Cary NC Real Estate >> Raleigh & Cary NC Real Estate Blog

In my previous blogs I have mentioned that I work with Seniors looking to relocate to the Triangle and have my SRES(Senior Real Estate Specialist) designation.  Specifically, I help Seniors that are looking for reasonably priced ranch/villa style homes in neighborhoods that include Senior activities and an affordable lifestyle. 

In the past we haven't had a lot of choices.  However, with North Carolina now the #1 State for retirees and the overwhelming success at Carolina Preserve(they've sold over 700 homes since 2006), builders are now recognizing the demand for this type of housing in the Triangle. 

Here is my current list with links to the communities for your reference.

1. Ivy Hall.  East Raleigh, NC  Active 55+ community.  Growing area due to I-540 completion.  New 2 Bedroom Ranches w/2-Car Garage.  Homes From the $220s.  WKB Properties, Inc. is the builder. 
2. Carolina Preserve by Del Webb. Cary, NC.  Active 55+ community w/incredible amenities including an $8M clubhouse called Bradford Hall that has an indoor/outdoor pool, bocci ball, clay court tennis, putting green, and workout facility second to none.  Single Family Homes by Pulte start in the mid- $200s.  Villas start in the $220s.  Gorgeous ranch plans w/covered porches and 2 Car Garages. Pre-sale of new homes now available for delivery at the end of Q12009.   Take a virtual tour of the clubhouse here.  To view resale and current homes for sale click here.  To view floorplans of the community click here.   
3. Heritage Pines.  Cary, NC. Built by K. Hovanian & Westminister Homes.  Heritage Pines is the most established Active 55 community in the Triangle.  Homes built in 2000 with the neighborhood completed in 2007.  The location is fantastic!!  Amenities include a community clubhouse, swimming, tennis, bocci ball,  and  other activities.  Villas start in the low $200s. Single Family Homes start in the mid-200s.  To view homes for sale click here. 
4. The Village at Aversboro Garner, NC.  New  Homes From the $250s. 1,650-2,600 sq. ft.   147 Total Homesites.  All brick ranch homes w/2 Car Garages & Screened Porches.  Click here for the builders  website.     
5. Johnson's Landing.  Fuquay Varina/Angier, NC.  New Villas from the $220s w/2-Car Garages.  2,050-2,600 sq.ft. 
6. Heritage Spring  Wake Forest, NC.  From the $240s.  1,372 -2,225 sq. ft. Not an actual Active Adult community but marketed as one.  
7. Summerwind Plantation
   Clayton, 55+ Single family, cluster homes, condominium, townhome starting in the $120s.   The community will have be a wellness center on 3 acres overlooking a pond,  SummerWind Plantation will have a 4 acre stocked fishing pond, and fishing pier for use by the owners and their guests, and a large gazebo and fountain. 
8. Fearrington Village-Millcroft  Low maintenance single family homes.  One and Two level floorplans available.  Pittsboro, NC Homes 1,600 - 2,500 square feet. One or two car garage.  $60k and $80k for lot.  $138/square foot average price.  $350k-$450k.  
9. The Villas at Wake Forest The Villas of Wake Forest features 144 ranch style luxury condominium homes where all exterior maintenance is provided. Prices from the $200s.  Builder is Cornerstone Homes. 
10. Four Seasons at Renaissance - Coming soon in Q42009! The Triangle's most recent Active 55 community.  Located off of Page Rd in Durham and just minutes from RTP this will be one of the premier Active Adult communities in the Triangle. 

If you are thinking of moving to the Triangle I'd love to help you find the perfect active adult living community. 

Updated:  1/17/2009

All content, including text, original art, photographs and images, is the exclusive property of Tracy Santrock, and may not be used without the expressed written permission of Tracy Santrock. All information is believed to be accurate but is not warranted, Copyright 2008.

I thought the name was very funny when I first started showing houses in this area.  This beautiful community is located just south of Cary and just east of Holly Springs. 

