An out-of-state builder has scooped up one of the largest undeveloped parcels within the Raleigh Beltline.
Arizona-based Meritage Homes has purchased 93 acres of mostly wooded land at 6515 Buffaloe Road in Northeast Raleigh, according to Wake County records.
The installation is permitted for 641 homes. It is also part of Buffaloe Reserve, a new 212-acre master-planned community at the northwest corner of Buffaloe Road and Interstate 540, just a 20-minute drive from downtown Raleigh.
The sellers, Suncrest, acquired the entire property — including about 2,000 feet along the Neuse River — for $12 million in 2022, The Triangle Business Journal first reported. It is intended for a maximum of 1,100 single-family homes and multi-family homes.
Suncrest, with JPM South and Timmons Group, said it has been working with the city of Raleigh’s planning and engineering departments for the past two years to obtain final approvals.
It is expected to break ground in late 2024, according to the website. Planned amenities include a clubhouse and swimming pool.
In addition to the sale to Meritage, Suncrest said it will retain the remaining 18 acres of the project, currently zoned for multifamily housing, and reposition it for sale or development “over the next 24 months.”
“Whether it is repurposed will be determined by the market,” Mark McAuley, Suncrest’s director of land development, said in a news release.
Meritage is among a handful of out-of-state developers who have become active in North Carolina in recent years, buying up large tracts of land as the state grows.
In metro Raleigh alone, there are 10 communities with 30 “move-in” homes currently available in cities such as Angier, Garner, Graham, Haw River and Mebane.
It is unclear what the price will be for the homes in Buffaloe Reserve. Meritage declined to comment for this story.
In Garner, the community, Oak Manor, offers three two-story floor plans ranging from 2,702 to 3,252 square feet. Prices start at $504,000.
While mortgage rates are slowly falling, Northeast Raleigh’s housing market remains highly competitive.
In the Buffaloe Reserve zip code (27616), the median sales price (halfway across all home prices) was $380,000 in September, up 0.2% from last year, Redfin found.
The average sales price per square meter is $233, down 0.43% from last year.
On average, homes in 27616 receive two offers and sell after 22 days on the market, compared to 33 days last year. In September this year, 170 homes were sold, compared to 212 last year.
