Raleigh/Durham Locals: What’s Your Honest Take on the Market Near Duke Hospital?

[Alex Quinlan]

I might be relocating to the Raleigh-Durham area to be near Duke Hospital, and I’ve been researching the local real estate market.

I’ve uncovered a lot of promising fundamentals:

• Strong population & job growth (tech + healthcare)

• Tight rental market (low vacancies, 6%+ annual rent growth)

• Landlord-friendly laws (no rent control!)

• Solid appreciation potential (5–7%+ depending on ZIP)

I’m specifically looking in ZIP codes like 27609, 27610, and 27608, and I’m interested in house hacking ideally a duplex, triplex, or SFH with an ADU. That said, I'm not seeing a huge inventory of duplexes listed, and I’m wondering if that strategy still works well here.

My questions for the local investors:

      What are your thoughts on the current market, and is my research correct?

1. Are you seeing viable house hacks still work in today’s Raleigh/Durham market?

2. Are duplexes just not listed often, or are they not common in the area?

3. Would it make more sense to buy my first home now (even if it's a SFH), and plan to convert it into a rental later?

4. Which ZIPs have the best balance of cashflow + appreciation?

Would love to hear from anyone investing near Duke hospitals or living in the area. What strategies are working best for you in 2025?

Thanks in advance, let’s connect!

[Nick Belsky]

@Alex Quinlan

I have 3 active clients buying in this market and we are seeing very positive valuations and solid cash flows. 2 of them buy distressed, rehab them, then refi to hold. They've managed to pull cash out for 6 out of the last 8 refis. The others were rate and term only, but they didn't need to bring any cash to close and their DSCR was still over 1.05-1.07. A little slim, but a few were over 1.5 even at 75/80% cash outs. The other clients buys to hold and is seeing DSCR at 1.2+ on his purchases.

The rents are supporting values and financing in the current environment.  We've only seen a few appraisals come in less than anticipated in Greensboro/Raleigh/Durham and that's only been in the last 4 months or so.  Compared to other markets where I have very active clients, these markets seem to be very solid, at least for now.

Cheers!