Once you read the history of the town, the name makes sense.

The hyphenated name, Fuquay-Varina, reflects the dual heritage of two communities and the story of a couple's romance that led to their marriage and the communities coming together.

Fuquay Springs
Historians explain it all began back in 1663 during the reign of King Charles II of England when a charter was granted to the territory now known as the Carolinas to eight Lord's Proprietors. This vicinity of North Carolina was first known as "Piney Woods" and its first inhabitants were said to be Sippihaw Native-Americans.

It is believed the first European to settle here was a Frenchman named William Fuquay who purchased 1,000 acres of land for 50 cents an acre. (Now, that's my kind of investment) William's son, Stephen married Sarah Austin of Wake County and built his home on what is now Pine Street . One of their sons, David Crockett Fuquay, is the one for whom it is believed the town was named.

David and his wife Louisa raised six sons in the quiet farming community then known as Sippihaw, a name taken from an Indian word meaning "good will." One of their sons, Stephen, is credited with discovery of a mineral spring on the property.

Stephen Fuquay was the proprietor of a large plantation and one day while plowing his fields he discovered a spring. He began using it for drinking water, and soon became convinced that the mineral water had valuable healing properties. Word spread after he told his friends and neighbors and the springs developed a reputation. They were walled in on four sides leaving the front lower for drainage. A gourd was hung at the spring for everyone to use.

Summer tourists began coming to the area, using several small hotels that had been built. But it wasn't until the early 1900s that the popularity of the spring reached its peak.

Meanwhile, one of the buildings built near the springs was a two-room private schoolhouse overlooking the springs at which a J.D. Ballentine was the first schoolmaster. He enlisted in the Confederate Army during Civil War and the romantic interest which led to the name Fuquay-Varina was about to develop.

Varina
To promote the morale of southern troops, many young women wrote to the soldiers and Ballentine received letters from a girl who signed her name "Varina." Eventually, she told him her real name -- Virginia Avery -- and later they met, fell in love, and married after the war. Ballentine continued to call her Varina throughout their married life.

They settled in the town of Sippihaw after the war and in 1880 when the town needed a post office, one was opened south of the mineral springs and Ballentine acted as postmaster. He called it Varina. The couple also opened a general store called the Varina Mercantile Company and in 1899 a community developed around the store.

This was the time the mineral water was in vogue and people came from miles around to visit the springs. Several commercial ventures were established and the Norfolk Southern Railroad and the Durham and Southern Railroad brought customers to the area on a daily basis.

At the turn of the 20th Century, a Raleigh resident, John A. Mills, developed a stop for his existing lumber railroad in Sippihaw. His flat cars were fitted with seats and "Moonlight Excursions" brought guests to the springs. The prospering town attracted Dr. J.A. Sexton to the community and he operated the Blanchard Hotel and a nearby restaurant to handle the town's increasing popularity.

The Town of Sippihaw was renamed Fuquay Springs in 1902 and incorporated in April 17, 1909, encompassing in its town limits the Varina business section and the Varina railroad junction. At this point, the dividing line between Fuquay Springs and Varina was virtually indistinguishable, but both continued to develop as separate communities. Varina later reestablished its own post office with the help of the local congressman, but the town was never incorporated.

By 1910 the Varina Union Station was built in Varina, the town obtained its own post office, and the Bank of Varina was founded in 1914. A year later the Fuquay Mineral Springs Corporation was formed in the first serious attempt to commercialize the springs. Water was bottled, sold, and delivered to various hotels.

The Ben Wiley Hotel was built in 1925 in Fuquay Springs to serve patrons of the springs. Special excursion trains brought passengers from Raleigh for baseball games and dances and celebrations were held at the springs each year on Easter Monday and the Fourth of July.

A growing tobacco industry continued to fuel Varina's development, and included the addition of the Varina Supply Company, a farming supply store, in 1925. The Varina Knitting Company, built in 1933, operated until 1957.

