Archive for the 'Real Estate News' Category
Wake County Public Schools - 19th Largest in Nation
February 13th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
Last week we had some representatives from Wake County Public Schools come to our office for a Q&A session. Here are a few statistics that might be interesting to anyone contemplating relocating to the Raleigh area.
Key Stats
154 schools
134,000 students
17,000 employees
19th largest in nation
79.3% graduation rate
SAT Participation Rates
Wake 77%
US 48%
SAT Results
Wake 1576
US 1518
NC 1493
One other key factor to keep in mind when comparing our schools to other systems across the nation is that we are a county system. Many other areas of the country are township based. What that means is that the schools in Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest, Holly Springs, Apex, and any other Wake County town have the exact same resources.
When you are considering moving to the Raleigh area, and schools are important to you, remember that the larger cities don’t necessarily have better schools. Any town in Wake County benefits from this excellent system.
Need additional information? Try my Raleigh area school resource page. And if you need something you cannot find there, give me a call at 919-602-7000 and I can out you in touch with someone at the school system who can answer all of your questions.
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New Public Outdoor Entertainment Venues Coming in Wake County
January 4th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
I just heard three stories about new outdoor entertainment venues coming to the Raleigh area. This has to be good for the involved communities and is certainly something that any home buyer would want to know about.
One is the much anticipated closing of the North Wake landfill and the proposed plans to turn this into a multi-use outdoor facility. This is off Durant Road in North Raleigh and is very near the Falls River neighborhood.
Another is a new park planned for Wake Forest. The little bit I heard about this mentioned a possible facility for outdoor concerts and movies.
The third is supposed to be an outdoor facility near the new downtown Raleigh convention center, which is currently under construction. something was mentioned about concerts and movies here as well.
I’ll investigate further and write an article on each one. Check back soon for full details!
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Raleigh and Cary Mayors Favor Slowdown in Growth
October 13th, 2007 Categories: Real Estate Market Trends, Real Estate News
We held local elections in Wake County this week and the two largest cities, Raleigh and Cary, both elected mayors who have publicly made it known they think growth needs to be slowed down. Incumbent Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and Cary’s new Mayor Harold Weinbrecht each ran on platforms that would seek to limit building and impose more stringent and expensive impact fees on developers home buyers.
If they get their way, home prices will be subjected to a great amount of upward price pressure in the days ahead. It’s foolish to think that any business, home builders and developers included, will simply pay for new fees and restrictions out of their profits. Look for home prices to rise, especially in new construction, if the changes are as punitive as these outspoken politicians lead us to believe they could be.
In addition to higher home prices from fees that are passed through to consumers, what about an artificially dampened supply due to restrictions and limits placed on building permits? Do you think such outspoken anti-growth mayors might try to reduce the number of permits issued?
As I’ve mentioned to you repeatedly on this blog over the past few weeks, inventory has risen to over 8,300 listings and the market still continues to absorb the increase with the absorption rate sitting at 4.9 months. Folks that’s a 26% increase in inventory and prices continue to rise with the average sell price up 8.4% from a year ago.
Government controls on supply cannot help but have a negative impact on what you will pay for your next home. It’s economics 101. Constriction in supply with strong demand will result in increased prices. And for all the wrong reasons.
The answer to congested roads and over crowded schools is not to wreck the local economy with government imposed sanctions on growth that is being demanded by the market. How about if we require accountability from our elected officials for the capital they already have in the coffers? We certainly don’t need to spend millions and millions on proposed public transportation systems that the federal government twice told Triangle Transit Authority was not feasible.
It just seems odd to me that as more people relocate to the Raleigh area and bring their tax dollars here with them that our leaders cannot structure a budget that allocates that money to the places it is needed. What do you think?
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