast part of Raleigh, and right now

it's pretty rural. But one huge

development that you need to be aware of

is this 540 line right here. They built

it all the way down to Holly Springs.

They recently finished it all the way to

here and within the next year or so,

it's going to shoot [music] straight up

through here and connect to Knightdale

right here to complete that loop. And

because of that 540 extension, this area

right here right now is a nightmare and

a lot of people who own land there are

either getting, you know, bought out,

they're getting, um,

>> [music]

>> forced out, or they're getting backed up

against a brand new Interstate, which is

going to completely kill resale value

and just kill the whole point of buying

acreage, right? You want privacy, you

want land, you want freedom. And so,

this is an area where you do have a lot

of risk, unless you're further out

closer towards Wendell in this region

right here. And then, of course, we went

over the reason why there's a lot of

acreage up in here. If you're okay with

an older resale home, you can still find

acreage up in here between 600 and

900,000. Again, [music]

you're going to get way more bang for

your buck in these areas over here, but

these are the really the four areas

where you're going to be looking if you

want land. [music] Now, when it comes to

land, there's so much more that goes

into it than just location. And for the

most part, these four areas, they're

pretty even in terms of the commute that

it takes you to get [music] to top

employers or to get into downtown

Raleigh or to get to nearby shopping. Of

course, this area up here and this area

down here are the most convenient and

the closest to some of the top, you

know, shopping developments here in the

triangle. And these eastern areas here,

they're going to feel more rural,

they're going to have less trees,

they're going to be more disconnected.

That might change over the next decade

or two, but you got to remember when it

comes to buying land, there is so,

[music] so much that goes into it. If

you're building with a builder, same

thing. We've got to make sure the

builder's got a good reputation, [music]

but it's more than that, right? The land

needs to be buildable. It needs to not

have soil issues. It needs to not have

flooding issues. It needs to be in an

area that is going to continue to offer

you the privacy and enjoyment that

you're looking [music] for. All of these

things we've got to account for and all

of these things that we absolutely do

help our clients with when they're

looking specifically for acreage

properties. And that brings me to the

final category. This is where most

people are going to [music] unexpectedly

fall into. And remember, we get calls

all the time from people who think

they're in one category, they actually

end up falling into another one. Seen it

time and time again, that's why you

always want to reach out. Scan that QR

code or click the link in the

description so we can start that

conversation today. If you're in this

category, where you move matters so, so

much. Not necessarily because of the

house, because of the land, or even

because of the schools, but it's because

of the day-to-day life that you're going

to live there. The truth is, when I

first moved to Raleigh, the area I

chose, I didn't get out a lot. I didn't

make friends there and it made me think

maybe moving to Raleigh was a mistake.

And it wasn't, I just wasn't in the

right area for my lifestyle, for what I

like to do in my day-to-day. And when I

made the move, then all of a sudden I

loved Raleigh and here I am years, years

later helping people just like you

relocate here every single day. And if I

had realized I was in this category

sooner, I would have actually chosen a

different place to move to. So let's

start with the first type of lifestyle

that we do see people tend to fall into,

and that is that kind of urban walkable

lifestyle, aka you want to be in on the

action, near everything. You want it to

be so easy to make friends and to get

out and have a good night out. Maybe

you're on the younger side. This is

really going to be downtown. The very

first place that comes to mind is going

to be this area here at North Hills.

Again, North Hills is super lively, it's

super young, urban. There's a lot of

employers that are popping up on this

east side of North Hills that are

building offices and campuses. And then

you have lots of luxury apartments

[music] in addition to all the real

estate that's happening in this area as

well. This is a super great place,

[music] especially for young people to

start out at, and you're never going to

feel bored. It's always walkable to do

any grocery shopping, hang out with

friends, go play pickleball, whatever,

all in this area here. We also see a lot

of people move into this Brier Creek

area up here. You're still in Wake

County schools, but you also have

immediate access to both airport and

RTP. That is huge in and of by itself.

