‘Best place to buy a house’: Three NC cities rank among the nation’s top choices. Why?
People are moving in droves to the Old North State.
This could be why: North Carolina is home to three of the nation’s top places to buy a home, according to a recent WalletHub study.
The study compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 17 key indicators, from affordability and house appreciation to the region’s economic prospects.
Raleigh’s real estate market ranked at No. 4 among large cities and 14th overall. Cary ranked even higher — No. 3 among midsize cities and fifth overall. Durham, also considered a midsize city, wasn’t far behind at No. 4 and seventh overall.
Charlotte ranked No. 8 among large cities and 23rd overall.
What makes NC a good investment?
Even as inflation, higher mortgage rates and high home prices keep homeownership out of reach for many, the Triangle’s real estate market is still considered a good deal, especially to out-of-state buyers, said AnnMarie Janni, founder and leader of Element Realty Group at Allen Tate Realtors.
“Compared to what houses cost nationally, we’re still really affordable,” she told The N&O in a phone call.
Case in point: This week, she had clients moving from California, who paid close to $839,000 on a 3,300-square-foot transitional home in West Cary’s subdivision of Amberly, about a 25-minute drive west of downtown Raleigh.
“For them, it’s nothing,” she said. “It’s all relative to where you’re coming from.”
And while Wake County home sales are slowly cooling — down 16.8% year-over-year — the region’s economic prospects remain strong, experts say.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Raleigh was the second-fastest growing metro area in the country between 2010 and 2019, and since then, Wake, Orange and Durham have only gotten larger. Population forecasts for the region in the coming decades are rosy, and the region is expanding in all directions.
From Hub RTP, a $1.5 billion development in the Research Triangle, to Cary’s new downtown park, developers are dropping billions of dollars on projects to keep up with the region’s post-pandemic influx.
“All three cities boast robust infrastructure,“ said Jon McBride, Realtor with Coldwell Banker: Howard Perry & Walston. He also serves on the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors’ board of directors. “They’re poised for sustainable growth, ensuring that property investments made today are likely to see significant returns in the future.”
Linda Trevor, a residential broker at Linda Trevor & Co., said Cary and Apex continue to be the most requested areas by relocating clients.
“Out-of-state buyers know from their research online that these communities have a lot to offer,” she said. However, the availability of homes for sale is “still a challenge,” she said. “Buyers have to keep an open mind to other areas.”
Triangle’s real estate market
Across the Triangle, the median home price stands at $416,000 in July, according to the latest data from Triangle MLS. That’s down 1% compared to the same time last year.
Homes are also staying on the market for longer. In July, it was 20 days, up from 12 last year.
But demand remains strong in several key markets, said Triangle MLS Executive Director Matt Fowler.
“Specific types of housing, especially condos and townhouses, as well as new construction within the Triangle region, continue to attract strong buyer interest,” he said.
On the flipside: Homeownership is increasingly becoming less attainable.
TMLS’ housing affordability index, which measures what percentage of the area’s median household income is needed to purchase a median-priced home, shows a drop of 11.3% year-over-year. That means, with current rates, the Triangle’s median income was roughly 71% of what is necessary to qualify for the July median sales price.
“With the median home price over $500,000 in most of the Triangle areas, affordability has been impacted,” said Eddie Brown, Triangle specialist and broker-in-charge at Fonville Morisey Realty and A Long & Foster Company.
This story was originally published August 24, 2023 at 7:30 AM with the headline "‘Best place to buy a house’: Three NC cities rank among the nation’s top choices. Why?."
