On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:38:10 -0400, "jamesgangnc" wrote:

Just about all of the area on the north side of Raleigh beginning outside
the inner beltway, I440, and going all the way out to the edge of Wake
county has a lot of middle class urban housing developments. In varying
price ranges. Average homes from 200k. to 350k. A number of upscale
developments have sprung up lately in the area between I540 to 98, east of
Durham county and some on the north side of 98 that run from 400k to 800k
generally around the Falls Lake areas. There is still areas of less
expensive housing all in there as well. Older homes in the I540 thru 98
area will tend to have bigger lots as they were built before major housing
development had moved that far out. Any of these areas will be positioned
that you can either head out via the Creedmore area to 85 or over to 1 on 98
and up to 85 without much difficulty at all. During commute times these
residents are headed in towards Raleigh or west towards RTP. There is some
development starting up outside Wake to the north. It is typically lower
prices that the stuff inside Wake county due to the school systems being
less attractive. That does affect resale and these properties to the north
of Wake are not appreciating as fast as the property inside Wake. I am just
outside I540 at the Leesville rd area and I go up through Creedmore and get
to 85 in about 20 minutes. Another 20 minutes or so on 85 will get me close
to the US1 I85 area. From Wake Forest it takes around 20 minutes to get to
that same US1 I85 intersection. I'm probably as far west as you would want
to consider if heading to Richmond is a primary factor. If golfing is
really more important then I highly suggest you look in the
Pinehurst/Southern Pines areas. In spite of the reputation these areas
have, housing is still surprisingly affordable with many homes in the $200k
to 300k range and condos still around $100k. Of course there are
neighborhoods, many celebrities have a home in this area, with upscale homes
if that appeals. It's about a hour more to get to Richmond from down there.


Wow! A big 'thank you' for all that information. I'll have to get out a map
and look at the various areas.
--
John H