One of the things the Poling Team likes to do in our Raleigh Residential Real Estate blog is keep readers informed about issues involving growth in the local real estate market. Today’s blog will focus briefly on Knightdale, NC.

With all the new Growth and Development in Knightdale, some growing pains surfaced with the decision of the Knightdale Town Board to rezone a site off of Highway 64 for a new Super Wal-Mart this past year. This week the issue went to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Local residents went to court to block the building of the new Wal-Mart so close to the Timber Ridge and Widewater Village subdivisions.

“The suit claims the town did not properly notify residents about the rezoning and that one of the council members who voted in favor of the project had a conflict of interest.”
 
The suit was denied by a Superior Court Judge last spring.

“Thursday, a panel of three, Judges John Tyson, Barbara Jackson, and John Arrowood, heard the case without oral argument. They were scheduled to look over briefs and documents submitted by both sides of the case.
 
A decision is expected to come down in about 90 days.”

Read the full article about the current status of the lawsuit at:  Judges To Decide Knightdale Wal-Mart’s Fate

It is not unusual for the proposal of a new Wal-Mart to cause controversy. There is a national push to stop Wal-Mart and it often brings high emotions to the issue of grow and development. One internet website dedicated to stopping Wal-Mart is http://walmartwatch.com/

Thinking of selling your Apex, Cary, Knightdale, Raleigh or Wake Forest home? Concerned about listing during the holidays? The Poling Team has 11 reasons why you should put your home on the market now.

No. 11 – By selling now, you may be able to be a non-contingent buyer in the spring.

No. 10 – You can sell now for more money now and we can arrange for delayed closing or extended occupancy until early next year.

No. 9 – Even though your house will be on the market, you still have the option to restrict showings for the six or seven days around the Holidays.

No. 8 – January is traditionally the month for employees to begin new jobs. Since transferees cannot wait until the spring to buy, you need to have your home listed during the holidays in order to capture that market!

No. 7 – Some people must buy before the end of the year for tax reasons.

No. 6 – Buyers have more time to look for a home during the holidays than during the regular work week.

In, tomorrow’s blog I will have the top 5 reasons for listing your home during the holidays.
 

The third quarter sales report for New Home Construction from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service (TMLS) has recently become available.

It is important to note that data on closed new home sales are based upon subdivisions in the Triangle market and includes only new home housing listed in Triangle Multiple Listing Service (TMLS). In addition, not all subdivisions or builders list their homes (or all their homes) in the TMLS so these numbers should just serve as an indicator.

Supply

At the end of the 3^rd quarter there were 4,918 new home listings which was an increase of 20% compared to 2006 new home inventory levels. The average list price of a new home is currently $381,500. This is a 7% increase from the average list price in 10/06.

Sales

The first three quarters of 2007 showed a 6.9% decrease in sales of new homes in the four county markets. However, sales for all four counties were 1.2% above 2005 levels.

Durham County showed a 4.1% increase in sales for this time period, while the other three counties declined.

There were 6,481 closed sales of new homes in the four county markets during the first nine months. This is a decrease of 6% compared to the 6,960 closed sales during the first nine months of 2006.

Current Supply

The current supply of new homes within the four main counties is 7 months. The current supply at the end of September, 2006 was 5 months.

All information in this report is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.

The Poling Team – Keller Williams Realty

Monday of this week updated tax values were placed on-line on the Wake County Register of Deeds website. Mailings went out to 312,000 property owners and Wake Count Officials expect about 10% of the property values will be appealed.

In North Carolina, property values are re-evaluated every 8 years, but the tax rate can be adjusted every year. The last revaluation was done in 2000 and under the new revaluation; home values will increase an average of 43%.

Durham County also sent out letters with the new property values to 97,000 property owners and so far about 400 people have made appointments for an informal review according to the News and Observer.

The Poling Team’s home in Knightdale, NC was valued at $198,529. The letter we received this week says that our Knightdale home is now valued at $258,981. That’s a 30.5% increase. It’s amazing how much difference a day makes.

