Raleigh, North Carolina real estate runs the gamut from trendy new condominiums to sprawling homes in golf communities. Diversity is one of the city’s defining characteristics, something that can be evinced in everything from its range of real estate options to its wealth of attractions.

The capital of North Carolina and seat of Wake County, Raleigh is second only to Charlotte in population size and is the 15th fastest growing city in the country. It sprawls over an area totaling 115.6 square miles and, as of mid-2008, has a population of 380,173 people.

Raleigh, North Carolina real estate is spread out over the city’s different neighborhoods. If you’re looking for an urban lifestyle with a strong strain of historic charm, head downtown. Downtown, also known as Old Raleigh, is where you’ll find condos as well as rows of historic homes and buildings.

In search of new developments? Head north to the Northern Raleigh area, which has experienced a bit of a building boom in recent years. Both new and established neighborhoods in North Raleigh are generally composed of spacious single-family homes on wooded lots, townhomes and estate-like residences, with newer developments offering a greater mix of all types. Some of the most desirable neighborhoods in the area include North Ridge, Bent Tree, Falls Village and Stonebridge. Just north of Raleigh in Wake Forest there is the award winning community of Heritage. Heritage Wake Forest began construction in early 2000. It continues to grow along with fabulous new amenities and close to 100 new homes have been sold in the 1st quarter of 2011. You owe it to yourself to see this community and it’s offerings.

As a whole, the Triangle has been experiencing stable, steady growth in the past two or so decades. Building permits issued for single-family new home construction surged by at least 25 percent from 1996 to 2007. By avoiding the skyrocketing kind of growth that other markets across the country underwent, Raleigh has also managed to sidestep the bursting of the housing bubble.

Whether you want a home in a more urban setting or a place of residence where you can wake up everyday to the music of the outdoors, Raleigh and its surrounding areas will have something for you.

No one knows Raleigh, North Carolina real estate better than Jeff Dicks of Keller Williams Realty. Should you wish to have more in-depth information on Raleigh home sales, Raleigh investment properties and real estate in other areas in the region, please feel free to give him a call.

In our previous commentary we talked about what’s happening in the Real Estate Market. Not to be forgotten is all real estate markets are local. What’s happening in the Cleveland market isn’t the same as our’s the Raleigh area.

Now not to be discouraged, there is a solution to the madness; and believe it or not, there is a pricing strategy that works almost every time to get homes sold fast at a great price… and that is to price your home low and the the demand the low price creates raise the final selling price.

If you’re observant, you” notice that foreclosures are getting a lot of buyer activity..now why is that?

It’s simply because buyers view them as a deal; and as one person put, if they think they buy one, they’ll pay a wholesale price rather than a retail price..even if such is not the case.

Price your home like the banks do( 5-10 percent below everyone else) and get the demand o drive the your price up.  If you don’t, you’ll be taking your chances with everyone else and will most likely sell your home for 5-10% below market value anyway, because almost every buyer is low-balling prices.

The media today overwhelms us with some much data. Where is one to turn? What you don’t know about the housing market WILL hurt you…not the other way around.. It’s true; these trends may affect you differently, depending upon your situation. For example, if you have equity in your home, you’ll need to know what’s happening so you don’t lose it; but if you owe more money for your home than it’s worth or you’re facing foreclosure, you’ll need to understand these trends so you can avoid having the banks control your destiny.

So with that being said, let’s dig into whats going on in the housing market and learn how to avoid the dangerous trends that could keep your home from being sold. Everyone knows the housing market is in rough shape right? You know it, I know it, your neighbor knows it, and practically everybody else knows it, too.

Rather than ignoring what’s going on, lets study it and see how we can overcome some of the challenges it present. Don’t you agree, it’s better to take the proactive approach rather than be someone who sits around, ignores it and blames the economy for their home not selling?

Look for our second installment soon