By the 1920s, the two communities boasted five tobacco warehouses, a cotton buyer, and fifteen stores. The area became a trade and market center for Southern Wake, Harnett and Johnston Counties throughout the first half of this century.

While residents began joining together in combined congregations at churches, the two towns maintained separate identities and post offices until 1963 when they eventually joined to become Fuquay-Varina.

Fuquay-Varina Today
Today high-tech industries and innovative businesses balance the town's economy, blending economic development and community preservation.

Yet town fathers are not shy in letting it be known they want to maintain the "village character" associated with Fuquay-Varina. A planned revitalized downtown will offer specialty shops, boutiques, restaurants, professional offices, and second-story residences, along with ample parking and pedestrian friendly streets.

By the time the massive renovation project is finished, the block-and-a-half-long area along Broad Street will ultimately provide the feeling of a small town that thrived as an overnight railroad stop at the start of the 1900s. The vintage appeal will include extensive landscaping, park benches, new street lighting, new sidewalks with brick bands and scored concrete, and completely renovated buildings with first-floor expanded space and new residential or loft living on the second.

Guided by the Fuquay-Varina Revitalization Association, Inc., special attention will be added in the commercial and new residential space in the historic district of the town. Attention will be devoted to facades, signage, and graphics, window displays, building appearances, rear entrances, landscaping, public seating, parking and park areas.

The project is the only one of its kind in Wake County involving a cooperative funding effort between town and state government. When completed, the area will be recognized as the Varina Commercial Historical District as part of the National Registry of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The springs ceased to be a resort area in the 1920s. Located on the southwest corner of the intersection of West Spring Street and South Main Street , the site is to be developed as a historical park. Though they still flow today, the waters are not being used commercially.

Are you are concerned about a possible real estate bubble in Raleigh? " The National Association of Realtors Research Division recently conducted a home price analysis in the Raleigh-Cary MSA. The reports concluded that there was very little danger of a housing market bust in this region. In fact, the reports stated that local housing markets were in excellent shape with a potential for significant housing equity gains, particularly for homebuyers who plan to remain in their house for the long run. Additionally, local markets had very favorable home price-to-income ratios and even better mortgage servicing cost-to-income ratios. The latter ratio is currently below the local historical average implying no widespread financial overstretching to purchase a home in the region. As a point of comparison, the US workforce grew at 1.47% and the Raleigh/Cary MSA workforce grew at 3.892%. These respectable gains in the job market could translate into substantial home price gains.

Q12007 Update:
-Current Wake County appreciation rate is 4.29%.
-Average re-sale price of all housing is $238,000
-Average price of new construction is $312,000.
-Average DOM is 73.
-Sweet spot for inventory in N. Raleigh/Wake County is between $200k and $400k. The supply is less than 2 months and down substantially from a year ago.
-Sweet spot ITB is anything less than $400k. The inventory is down substantially and the supply is less than two months with many price points at one month of inventory or less.
-Resale closings in the Triangle were up a modest 2.5% in March, comparin 3/07 w/3/06 while the rest of the country has seen a spike in overall inventory and decline in closings.
-The current supply of inventory in the Triangle TMLS stands at 6 months, while nationally inventory stands at an average of 7 months.
-In 2006 there were 140 homes that closed above $1Million.

The biggest challenge in 2007:
1. People moving to the area that still have to sell their homes in other areas prior to relocating.
2. Tighter lending restrictions due to the collapse of the sub-prime lenders.

The Triangle is a true golfer's dream. The seasonal splendors that unfold on the courses add to the beauty of the perfect golf shot, or the elusive birdie. You will find the public and semiprivate clubs to be as challenging as the private courses. Except for an occasional hurricane or deep winter freeze, golf in the Triangle is virtually year round.  