You also can quickly hop into both

downtown Raleigh, but also downtown

Durham. So, you're as central as it gets

to the triangle. Huge, huge shopping

center in here at the Brier Creek

Commons. And [music] this is a golf

course community, so you have all the

outdoor amenities that you could ever

want in [music] here as well. Another

area that people really tend to love is

downtown Cary, simply because if you are

in downtown Cary,

>> [music]

>> it is walkable to their Cary Park, which

has been recently developed. It's a

really cool place. There's lots of shops

and dining,

>> [music]

>> and it's a very active part of Cary

where everyone's always outside. People

also do love kind of that north north

west part of downtown Raleigh. People do

love the historic side here on the

northeast side of Raleigh. Anywhere

where they can walk to local coffee

shops, you know, kind of your

mom-and-pop type style stuff, instead of

just your your chains. [music] You have

some really cool districts over on this

northwest side of Raleigh where you can

find just infinite [music]

things to do. And of course, you can

also go walk downtown anytime. There are

some nice luxury apartments in there as

well that people love to stay at. Not to

mention NC State is right in here, so

the surrounding area is already super

walkable. [music] It's already filled

with college students and young people.

So, there's a lot to do in the inner

beltline, and if you come from a larger

city where you did walk everywhere, this

region is going to give you your best

chance of really fitting that lifestyle.

Now, if you tell me you're a working

professional and commuting is going to

be the most important thing about your

day-to-day life, then here is where I'd

look. Keeping in mind that most people

are going to be employed by one of the

many Fortune 500, Fortune 100 companies

that are all sprinkled all throughout

this region here at the Research

Triangle Park. [music] Now, they are

starting to actually build some housing

um in this area here, but you have to

keep in mind that all of that is going

to be on the Durham County side, so the

schools are going to completely change.

If you're okay with that, you can find

some newer construction in these areas,

especially this area up here that we

kind of talked about that gets you into

RTP [music]

like within 5 minutes. It's fantastic

and you still have shopping and all the

things nearby. But, assuming you want to

be on the Wake County side, then of

course, this is why Cary and Morrisville

are just absolutely dominating in terms

of commute [music] and even the north

and northwest side of Apex, where you

can shoot up 540 and within 10-15

minutes max, you're at the airport or

you're at the Research Triangle Park, so

it makes it super, super convenient for

working professionals. This is the same

reason that northwest Raleigh and Briar

Creek, these areas are huge cuz not only

do they have top schools, but again,

[music] immediate access to jobs and to

the airport while being in an

established part of our market. The

obvious downside to a lot of the other

areas that we've looked in this video,

like Wake Forest, like Knightdale and

especially Clayton, is [music] it just

doesn't make sense for a lot of people

to commute 25-30 minutes every single

day both ways or even an hour every

single day both ways. It just It's

That's not the kind of lifestyle that

most people want to live. They don't

want to spend their whole lives in the

car. You [music] know, you want to buy

back your time and have time to, you

know, go hang out with the family or go

out [music] and party or whatever you're

going to do. And so, I find that most

people want to stay within max 30

minutes. And if you're looking to be a

30-minute commute into this area here,

then you really don't want to go much

further than this line [music] here. And

of course, the closer you get, the

better it is. If you want to be within a

20-minute commute, then you really don't

want to go any further [music]

than this line here. If you want a

15-minute commute, this line here, and

so on. You also have to keep in mind

that if you're on this west side of the

triangle, this section of 540 is a toll.

