The best deals on homes for sale in the Raleigh area are homes listed at over $400,000 in the western part of Cary, the northern part of Raleigh, and any part of Wake Forest. These are the areas where builders added too much to the supply of housing in our market. This oversupply has decreased prices dramatically for both resale and finished new construction homes. The higher price ranges have decreased by larger percentages, so while a home that was $500,000 might now sell for $425,000, a home that was at $1,500,000 may now sell for $900,000.
You can also get excellent deals on high-quality townhomes off Glenwood Avenue between routes 440 and 540. This area has been a magnet for younger people, and is convenient to shopping, the airport, Research Triangle Park, and major highways. A half-dozen developers built too many townhomes in this area, and prices have dropped an average of 15% in the past year. The price ranges are currently $160,000 to $220,000 in this area.
If you like appreciation (and projects), the best deal is to find a home that has all the “right things” wrong with it (out-of-date or worn out carpet, countertops, wallpaper, fixtures, etc) and fix them yourself. You will want to look for properties listed for low $/SF in a subdivision where there are many homes selling for higher $/SF, which theoretically means the property in question could sell for that higher $/SF if you bring it up to snuff. Most of these are “as-is” properties, which means you still get a chance to inspect it thoroughly after putting it under contract, and can terminate if you do not like what you see. Enlist your broker (and her inspector and contractor friends) to help make sure you do not get stuck with a lemon.
For all the properties mentioned in this section, be prepared to stay in the home for several years until the market turns around. It always does.
