Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh’s hot housing market is shifting away from the city and out to the suburbs for the first time in years.
Over the past year, the typical suburban home gained nearly $10,000 more in value than the typical urban home in Raleigh, according to a new analysis from Zillow. For the first time in more than a decade, home values in the Raleigh suburbs are rising faster than the coveted “inside the Beltline.”
It means fiercer competition for families looking to the suburbs to buy a home within their budget.
The five zip codes with the fastest growing home values are all in communities in:
- Morrisville
- Cary
- Apex
- Northeast Raleigh.
They’ve seen values soar more than 39% over the last year.
Four of the zip codes Zillow tracked with the slowest growth in value are inside and along the Beltline.
Here’s a full list of ZIP codes tracked by Zillow, showing how the home values have changed in a year.
Why is the Triangle seeing this shift to the suburbs?
Zillow economist Nicole Bachaud says the shift is closing the affordability gap between city living and the suburbs.
“Typically, urban areas are more expensive. Now we’re seeing that tradeoff is a little less so, as the suburbs are picking up steam and gaining value a lot more quickly,” she says.
“I think there’s a little bit of that wanting kind of a small town vibe,” says realtor Ellen Pitts with Hunter Rowe Real Estate.
She says the trend towards remote work is playing into this shift. Families are finding the larger lots and open space they crave, without having to worry about commuting downtown for work. The new ‘work from home’ lifestyle means workers are looking for the suburbs where they can have a larger home with more office space – and commuting is no longer a factor.
“The places that people need to commute to are becoming much more spread out, and so people don’t need to be gathered around that central core which is, honestly, fantastic for housing prices over time,” says Pitts.
Buyers are especially attracted to suburban homes near greenways or open space.
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