Right now, it's not too bad in terms of

traffic, especially because it is a

toll, but because they're doing this

whole extension, there's going to be a

lot more of these outer pockets trying

to make the commute say from Clayton

into RTP, meaning this 540 extension is

going to [music]

get a lot more cars on it in the near

future. And so, commute will become a

little bit more of an issue with traffic

and everything on this side. In general,

though, you'll see worse traffic coming

from 540 up here. And if God forbid you

have to take 440 in order to get to our

RTP, this is where you're going to have

the most amount of traffic and the most

amount of headache. So, even though it

looks like coming from downtown Raleigh

and coming from, say, Northwest Raleigh

has about the same commute. When it

comes to traffic, you're probably going

to be a lot quicker coming from this

north side than you are coming from

here. And for the time being, the best

commute still continues to be this area

over here. Another lifestyle that I find

people really, really crave, and this is

probably the majority of my clients,

>> [music]

>> that would be the established suburban

lifestyle. You want really a healthy

balance of everything. You want a nice

community, maybe it has an HOA, maybe it

has a pool and some amenities for you

and your kids. [music] It has quick

access to shopping and dining, but you

also have to keep in mind that if you're

on this west side of the triangle, this

section of 540 is a toll. Right now,

it's not too bad in terms of traffic,

especially because it is a toll, but

because they're doing this whole

extension, there's going to be a lot

more of these outer pockets trying to

make the commute say from Clayton into

RTP, meaning this 540 extension is going

to get a lot more cars on it in the near

future. And so, commute will become a

little bit more of an issue with traffic

and everything on this side. In general,

though, parks and lakes to go to,

shopping, uh very just convenient. And a

lot of families are going to end up in

this area here, right? We don't see as

many people going to downtown Raleigh

and, you know, trying to get [music]

right in on the scene. And what you

don't want to do is you don't

necessarily want to go out into some of

these places like Wendell or Zebulon or

even out into Clayton because it'll be a

lot harder to, say, make friends and

develop connections. And, you know, a

lot of these don't feel like tight-knit

communities. Of course, the one

exception being Flowers Plantation out

here. Insanely, insanely community

driven. You're still disconnected from

everything else, so I find it's not the

best fit for a lot of people, but

[music] you're going to make friends,

you're going to have great schools, and

everything you kind of need in your

day-to-day will be in Flowers Plantation

if you're okay with the schools

changing. Another kind of golden

standard, of course, is going to be

Cary. And people are really surprised

when I don't actually recommend

Morrisville [music] as a place for a

family who wants a laid-back suburban

feel because Morrisville,

it's nice [music] and it's closer to

RTP, but it also tends to attract more

of the working professional crowd. It

tends to be houses that are much more

cookie-cutter, much more closer

together, yard sizes get smaller. And

it's just a really small suburb, so

there's just not as much homes for sale

there. So really with Cary, [music] you

have a strong chance at a bunch of

different nice established

neighborhoods.

>> [music]

>> And all these are going to be, you know,

HOAs with amenities. And if the

community doesn't have a pool or it

doesn't have this and that, you have

YMCAs and all sorts of clubs and

everything sprinkled throughout Cary as

well. You know, this is going to be a

just a very balanced suburb, and that is

why Cary has that really strong

reputation. But of course, you're going

to see price savings in North Raleigh.

And we're seeing a lot of families, and

I I mean a lot of families, start to go

to some of these secondary markets that

in the past weren't as popular, but now

they're becoming suburban havens for a

lot of people. Wake Forest, Rolesville,

we've talked about this a lot. This area

is blowing up for families cuz they get

the new construction, they get the nice

I mean master plan communities with

pickleball and all this stuff, top

schools, all the shopping, dining. A lot

of boxes checked up here. I also am a

huge fan of Holly Springs and even Apex,

both of which we featured on the

channel. In fact, we've done driving

tours for most of the top suburbs in

Raleigh here on the channel, so

definitely check those out when you get

a chance. But, lots of especially in

Holly Springs, huge master plan

communities all the amenities, golf

courses, pickleball, pool, tennis, uh

gyms, whatever you need, parks, really

nice parks like Ting Park right here in

Holly Springs um that is just home to

all sorts of outdoor activities. And

then it has all the top schools. [music]

