Ah, the sound of money rustling in the vortex

Found on a realtors blog today, in response to yesterday's N&O article. The names are removed to protect the bloggee.

With the popularity of larger houses (bigger is better, right?), kids don’t share rooms anymore. In larger homes, there are spaces created for home offices, laundry, even (at least according to the N&O) for your in-laws! Want 2 master bedrooms? Some homes even have 3.

In downtown areas, it has usually been a bit more difficult to find existing large homes.

The newest real estate solution: tear-downs. Existing (outdated) (and smaller) homes are being bulldozed at a record pace. Tim Minton, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, told the News & Observer that in 1968, the average size of a home was 1,200 square feet. Now, Minton says, its double that.

The number of tear-downs has rapidly increased within the Raleigh Beltline because many people want to live near their downtown jobs. Controversial? Sure - because much of the area inside the Beltline can be considered historic district.

. . .

This type of re-construction/re-modeling/re-building is transforming the Triangle. Land values have jumped, and many folks who relocate to North Carolina are well-off and desire prime residential locations.

When an old home is torn down, the site is typically replaced by a huge, beautiful new home. Areas in which this is happening include Raleigh’s Five Points, University Park, and North Ridge; and Durham’s Trinity Park and Hope Valley.

Time to upgrade? Call XXX today and we’ll help you find the home of your dreams. Whether you want to be in urban Raleigh or in an outlying area, our full service buyer’s agents will be with you during the entire process.

As we say around here, there goes the neighborhood.