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I have been looking into this area, reading many posts.
More than a couple of posts suggests this not to be the best area for the $500K+ range.
Would anyone be kind enough to tell me why?
And also, what other communities close by are you speaking of?
Many thanks!
What is it you are looking for? Are you only interested in newer communities like bedford that offer a clubhouse, tennis courts, pool, ect...?
At a $500K price point you have many options in North Raleigh. You would also have some great options inside the beltline as well as in some older historic neighborhoods. What location are you interested in finding a home in?
I'm in Bedford too and think its a good place to be. I would be hesitant to buy in the Estate Section because of the quarry--I think there are better options in that price range that don't involve blasts shaking your house. But for your price range I think Bedford is great.
is about the best one you can be in right now. There are a LOT of options and sellers in that price range are anxious to sell, since things are slow right now. You can get a lot for your money, especially at the current interest rates. That is typically the price break where you start to see a lot of extras, anyway.
The schools are always a hot topic. You cannot be guaranteed of the same school assignment every year...period...in Wake County. However, in spite of all the comments you hear, most kids stay put longer than their parents choose to stay in a particular home and the vast majority of parents find the schools better than other places they have lived.
I cannot stress enough that one of the reasons schools here have been so well-rated is that parents stay involved and help every chance they get in most schools. It's also a good way to meet like-minded people when you are new.
If I were in your situation and wanted a new development, I might also choose Bedford. I believe the homes there are more attractive and better-designed than in most comparable neighborhoods, and the location is very good. It really is a very nice-looking area, and some of the best parks in the county are nearby.
I believe the school situation will stabilize soon, for two reasons: Firstly, the economy is slowing, so construction will also slow. More importantly, that part of the county has been seeing explosive growth, but is now reaching saturation. Not much more can be built to the west and north because it is in the Falls Lake watershed, and there are not many remaining large tracts to the east and south. School capacity will have a chance to catch up.
There is a new elem school that opens in 2010-11 that *might* impact the Bedford area. It will be located more towards Wake Forest, but WCPSS has said that it may impact Wildwood Forest elem, where some of Bedford goes. I don't think it will really affect Bedford growth wise, but they may use it as a way to adjust 'diversity' numbers at area schools.
I don't predict any major upheavals in Bedford, for the reasons askmisterbrown posted, but we could be affected by the 'tweaking' of F&R numbers. Bedford is assigned to Brassfield, Wildwood Forest and Durant. (there might be another school in there--there used to at least 2 more)
WCPSS has been trying to raise Brassfield's F&R numbers the last few years so it wouldn't surprise me if they moved some non-F&R nodes out of there sometime to make room for lower income kids. Not sure which nodes they would remove from Brassfield, if they moved any.
The homes assigned to Durant just moved there this year so I would be surprised if they moved them again any time soon. I think they'd have a mutiny on their hands because those families worked for about 2 or 3 years to get moved to Durant from a school that was 10 miles away.
Wildwood Forest just had a large group of children moved out this year for diversity reasons. Several neighborhoods on the south side of Durant Rd got moved from WWF to Fox Road Elem to lower Fox's F&R rate. I don't think they will touch WWF for a while, especially since if they remove Bedford or Falls River, then they'd have to find nodes of similar economic status and there just aren't that many new housing developments going up in our area.
So all in all, I think Bedford will be ok for the next few years. There has been talk of building a school on the 'borrow' land once the landfill closes, but that is a long way off. There is no funding for it at this time and there won't be another bond for a year or more. Of course, there is no guarantee and we could all get moved next year anyway. Sometimes it just defies logic, lol.
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The $500K price point...