And one thing that's unique about Holly

Springs is there's actually a lot of

employers on this west side of Holly

Springs, too. [music] And so, it

actually makes it really convenient to

live in Holly Springs and not feel like

you ever really need to leave. So, we're

seeing all sorts of families

>> [music]

>> that are calling and they end up in

Holly Springs, even if they started off

thinking they needed to be in Cary. And

I will absolutely give credit to the

west side of Raleigh here. One thing

that they are known for that really

these other areas don't do near as well,

Wake Forest is kind of trying, North

Raleigh completely fails at, is just

having the master plan large amenities,

you know, really built into these nice

established communities. So, it is less

common to see pools that are connected

to neighborhoods and gyms and all these

kind of cool amenities up in North

Raleigh. You tend to see more no HOA

neighborhoods, you tend to see small HOA

neighborhoods that don't really cover

anything. And then people go to local

kind of rec centers, they go to YMCAs,

and all these other type of things where

they can, you know, pay membership to be

a part of, which is a great solution.

But, if you're wanting something that's

really well planned, most of the

communities in Cary, Apex, and Holly

Springs, they're just designed a lot

better from that kind of master plan

lifestyle. So, if you have kids or even

if you don't and you just know you want

to always be outside, you want to always

be at parks, you want built-in shopping

into your community, you basically want

to never leave your community and it's

you're just very community driven in

your lifestyle, then these three areas

are also going to be insanely [music]

good fits for you. On Apex, it's really

going to be this this west side where

most of those nice communities are going

to be. Cary, they're really sprinkled

around. You've really got your pick

here. Um of course, there's [music]

better and there's worse neighborhoods

in Cary just like any other part of

Raleigh. When you reach out, we really

help you kind of filter out the options

that aren't going to work for you. Um

but there's just so many good options

throughout these three suburbs here that

families absolutely love. And then it's

really going to come down to, "Okay,

what's my commute going to be? What are

the prices? Do I want a newer home

versus a older home?" [music]

Those are all the factors that we need

to weigh. And there is one area over on

this side of Raleigh that kind of checks

that box, too, that most people don't

even think about. [music] We've already

talked about it already, and that would

be Wendell Falls.

Very nice master plan community. [music]

It is super connected, a lot of

different sections of it, but they all

connect via trails. They have built-in

shopping, dining, you know, some [music]

really cool stuff happening in here. And

again, Knightdale Station Park, those

are both two kind of master planned

communities that really

>> [music]

>> work really well. They don't make you

leave. Most people aren't even going to

look at these two neighborhoods. They're

going to go straight to Cary, Apex,

[music] and Holly Springs, and I totally

understand why. But if you're looking

for newer while still checking a lot of

those boxes, then you should definitely

at least consider these two [music]

communities over here in addition to

what we have over in Wake Forest and

Rolesville. And I know how overwhelming

this can be. I know that when I was

planning a move here and I was opening

the map and looking at all the options,

and they all kind of seemed to blend in

together, it was really hard to say,

"Okay, this area is out. This is the

area that I want to be in. This area, I

have no idea. And it really was a big

struggle for me. So, here's a little

exercise that I will do with people who

call in feeling very conflicted about

where they should move in Raleigh.

[music]

I will ask them to take some time,

think, and write down their three

biggest priorities. For example, if I

have to drive more than 15 minutes to

get to a grocery store, I am out. I

don't want something that is

cookie-cutter, but I'll tell you what, I

definitely don't want a renovation or a

project house, either. Now, once we have

those answers from you, we can really

start to open up the map and start

eliminating some areas and start to

highlight the areas that you should

really be focusing on. That is exactly

what we would love to help you do,

whether you're a month out from moving

or a year out from moving. So, I'd

invite you to call or text the number at

the bottom of the screen, scan that QR

code, or click the link in the

description, so we can start that

conversation today. And if you'd like to

see a map tour that I did of the entire

Triangle region here in North Carolina,

then you should watch this video next,

and I'll see you there.