September 9, 2024

Today’s Forecast

90º | 10% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 6:53 a.m. | Sunset 7:30 p.m.

🏡 How difficult is it to buy a home in Raleigh?

Meet this stunning home at 404 W. Roanoke Park Dr. in Raleigh. | Photo courtesy of Glenwood Agency Real Estate

Whether you’re planning your next move or just love scrolling Zillow, NBC’s home buyer index — which debuted earlier this year and is updated monthly — might help you keep better tabs on the Raleigh real estate market as it shifts from month to month.

How it works

The study uses a 0-100 scale to measure the level of difficulty when purchasing a home; the higher the score, the more difficult. It’s measured using four factors: cost, competition, scarcity, and economic instability (think: market volatility, unemployment, and interest rates).

Is it legit? A real estate industry analyst, bank economist from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and other experts helped develop the tool, according to NBC News. Examine the methodology.

A few caveats: The index does not capture additional homebuying difficulties for certain groups, such as those with lower credit scores, and it can’t always capture data for more rural communities.

Our counties’ ratings

The data listed below comes from July 2024, but it’s updated monthly — in other words, you can check back whenever you’re curious. Check out Wake and Johnston County’s numbers, on a scale of 0 (easy) to 100 (difficult):

Wake County

Overall difficulty index | 78.1
Cost index | 76.1
Competition index | 86.4
Scarcity index | 61.3
Economic instability index | 92.8

Johnston County

Overall difficulty index | 65.3
Cost index | 59.6
Competition index | 69.2
Scarcity index | 61.6
Economic instability index | 90.1

The index also shares that a median income buyer here in Wake County can afford a $520,000 home — compare that to the median list price for a home, which is $486,000.

Feel good about buying, but want to stay updated on what it’s like to live in Raleigh? Check out our City Guides for the 411.

Asked

As of July 2024, what is the overall home buyer difficulty index for the entire nation?

A. 68.9
B. 79.1
C. 85.3
D. 92.2

Test your knowledge

Events

Monday, Sept. 9

Bingo Night | Monday, Sept. 9, Monday, Sept. 23 | 7-9 p.m. | The Longleaf Hotel | Free | Play bingo in this chic lounge.

Tuesday, Sept. 10

DIY Resin Coasters with Pressed Flowers | Tuesday, Sept. 10 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Joy Worthy Co. | $69 | Create coasters made from resin and pressed flowers in this blooming workshop.
Hans Zimmer Live | Tuesday, Sept. 10 | 7:30 p.m. | PNC Arena | $55+ | From “The Lion King” to “Dune,” watch the musical master perform his most well-known and award-winning scores.

Wednesday, Sept. 11

Write Here, Write Now: Getting Started | Wednesday, Sept. 11 | 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Virtual | Free | Author Heather Frese will share tips on how to get started writing in any genre in this workshop hosted by Wake County Libraries.

Thursday, Sept. 12

Concerts & Cocktails | Thursday, Sept. 12 | 4 p.m. | 10th & Terrace Rooftop | Price of purchase | Enjoy a “Made You Look” cocktail inspired by Meghan Trainor ahead of her Red Hat concert.
PineCone Bluegrass Jam | Thursday, Sept. 12 | 7-9 p.m. | Free | Riparian Provision Company | Enjoy this jam sesh of bluegrass musicians and join in on the tunes.

Friday, Sept. 13

North Carolina Courage vs. Bay FC | Friday, Sept. 13 | 7 p.m. | WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary | $23+ | Lightsabers at the ready. In a galaxy (not so) far, far away, the NC Courage take on NWSL newcomers, Bay FC, on Star Wars Night.*

This week's best events

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Try This

🌰 Step inside downtown’s newest apartment community

Shots from around The Acorn, including the pool area, the common room, and inside the apartments.

It’s not home without our furry friends, and The Acorn is 100% pet-friendly. | Photos by RALtoday

Drumroll, please.

The Acorn, Moore Square’s new apartment community, is officially open, and the RALtoday team was among the first to tour the space.

From the moment we set eyes on the building’s stunning hand-painted mural by local artist Clark Hipolito, we were wowed.

Here were our other favorite parts:

Layouts to love

The Acorn offers flexibly arranged studio, 1, and 2-bedroom apartments with high-end finishes throughout.