You can read the full News and Observer article here: Wake Property Value Notices Go Out
 

The Poling Team has begun to establish more of a web presence in Knightdale, North Carolina. We actually moved to Knightdale 4 years ago when our youngest son went off to College. Prior to 2003 we were living in the Swift Creek area of Raleigh. We had a beautiful home on about an acre of land but the home was too large for just the two of us so we decided to downsize to a ranch and we still wanted our country lifestyle.

So we chose to purchase a ranch style home just south of Knightdale. We joined the Knightdale Chamber of Commerce and have been active in the community and really enjoy the area. It is one of the hidden gems of the Triangle NC area.

Most of our business is by referrals, so we work all over the Raleigh, NC area, but we want to expand our service to the Knightdale community. Visit our newest website at:   Knightdale Homes For Sale

You can expect lots of help content to come in the days ahead.

 

According to an article from today’s Inman News, the housing market in Cary and Raleigh, NC will be the strongest in the US in terms of price growth from the third quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2008.

While there is still a lot of instability in other parts of the country, Veros Real Estate Solutions predicts the Cary- Raleigh, NC area will have a 7 percent annual growth rate.

Our area is followed by Austin-Round Rock, Texas, at 6 percent; Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C., at 6 percent; Salt Lake City, Utah, at 6 percent; and Albuquerque, N.M., at 5 percent.

National statistics continue to show an overall slowdown in home sales and a drop in home prices, but the Cary and Raleigh, NC real estate market  is bucking the trend.

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in the Cary, Raleigh, Knightdale, NC area, Contact Us and we can provide more professional advice and a high level of professional service as well.
 

In the last several blogs, I reviewed the upcoming bond referenda to help you decide how to vote on October 9. Click on each of the following to read about each bond from past blogs.

Public Libraries  $45 million
Wake Technical College  $92 million
Wake County Open Space  $50 million

I personally believe each of these bonds are important to maintaining the quality of life of our area and will help maintain the value of our Raleigh area homes. I am personally going to vote for each of these bonds and would recommend that you do the same.

If you would like to know your homes present tax value, The Poling Team would be happy to find it for you just click  Contact Us

We would also be happy to provide a free market analysis of your home. Find Your Homes Value

The third of the three bond issues to consider is a $92 million bond for the Wake Technical Community College.

The bond will be used for:

• A new building at the Northern Wake Campus. This building will be used to offer classes in financial services, pervasive computing and information.
• Expand Health Sciences Campus to train more nurses, radiology/MRI technicians and other allied health professionals.
• Renovate Public Safety facility for law enforcement, EMS and fire safety officer training.
• Acquire property and design for a permanent Western Wake Campus.
• Repair and renovate several builings on the Main Wake Community College Campus.

You can read more on the Wake County website: What’s on the ballot

All three bonds will raise your Raleigh, NC homes’ taxes approximately 2.25 cents per $100 of valuation. This is the tax valuation of your home, not the current market value.

If you would like to know your homes present tax value, The Poling Team would be happy to find it for you just click  Contact Us

We would also be happy to provide a free market analysis of your home. Find Your Home’s Value

 

The second of the three bond issues to consider a $45 million bond for the Wake County Libraries.

The Library bonds will be used for:

New branch libraries

• Middle Creek
• Morrisville
• North Hills

Expand or replace existing branch libraries

• Cary
• Fuquay-Varina
• Wake Forest

Repairs and/or renovations:

• East Regional (Knightdale)
• Southeast Regional (Garner)
• Green Road, Olivia Ramey, Richard B. Harrison, Wendell and Zebulon branches.

 

You can read more on the Wake County website: What’s on the ballot

We have lots of helpful local Raleigh, area information on our website: The Poling Team
 

One of the three bond issues to consider is the $50 million bond for additional Wake County Open Space.

The purpose of the Open Space program is to preserve forests, meadows, streams and floodplains, and natural areas suitable for recreational or other public uses in Wake County. One of the major goals is to protect water quality.

Wake County loses about 1.5 acres of undeveloped open space land per hour. This totals about 13,000 acres per year. Since 2000 about 3,548 acres have been preserved.

The bond issue will provide monies to continue to buy and preserve more open space.

You can read more on the Wake County website: What’s on the ballot?

We have lots of helpful local Raleigh, area information on our website: The Poling Team