  Prestonwood Country Club-Cary, North Carolina

If your preference is to walk the 18 holes, you will be limited in your selection of courses - call ahead if you are an avid walker who refuses to ride. Certain restrictions often apply to the busiest days of the week. 

Green fees are reasonable compared to other North Carolina metropolitan areas, coastal resort courses or the famed Pinehurst. While you will find weekday discounts, fees are typically elevated on Fridays, though lower than the weekend rates.
 

Newer golf courses have joined the list of options. In fact, golf course communities are becoming quite popular in the Triangle area. Devil's Ridge in Holly Springs and The Neuse Golf Club in Clayton, designed by John LaFoy, are two such courses built around housing developments that opened in 1991 and 1994 respectively. Golf Digest recognized both as top new courses in the '90s.
 

The well-known golf course community of Wakefield Plantation, just north of the city, offers 2,200 acres of gorgeous North Carolina countryside to golf lovers. This all-inclusive area gives residents plenty of reason to relax and call the community home with world-class golf, swimming, tennis, and plenty of clubhouse activities for adults and families alike. Finley, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which opened in 1950 and was designed by George Cobb, underwent a facelift recently under the direction of Tom Fazio.

Wakefield Plantation
 

Crooked Creek in Fuquay-Varina is another newcomer to the selection of courses. Opened in late 1995, it offers golfers a traditional design by Chuck Smith. As the name implies, you will find several holes that will test your skill with severe doglegs. And as soon as you are certain that you have mastered your precision, scattered bunkers will grade your approach shot.
 

Considered one of the most popular golf courses in North Carolina, Hillandale Golf Course in Durham plays more than 50,000 rounds per year. Opened in the early 1900s, this course was redesigned by Perry Maxwell - a former banker who rebuilt the putting surfaces of August National, Pine Valley and the National Golf Links. The golf shop at Hillandale was voted the "Nation's Most Outstanding" by the PGA of America. It is one of the best-stocked and largest shops in North Carolina.
 

Looking for a little family tradition with your round of golf? You will find it at Duke University's course. Washington Duke Golf and Country Club in Durham, considered one of the finest in the Southeast, opened in 1957. Rees Jones redesigned this Robert Trent Jones original in 1993. Cut out of Duke Forest, the grounds are ablaze with color at peak season. Spend the night at the inn adjacent to the course to soak in the splendor around you. This weekend retreat will confirm your relocation plans to the Triangle area.

Another local favorite is the Tom Fazio Golf Course located in North Durham at Treyburn Country Club.  Sculpted into the rolling hills of northern Durham, Treyburn is currently ranked as the #9 golf course in North Carolina and #1 in the Triangle area. The course's unique design and blend of community life has been rewarded with the recognition as one of the top 100 golf/residential communities in America.

One of the most difficult golf courses in the area is located at Governor's Club in Chapel Hill.  This golf course, established in 1988, has 27 holes of punishing golf.  This course, designed by Jack Nicholas, has endless sandtraps so beware!!

Brier Creek

The latest golf course to join the ranks is Brier Creek Country Club. Opened in 2001  the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Signature golf course has moved into the top 40 of North Carolina Magazine's list of the best courses in the state.

Another golf course realty opportunity that we recommend is Hasentree, which is just minutes from I-540 and Raleigh itself and will be opening in 2008. Located near Falls Lake Park, Hasentree itself is big on open space. Whether you enjoy exceptional golf on the Tom Fazio-designed course or fishing for bluegill, Hasentree offers it, while still offering the amenities of Raleigh right nearby.

Because I have played tennis just about all my life I wanted to share details on the areas finest tennis facilities for anyone moving to the area.  Hopefully this will be a resource that you can use to locate a great club to join or just to find a location to play your next tennis match. 

Cary

Cary Tennis Park is a premier public tennis facility located in the heart of Cary with 30 championship courts, including one stadium court and one teaching court.  This facility hosts some of the top tournaments in the state including the ACC Championships and State Closed Junior Championships.  This facility is also considered to be a  USTA Welcome Tennis Center.  

