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Today we’re going high-end. What do you think of when I say Beverly Hills 90210? For most of us, it elicits images of luxury: mega mansions, fancy cars, and lots of money. So I got to thinking, what’s the 90210 of Raleigh? Raleigh is one of the hottest housing markets in the US right now, and people are flocking here at a rate of ~60 per day to take advantage of our better weather, strong business environment, booming tech scene, great food, abundant culture, and generally lower cost of living. But today we’re going to throw that last one out the window and take a look at the most expensive areas, those that have had multiple sales over $2,000,000 in the last couple years. So whether you’re in the market at this price point or just curious what $2M plus gets you in Raleigh’s most exclusive neighborhoods, let’s check them out. To do this, I looked at all the homes in Raleigh that have sold over the past 2 years for at least $2,000,000 … all the way up to a whopping $5.83M! In total, there were nearly 170 of these sales, with more than half of those taking place in the last 12 months. Let’s take a look at a map of where those sales happened before diving in deeper:  As you can see, the homes are pretty concentrated across three main sections:
INSIDE THE BELTLINE So let’s start closest to Downtown Raleigh and work our way out. The first section we’re going to be looking at is Inside the Beltline, or ITB. If you’ve never heard ITB before, I have a whole blog on Triangle Terminology so be sure to check that out. If you haven’t watched that, ITB refers to the section of Raleigh that’s within the I-440/I-40 loop that encircles Downtown Raleigh. Because of this area’s proximity to the city and all its amenities, homes here are in super high demand and carry prices that match. Out of the 168 homes sold for $2M or more in the past 24 months, 71 of them (42%) were Inside the Beltline. And as you can see on the map, they’re almost all concentrated in the northwestern quadrant. So what neighborhoods are here? Well, when you move to Raleigh, you’ll quickly find that we have more neighborhoods and subdivisions here than the state has counties, and North Carolina has exactly 100 counties, so I had to do a little consolidating here. If you’re from Raleigh and watching this, please don’t tear me apart in the comments for grouping some neighborhoods together! Lakestone & Williamsborough Let’s start with the most expensive section Inside the Beltline, which is a pocket at the very north end that consists of the neighborhoods of Lakestone and Williamsborough. This area had 6 homes sell for over $2M in the last two years with an average size around 6,800 square feet, which contributed to the overall neighborhood having an average sales price of $2.1M over the past 2 years. This area is known for its stately homes and large lots, with many hovering around an acre or more – definitely not something you find in many other parts of the city that are this close to downtown. It’s also just on the other side of the beltline from the ever-growing North Hills shopping center, which includes great restaurants, shops, and a soon-to-open 3-story Restoration Hardware gallery with rooftop restaurant, barista and wine bar, which fits perfectly in line with the prestige of the neighborhood. Anderson Heights, Country Club Hills & Villas Next, we have an aggregate of neighborhoods that cover the area between Glenwood Ave and Crabtree Creek, north of Anderson and south of the beltline. This 1.4 square mile area includes neighborhoods such as Anderson Heights, Country Club Hills, and Country Club Villas and had 14 sales over $2M in the last two years, averaging a whopping 6,900 square feet in size! Overall, the neighborhood boasts an average sales price of $1.8M, making it one of the most expensive neighborhoods inside the beltline. As you may have picked up in some of the neighborhood names, this section of the city surrounds the Carolina Country Club, which is one of the most exclusive clubs in the area, with fees rumored to be in the 6-figure range and a very long waitlist to join. However, given the incredible density of trees in Raleigh, you really wouldn’t know that you’re golf-course adjacent driving through most of this part of town. Driving through here, you’ll see generous sized lots averaging about 0.5 acre and a mix of old and new, with most homes being built between the 1940s and 1960s. Budleigh, Sunset Hills, Coley Forest Next up, let’s look at another aggregate section of ITB a little further to the west. This 2 square mile area includes homes West of Oberlin, North of Wade, East of Ridge and South of Glen Eden, and it includes neighborhoods like Budleigh, Sunset Hills, and Coley Forest, just to name a few. A whopping 25 homes in this area sold for $2M or more in the last two years and had an average square footage of right around 6,000, so still plenty large for you to never have to see the other people in the house if you don’t want to! Overall, the average sales price in this area is $1.6M and homes here sell QUICKLY - in an average of just 3 days! It’s no surprise, given that this section of the city is known for its rolling hills, mature trees that canopy the streets, and its mix of older, traditional homes dating back to the 20s and 30s alongside new construction homes. Lot sizes will tend to be a little smaller here as we’re getting closer to downtown, averaging closer to a quarter acre. This section of the city has super convenient access to I-440 and Wade Avenue to easily get to the Research Triangle Park or airport, both of which are only about 15 minutes away, and it’s home to Raleigh’s only Whole Foods. Hayes Barton And for our last ITB neighborhood, let’s move back east to Hayes Barton. This neighborhood only encompasses less than a half square mile, but it had 12 sales over $2M in the past two years with an average home size of around 5,000 square feet, contributing to the overall Hayes Barton average sales price of $1.5M. This neighborhood is on the National Register of Historic Places, and for very good reason as its homes are some of the most beautiful in the city – and you won’t see much new construction here. About half of the homes in this neighborhood were built in the 1920s with some of the most stunning built along the median oases that characterize Hayes Barton. While those estates have large lots, most