Great Location! Great Home! Great Community!

Wake Forest Home for Sale!

The rocking chair front porch welcomes you to this beautiful 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, cul-de-sac home on nearly 1/2 acre in desirable swim community.

Huge kitchen with island & breakfast nook overlooks the spacious backyard.

Many upgrades including CAT 5 wiring, garden tub, dual vanities, walk in closet, and a huge bonus room.

Finished 3rd floor walk up attic.

Walk in crawl space great for extra storage.

Proudly offered at $315,000

For additional information and more pictures, as well as a visual tour of this home, please go to:

www.3708AndoversfordCt.com

To schedule a private viewing of this home, please call Craig or Linda at 919-771-7779.
To view all the homes for sale in the Triangle (Raleigh) area, please visit:

www.JustNCHomes.com

North Raleigh Home $185,000 3bdrms, 2baths

Great North Raleigh location! Established neighborhood with community pool and tennis courts and a park-like setting playground. Partially remodeled 3 bedroom, 2 full bathroom home boasts an open floor plan and is just waiting for your finishing touches!

Proudly offered at $185,000

To schedule a private viewing of this home, please call Craig or Linda at 919-771-7779.

To view all the homes for sale in the Triangle (Raleigh) area, please visit:

www.JustNCHomes.com

The Importance of Curb Appeal

In today's market, nothing can turn a buyer away quicker than poor curb appeal.

Buyer's are picky to begin with, and they have the right to be. They're about to make the biggest purchase of their lives. And, with all the inventory available to them these days, they can afford to be choosy.

Above is a home, that, after the sellers just spruced up the curb appeal a little, made all the difference in the world!

Click on the picture of the home to see the "before and after" results!

For all your Real Estate needs in the Raleigh North Carolina area, please call Craig at 919-771-7779.

Visit me on the web and search the entire MLS for your new home at: www.JustNCHomes.com

OK, here I go again!

Yes, I'm getting older!

No, I can't fight it...although I try every day! I go mountain biking as often as I can and now I'm eating healthier than ever before.

So, every weekend, I find myself heading over to the Farmer's Market in Raleigh to get my week's supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The Raleigh Farmers Market boasts over 300 different items for sale and has some of the best locally grown produce you can get. With prices well below supermarket levels and freshness that no grocer can match, the Raleigh Farmer's Market should become a regular stop when tackling your weekly errands.

There are plenty of samples to "try before you buy", a seafood restaurant on premises and plenty of rest facilities too.

Bring the kids, bring a camera (there are some good photo opportunities here) and bring an appetite!

The Raleigh Farmer's Market is open year round from 5 am - 6 pm Monday - Saturday and 8 am - 6 pm on Sundays.

Located off Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh, NC, the market is only 15 minutes from Apex and 10 minutes from Cary.

From I-40 take exit 297 and follow signs to market. It's clearly marked. You can do it!

Phone: (919) 733-7417

For all your Real Estate needs in the Raleigh North Carolina area, please call Craig at 919-771-7779.

Visit me on the web and search the entire MLS for your new home at: www.JustNCHomes.com

Cary Apex Morrisville North Carolina Market Report

The Triangle Area Residential Realty Report (TARR Report) numbers are in for the 2nd quarter of 2008.

Published by Stacey P. Anfindsen, an active real estate appraiser, educator and consultant, the TARR Report is the premier publication for Real Estate statistics in the Triangle Area of North Carolina.

Here are some of the numbers for the 2nd quarter of 2008 for the Cary, Apex and Morrisville areas.

The average list price of homes in Apex has dropped by 4%, increased by 1% in Cary and dropped by 19% in Morrisville while the average sales price has increased in Apex by 1%, increased in Cary by 3% and increased in Morrisville by 7%.

The average days on the market in these areas is 77 for Apex and Cary and 90 for Morrisville.

Home sale prices for Apex are averaging $264,896. The average sales price for homes in Cary and Morrisville are $345,050 and $269,708 respectively.

There is currently a 6 month supply of homes on the market in Apex and Cary, while Morrisville has a 7 month supply.

Thankfully though, despite some numbers that aren't the greatest, the average annual appreciation for homes in this area is 4.68%. Compared with national numbers that number shows that we still have a strong market here in the Triangle region of North Carolina.

Mountain Biking in the Raleigh North Carolina Area

As I approach another birthday and try to fight off old age, I continuously look for ways to stay in shape. I no longer can stay out until dawn and function like I did in my college days! So, realizing my limitations, I've found that the one thing I've always enjoyed to keep in shape has taken over a good part of my routine now:

Mountain Biking

I'm not talking about mad-dogging it over a cliff mountain biking. I'm talking about stay in shape riding in the woods mountain biking.

Here in the Raleigh area, there are numerous places to achieve this task. Some are harder than others, but all of them will provide you with a good work out and keep you in shape. (And, no, round is not a shape!)

For an easy work out, the American Tobacco Trail provides a nice smooth trail (7.5 miles, 15 round trip) on a hard packed, mostly level trail through Apex, Cary and into the Chatham County line. The trail is actually 23 miles long, but much of it is still under construction and, once completed, will go all the way in to Durham. However, the 7.5 miles I mentioned above is really quite nice. Bikers, horseback riders and even moms and dads with strollers can be seen on this trail on any given day.

Similar to the American Tobacco Trail, Umstead Park, located in Raleigh is a great place to check out with the whole family. If you're looking for an easy ride, or you want to take the family out mountain biking, Umstead is the place. There are several miles of packed gravel to ride on and it's mostly level.

For the more advanced rider, The Harris Lake Park biking trails offer a more challenging ride. The trails are made up of several loops that connect to a main trail and are clearly marked beginner, intermediate and advanced. The beginner trail is quite fun, has a few short and not too steep hills and, in parts, runs along side the lake for nice views along the way. Harris Lake County Park also has full amenities such as restrooms, picnic shelters, play areas, Frisbee golf, fishing locations and canoe rentals.

Next up, and for a more challenging ride, is the Lake Crabtree mountain biking trail. There are about 5 miles of some good hard riding here. Steep hills and lots of uneven terrain is par for the course at Lake Crabtree. There is also the only "pump track" in the Triangle area at Lake Crabtree. A pump track is a series of rollers and berms and is a great place to learn how to pump your bike over ups and downs on a trail without pedaling. It's also a lot of fun!

For directions to, or for more information on any of these trails, click on the links provided or start here.

There are many other trails for mountain biking in our area, but these should get you started. If there are any people out there who would like to meet me out there one day, (and who don't mind hanging out with a Realtor!) contact me and let's go for a ride. If I'm not out showing houses I'm good to go!

Also, if anyone out there has ridden any of these trails or has any information on any others in the area, please feel free to comment on this blog. Share it with your fellow riders!