Kildaire Farm Racquet Club is located in South Cary and is host to many Cary tennis tournaments.  The facility has a full service pro shop, 7 lighted clay courts and 6 lighted hard courts.  This has always been a fun facility to get a group together and hang out playing lots of matches!!  Tommy Dixon is the long-time pro. 

Prestonwood Country Club is located in the Preston area of Cary.  The tennis facilities  include six clay courts and nine all-weather courts and play host to some of the most  active men's, women's and junior programs around. Tennis Members also enjoy access to swim, fitness, and dining facilities.  The pros at Preston are terrific-Dan Wendt and Mike Rayos are long-time pros at this facility.     

MacGregor Downs Country Club This club, located in MacGregor Downs, has 8 composition, lighted courts and 3 all weather hard courts. There is a full service tennis shop as well as a ball machine for practice. The staff has three teaching professionals.  Bobby Heald has been head professional at the club for over 25 years and is USPTA certified. Dale Heald has worked 15 years with the club as the shop manager.

Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill Tennis Club is the oldest tennis facility in the area and is located in Carborro.  This facility bosts 4 indoor courts, 18 composition courts and 6 hardcourts.  All but 6 courts are lighted. 

Durham

Hollow Rock Racquet Club  is nestled in the trees between Durham and Chapel Hill.  Hollow Rock Racquet and Swim Club is a member-owned club that was founded in 1972.  The Hollow Rock tennis program is known throughout the state as one of its premiere programs.  In the last several years they have substantially upgraded their pool facilities and swimming programs.  This facility has 19 clay courts, 3 hard courts, competitive and recreational tennis for men, women, and juniors at all skill levels. 

Raleigh

Millbrook Exchange is the largest public facility in the Raleigh area.  The flagship facility is the has 23 lit hard courts, backboards, ball machine, conference room, pro shop, locker rooms, covered observation deck.  Most of the areas USTA matches are played at this location.     

North Hills Club has an eighteen court (14 clay / 4 hard) facility with various activities for all ages and levels of tennis players. All courts are lighted and maintenance is daily. This club is considered one of the Triangle's top tennis facilities and host to USTA tournaments every season.

Raleigh Racquet Club is a private club situated on thirty-six scenic acres in North Raleigh.  This club is the oldest and most prominent club in Raleigh with a competitive junior program and thriving adult tennis community.  RRC offers eight state-of-the-art indoor clay courts.  RRC is the only tennis club in the City of Raleigh to offer year-round tennis in a climate-controlled atmosphere.  RRC has 17 outdoor clay courts and 8 hard courts as well as swimming and dining available. 

For more information visit the Raleigh Tennis Association. 

City:  Cary, North Carolina

Directions:

From Raleigh:  Take U.S. 1 south towards Sanford. Take the Cary Parkway exit. Turn right off of ramp and travel approximately 6 miles to High House Road Turn left on High House Road and travel approximately .6 miles. Turn right onto Prestonwood Parkway.

From RTP/Durham:  At the intersection of I-40 and Davis Drive, take Davis Drive south towards Cary. Continue on Davis Drive for approximately 9 miles. Turn left onto High House Road. Turn left onto Prestonwood Parkway.

