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Forbes: Raleigh Tops in U.S. for Home Sellers

Although local home sales are flat, Forbes magazine has staked Raleigh to the No. 1 spot on its list of top markets nationwide for home-sellers.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Although local home sales are flat, Forbes magazine has staked Raleigh to the No. 1 spot on its list of top markets nationwide for home-sellers.

Home sales in the Triangle rose less than 1 percent from a year ago, and closing prices made almost no gains.

But flat sales are better than the sagging markets seen elsewhere in the country, according to the magazine. Forbes credits a thriving local economy and an influx of newcomers for Raleigh's ranking, noting that home-sellers don't have to look far or wait long for interested buyers.

"When you think about the comparison between our market and other markets, there's a big gap," said Phyllis Brookshire, of Allen Tate Realtors.

Brookshire said selling a home in Raleigh usually takes about three months.

"I think we're more balanced than we are a seller's market. But you always have pockets and niche markets that are really hot all the time," she said.

One home inside the Interstate 440 Beltline, for example, sold within 24 hours of listing for $10,000 above the asking price.

Robbin Richardson of Allen Tate Realtors said that shows how robust the Raleigh can be.

"We're having problems with the people moving in here not being able to sell their house (elsewhere). I just put two folks from out of state in rental houses," Richardson said.

Amy Slater, who is moving from Raleigh to New Jersey, sold her 1930s-era house after three months, although she could have sold it much faster.

"The second day it was on the market, I had an offer," Slater said, noting she passed up numerous offers before selling. "I felt like I knew what I should get for the house, based on what was currently available."

But she said she feels lucky to be selling in Raleigh.

"If it were somewhere else, I guess I might still have my house for sale," she said. "Where I'm moving to, the house that's next to me has been for sale for a year."

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