From quartz countertops + matte black hardware to luxury plank flooring, the modern spaces included some pretty stellar downtown views, and many featured private balconies for those chilly fall mornings (that can’t come soon enough).

All the amenities

The rest of the community felt equally elevated.

We toured the indoor-outdoor work-from-home center, stopped by the community kitchen in the Clubroom, and dreamed of pampering our pups in the fully equipped grooming station.

Finally, after stopping by the pool + courtyard area, which also overlooks downtown Raleigh, we were ready to pack our bags and move in.

See our tour reel

News Notes

Coming Soon

Restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias is opening another new restaurant, this time in Cary. Naos Hellenic Cuisine will open in the former Ko.an space next month with a grand design and his signature Greek eats. Giorgios Epicurean Market, another Bakatsias venture, plans to open later this month near Raleigh Iron Works. (Triangle Business Journal)

Eat

In more food news, a new steakhouse in Brier Creek Commons promises to be legendary; Epic Chophouse will open later this year. Think: steaks aged for at least 35 days, cheesy toast, and an extensive wine selection. This will be the steakhouse’s fourth location. (The News & Observer)

Travel

Durham just made CNN’s list spotlighting “25 of the USA’s most underrated destinations.” Bull City was praised for its vibrant arts + entertainment scene — consider this your reminder to pencil in a show at DPAC this fall.

Edu

It’s now easier for NC high school seniors to attend over 30 NC colleges + universities. With NC College Connect and NCICU Direct Admission, seniors with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher can speed up or skip application process for immediate admission to schools including Meredith and Saint Augustine’s. (The News & Observer)

Read

Wake County is launching a special celebration of local authors starting this Wednesday, Sept. 11. Residents have the chance to meet over a dozen NC-based and local authors including Daniel Wallace, the author of “Big Fish,” sci-fi author John Kessel, and children’s author Audrey Perrott.

Sports

What would your high school’s football team do with $100,000? School officials can register your school for the chance to win T-Mobile’s Friday Night 5G Lights contest. (We’re looking at you, Broughton). Psst — give @RALtoday a tag when you rally on social media so we can boost it.

Try This

Today’s Best voting is in full swing and there is still time to give your two cents. Remember, you can vote once per day. Share the love for your favorite local businesses here.

Job

We’re looking for a Sales Executive in our sister market, SEAtoday, to identify and secure new advertising partnerships and grow existing client relationships on the SEAtoday team. Apply to join.

Plan Ahead

Curious about skin-restoring laser treatments, but not sure where to begin? Synergy is hosting a free Laser Season webinar that highlights the latest laser technologies + answers any specific treatment questions. Plus, you may just win the $1,000+ giveaway prize.*

Cause

We’re not going to sugarcoat it: NC is in the middle of its worst hunger crisis in years. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to volunteer time or donate funds, consider contributing during Hunger Action Month. Here’s how you can help.*

Sports

🏅 Raleigh’s Paralympians

The Eiffel Tower in Paris with Olympic rings

These Olympians might be saying au revoir to Paris, but they’re taking home some hardware. | Photo by CLTtoday

At the 2024 summer Olympic Games, approximately 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees competed across 32 sports — including some new ones. Since we’re all about keeping it local, meet the Paralympians who took home medals for Oak City.

Hannah Aspden, Para swimming, 100m backstroke
Although Aspden didn’t medal at this year’s Paralympics, she’s the proud owner of four medals from her previous two appearances. Fun fact: Aspden made her first national team by a margin of 0.1 seconds at 13 years old and was the youngest Team USA member to medal in 2016.

Liana Mutia, Para judo
Mutia took home silver at this year’s Paralympics while describing herself as a “non-athlete” because she just went to Paris to have fun with her sport. As of December 2023, Mutia ranked No. 1 in the world for her division. This was the Oak City native’s second Paralympics — she finished ninth at the 2020 Olympics.

Meet Raleigh's Olympians

The Buy

A wireless travel charger compatible with practically any device. It’s capable of charging your smartphone, smartwatch, or headphones — meaning no more dead devices on the go.

More worth The Buy

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Allie

From the editor

Hey Raleigh — this weather has me in the mood for a nice hike at Umstead State Park. We’ve got three outlined in our hiking guide ranging from 2.5 miles to over six.

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