• A Recent poll by the Triangle Business Journal revealed that 50% of all residents polled chose Prestonwood Country Club as the most prestigous Country Club in the area 
• Planned Urban Development(PUD) established in 1987 by Murray Savings & Loan, dba Prestonwood Inc
• Since 1991 Preston has grown to include 1625 homes encompassing approximately 1950 acres of land
• In 1991 Preston Development Company, in partnership with Jim Goodnight of SAS, purchased and completed Preston and Prestonwood Country Club (originally owned by a Texas based firm).
• Big 3 Developers include:  Bubba Rawl, Tim Smith, and Jim Goodnight, infamous for their success in planning luxury neighborhoods in the Triangle
• Credited for reshaping the landscape in Cary
• Fantastic schools, recognized as the best in the area
• Resale prices start in the $250s for Single Family Homes
• John Wieland Homes, Sunstar Homes, and Top Local Area custom builders in this area
• Different sections in the development include: Arbor, Bluffs, Chase, Courtyards, Crabtree Crossing Estates, Crossings, Estates, Fairwoods, Forest, Grande, Grand II, Grand Villas, Hamptons, Highlands Ridge, Kelton Square, Lakeston, Links, Meadows, Meadowview, Oaks, Peninsula, Petra, Plantation, Trails, Villas, Vistas, Woods, & Wynds
• Championship 54-hole golf course

Arial view of the pool amenities at the Country Club.  Preston Village also has a neighborhood pool. 

Arial view of the gorgeous golf facilities.

World-class amenities include 54 holes of championship golf, fabulous tennis facilities, numerous swimming pools, a state-of-the-art fitness center and Kids Club. Fine dining, an active social program and a luxurious clubhouse make for a truly complete club lifestyle.  It is not a requirement to join the Country Club if you move to Preston nor do you have to live in Preston to join the Club. 

 Additional details can also be found at Preston's HOA Site.  To view homes for sale in Preston click here. 

Please feel free to contact Tracy for more information about homes in the Preston area or if you'd like more information about Prestonwood Country Club. 

Neighborhood Facts:

• Neighborhood established in 2002, most of the homesites have now been developed but there are a few lots still available.
• Resale prices for single family homes start in 340ks up to $1M+
• In the heart of the Triangle adjacent to the Airport but not in the airport takeoff or landing path
• Arnold Palmer signature 18-hole golf course
• Toll Brothers Community

Brier Creek is a luxurious golf course community by Toll Brothers in Raleigh, North Carolina. Brier Creek  was recently was named MAME Developer of the Year and Building Company of the Year!

Situated on Raleigh's only Arnold Palmer Signature golf course Brier Creek Country Club affords the kind of lifestyle you've always dreamed of and deserve. At Brier Creek, there are six stunning home collections, from single-family estate and executive homes, single-family golf villas, carriage townhomes, tournament townhomes, as well as luxury condominiums.

 Brier Creek Country Club offers a variety of membership opportunities with every home - so you can golf on their 18-hole championship golf course, enjoy a tennis match on either hard or clay lighted courts, or stop by the fitness center for a workout or a swim in the Olympic-size pool before returning to your new luxury home.  

In addition, the shopping and restaurants nearby are unbeatable.   The Brier Creek area is one which has been rapidly opening stores and restaurants recently. Here is an update:

Azitra, a funky, non-chain Indian restaurant, is now open. The entrees are generally in the $16 range. Carolina Ale House is building a new location on the NW corner of Brier Creek Parkway and Hwy 70. Longhorn Steakhouse is soon to open next to Johnny Carino's. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is now open. Chick-Fil-A is open in the Brierdale shopping center (where Earth Fair is). Firehouse Subs will open this month.

Several non-restaurants are opening, too. Auto Bell Car Wash is coming soon while the Sherill's Cleaners will open in the Winter. The former Winn-Dixie is now a Lowe's Foods. A Frankie's Fun Park, featuring putt-putt, go carts, batting cages, laser tag, and bumper boats, is now open. Admission is free and visitors pay per attraction. Sue Stock of the News & Observer reported that they will open an Italian restaurant on the site, but Frankie's website doesn't mention it. Finally Snip-Its, a 33-city chain claiming to be "the most amazing place for a kid to get a haircut", will open soon. If the photo on their website is indication, their claim is right. 

This golf course community is the #1 appreciating home community in the Triangle due to its proximity to Research Triangle Park, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill.  Starting prices for resale homes range from $339,000 for carriage homes, to $443,000 for executive homes, to $575,000 for estate homes.