homes in Hayes Barton come in around 0.3 acres. OUTSIDE THE BELTLINE (I-440 to I-540) North Hills Let’s move just across the beltline to North Hills, which I mentioned briefly before. Anchored by the North Hills shopping center and beltline to its south, North Hills had a whopping 25 sales over $2M in the last 2 years, with an average size of 5,500 square feet. This is arguably the part of town that is being most heavily redeveloped right now, with tons of 1950s and 60s ranches being torn down and replaced by 5,000+ square foot new builds. This skews the averages in North Hills quite drastically, as home prices ranged from $470k all the way up to $4.65M over the last 6 months. So while the average home price in the neighborhood is $1.5M, the average for any home built in the last 5 years is closer to $2.3M. North Hills is lauded for its proximity to shopping, the beltline for easy access to the entire Triangle region, and for its fairly large lots, with many hovering around the 0.5-acre mark. One thing you’ll notice here is that North Hills doesn’t have that same canopy of trees that you can find in many of the ITB neighborhoods, but the homes are still spectacular. North Ridge The next area we’re going to discuss is another golf course community, North Ridge, which had an incredible 14 sales over $2M in the last 2 years, with an average size of nearly 6,000 square feet. Like North Hills, this neighborhood is undergoing a major transformation right now, with tons of 1970s and 1980s homes being torn down and replaced with multi-million dollar moderns. So, just as with North Hills, this skews the averages in North Ridge quite drastically, as home prices ranged from $515k all the way up to $3.7M over the last 6 months. So while the average home price in the neighborhood is only around $1M, the average for any home built in the last 5 years is closer to $2.7M. North Ridge is known for its beautiful rolling hills, mature trees, golf course views, its proximity to one of Raleigh’s preeminent private preK-12 schools, Ravenscroft, which scored an A+ on Niche.com, and of course for the golf course itself. And unlike Carolina Country Club, the waitlist here is much shorter, and the initiation fee is much more palatable. You’re also right down the street from Lafayette Village, which is a European-style village that includes multiple restaurants, a great coffee shop, office space, and a central lawn – it’s not to be missed! BEYOND I-540 Chatsworth Now let’s venture a bit further out, just beyond the I-540, which is also known as the Outer Beltline. Up in this area, you’re going to find a bunch of new luxury neighborhoods going up across much of the area’s undeveloped land mixed in with some more traditional neighborhoods from the 1990s and early 2000s. Let’s start with one of these older communities, Chatsworth, which was built back in the late 1990s and includes 86 homes that reach all the way up to 14,000+ square feet! Over the last 2 years, there have been 5 sales in the neighborhood over $2M with an average size of – wait for it – 8,000 square feet! It should be no surprise then that the average sales price in the neighborhood has exceeded $2M for the last year, and a quick drive around will show you why: with huge 1-2-acre lots, beautifully manicured lawns, rolling hills, and mature trees throughout, this really is one of the most beautiful settings in the city. But if you’re into more modern architecture, this is not the place for you. Instead… Bella Vista Let’s head a couple miles west to Bella Vista, which is a 65-home community that was built starting in 2016, so you’ll find mostly contemporary designs here. While the community has only had one sale over $2M in the last two years, I’m including it here because it’s still one of the premiere communities of North Raleigh, which I think is shown in its low turnover rate. Homes here are still very large, averaging about 5,600 square feet, and the neighborhood features a wide array of architectural styles. It’s also extremely conveniently located off 540 and one of the main North/South routes in the city, Creedmoor Road, giving you access to the airport to the west or Falls Lake to the north in as little as 10 minutes. Avalaire OK, down to our last two communities, and they’re right across from each other off of the prestigious Durant Rd. First off is Avalaire, a 90-home community that was built starting in 2017, so more contemporary designs here. In the last two years, there have been 7 sales over $2M with an average size of nearly 7,000 square feet, contributing to the neighborhood’s overall average sales price of nearly $2.7M - in fact, you won’t find any new homes here for less than $2M. Avalaire boasts large lot sizes ranging from 3/4 -acre to nearly 3 acres, beautifully manicured landscaping, and convenient access to North Raleigh and 540, which takes you right over to the airport in about 15 minutes and RTP in under 30. Shadow Creek Estates And finally, we’ve saved the best for last. The creme de la creme and most prestigious new community in Raleigh: Shadow Creek Estates. This community just started construction last year, in 2022, so these homes are BRAND NEW. Only 6 have closed to date, with prices ranging from $2.5M to nearly $6M, and sizes from 5,000 square feet to over 10,000! This neighborhood is being built exclusively by Loyd Builders, which is one of the Triangle’s premiere luxury home builders, and it’s been a big hit: nearly ⅔ of the development’s 31 lots have already been claimed. Honorable Mentions OK, I know I said that was it, but I do have a couple honorable mentions that I couldn’t get inside of to film because they’re private gated communities. These include Morning Mountain Estates, which is a late 90s/early 2000s community that boasts homes up to 12,000 square feet; Linville and Stonemoor, another early 2000s community with multiple homes in the 9,000+ square feet and up category; and Southern Hills Estates, which is the most northern luxury community on the list, just minutes away from Falls Lake. So there you have the most expensive and prestigious neighborhoods in Raleigh! If I missed any or there are any neighborhoods of Raleigh that you particularly love, please leave me a comment down below. Or if you’re looking to relocate to the Triangle Region, whether your budget is $400,000 or $2M+ - I’d love to chat with you.
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