For more information, view the current edition of the Brier Creek newsletter in PDF format or the Lifestyle Brochure

Neighborhood Facts:

• • Neighborhood established in 2002, most of the homesites have now been developed but there are a few lots still available.
• •  Resale prices start in the $500s.
• •  South of Chapel Hill and west of Cary
• •  790 Acres of Rolling countryside
• •  Davis Love III signature 18-hole golf course

Welcome to one of my favorite Golf Course communities, the Preserve at Jordan Lake!

Located in Chapel Hill, an area which has consistently named as one of the nation's best places to live and retire, you're just minutes away from renowned universities, top medical facilities, an international airport, and a high-tech business sector with it's core located in the Triangle's own Research Triangle Park.

World-class amenities include an owner's clubhouse with a junior Olympic-size pool, social room and fitness center, tennis courts, multipurpose field, playgrounds, sidewalks, and walking trails.

Available properties include existing homes, newly constructed homes, and homesites which offer the opportunity to engage one of our custom home builders.  Please use the link to see a sitemap for the Preserve. 

Please visit my website for more details on this communityat www.TriangleNCHomes4Sale.com, 

Neighborhood Facts:

• Neighborhood established in 2006
• West of Chapel Hill and Pittsboro
• 790 Acres of Rolling countryside
• Fred Couples signature 18-hole golf course, which is now open

Welcome to one of my favorite new Golf Course communities, Chapel Ridge! The Chapel Ridge golf course community offers a multitude of wonderful amenities that I find most buyers are looking for. These amenities include lots of custom homesite choices and close to unbeatable recreational facilities!  If you like a quiet, secluded golf course community this could be your next home.  

Many buyers are looking closely at Chapel Ridge simply because of its outstanding value. Located just west of Pittsboro, you have the opportunity to get in at the ground level on this luxury home neighborhood! 

The Town of Pittsboro is growing in leaps and bounds.  All of the growth in the area is focused towards Chapel Ridge, the Parks at Meadowview, and other communities in the Pittsboro area.  Click on the links below to lean more about the Chapel Ridge Golf Club and the Swim & Tennis Facilities.

•  Homesites in Chapel Ridge start in the $90k range.
• One to two acre homesites begin in the $130k range.
• Creekside and Golf lots start in the $180k range.
• Homes are priced from $450k.

To view listings of homes for sale in Chapel Ridge click here or for more information please feel free to contact me directly. 

think I've mentioned this previously, but I grew up in Dallas, TX in a real estate family.  I learned a lot about homes as I was growing up.  One of the things I realized is that, in Texas, everyone thinks bigger is better!!  Joking aside, Dallas is a trend setter in terms of the latest custom features for single family homes.  In my market, the Triangle market, we do things a bit slower. 

Details that showed up in homes in Dallas and Chicago a couple of years ago are now starting to make their way to the Triangle.  A couple of trends that are making it include:

• 4" recessed lights vs. the standard 6" recessed lights
• Wine Cellars- People are spending more time collecting wines and aging them not only as a hobby, but for family occasions.  We've seen an increase in the number of basements built in new homes and this provides the adequate space and temperature controls required for a wine cellar.
• Media Rooms-Movie Theatres right in your own home with "stadium seating".  This is another popular feature with luxury basement homes.
• Rubbed Bronze Fixtures-I know these have gone in and out in other areas but this is just now making it our way over the past year or so.   
• Furniture for Master Bath countertops and 1/2 Baths- The developer at Wakefield had special furniture imported from Italy used for his countertops in his personal home. 
• Travertine Floors.  Homes in the Triangle are more traditional than those seen in the mid-west, California, and Florida so most of the flooing you will see in this area is hardwood.  These floors are more "southern" and typical for the area.  In addition, the labor expense for stone floors is our market is much higher than other parts of the country. 

If you are planning a move to the Triangle and are interested in Luxury property you may want to keep this in mind.