Real Estate By Design

Orange County sellers listed 214 homes in September, tying 2021 for the busiest September in records going back to 2004. That pushed inventory to 540 homes, the most since November 2018. Closings still ran 15 percent ahead of last September, so buyers haven't gone anywhere. They simply have more to choose from, and a little more time to choose.

Curious what it means for your neighborhood? Read the full September update: RealEstateByDesignNC.com/OrangeUpdate

Offer Accepted
305 Yorktown Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Buyers represented by Theresa Olson

Theresa Olson's buyers are under contract on a five-bedroom home set among mature trees on just under half an acre in Chapel Hill, close to Southern Village and downtown.

A main-level primary suite and a second en-suite bedroom upstairs give the floor plan real flexibility, and the big-ticket items are recent: a roof in 2024, HVAC in 2023, and refinished hardwoods in 2025. Out back, a deck overlooks the fenced, wooded yard.

Wondering how to size up a home's roof, HVAC, and other major updates before you make an offer? Theresa Olson would love to guide you.

Durham Highlight:
Phillips Haunted Farm

Phillips Haunted Farm is back for the season in Cary, running Friday and Saturday nights all through October. Once the sun goes down, the farm turns over to three scare houses and a haunted wagon ride, with ghosts and ghouls roaming free in between. It's built for teens and adults, and the farm recommends it for ages 13 and up.

The scares sit on a real working farm. Michael Phillips, the son of a farmer, was in his early 20s when he borrowed money from his dad and turned part of a former to***co farm into a corn maze and pumpkin patch, and it has grown from there.

By day, the same land runs as a family fun park, which makes the haunted farm the after-hours half of the story. Tickets are sold at the gate, so plan to buy on arrival, and concessions are available inside. Pumpkins by day, ghouls by night, all on the same stretch of Good Hope Church Road.

6800 Good Hope Church Road
Cary, NC 27519
Fridays & Saturdays, 8–11 PM

Under Contract
5701 Hayloft Circle
Raleigh, NC 27606
Sellers represented by Lisa Ellis

Contract signed in seven days on this split-foyer home on a Raleigh cul-de-sac, where a pear tree and a fig tree share the front yard. Downtown Raleigh, RDU, and PNC Arena are all close by.

Hardwood floors, a masonry fireplace, and a bay window anchor the living room, and three bedrooms sit upstairs. Downstairs, a paneled den and a converted garage with pine floors and built-in bookshelves add flexible space, and three decks out back give the yard plenty of room for gathering.

If a well-prepared, well-priced listing sounds like the right start for your own sale, Lisa Ellis would love to help.

Weekend Event Highlight
Move-A-Bull City Open Streets

October's first Sunday brings Durham's largest open streets event downtown, where 1.2 miles of Blackwell, Corcoran, and Foster Streets close to cars for four hours and open up for walking, biking, rolling, skating, and dancing. Music, art, food vendors, and wellness activities line the route, and it's all free, presented by Bike Durham, the City of Durham, and the Partnership for a Healthy Durham.

Whether you're dusting off a bike, pushing a stroller, or lacing up skates for the first time in years, there's room for every pace. Downtown looks a little different from the middle of the street.

Sunday, Noon–4 PM
Blackwell, Corcoran, and Foster Streets, Downtown Durham

See more weekend events at RealEstateByDesignNC.com/WeekendGuide

Featured Listing
1114 Caswell Way Court
Durham, NC 27703
Listed by Lisa Ellis

At the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, 1114 Caswell Way Court backs to woods and a pond, so the deer, the birds, and the rest of the local wildlife tend to drop by the backyard on their own schedule. Now offered at $419,500.

Just over a year old, the home brings three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a loft, with LVP flooring on both levels and no carpet anywhere. The foyer opens to a bright, open main level where a wall of windows frames the trees out back. The kitchen centers on a large island with quartz countertops, 42-inch cabinets with crown molding, and a separate pantry, and it flows right into the dining area and living room. A screened porch and a patio sit just off the living space for morning coffee or a slow evening outside.

The main level also holds a half bath, a laundry room with a utility sink and built-in shelving, and access to the two-car garage. Upstairs, the primary suite overlooks the backyard, and its bath includes double sinks and a tile walk-in shower. Two more bedrooms share a full bath with a tub and shower, and the loft works as a home office, workout space, or second living area.

See more photos, video, and details at www.1114CaswellWayCourt.com.

Want to see that backyard for yourself? Reach out to Lisa Ellis.

Weekly Home Maintenance Tip
Schedule Your HVAC Autumn Checkup

As cooler weather settles in, most homes are about to switch from cooling to heating for the first time in months, and that changeover is the easiest window all year to get ahead of it.

Call a licensed HVAC technician now to schedule your fall tune-up, before the first cold snap fills up every appointment slot on their calendar. While you're waiting for that visit, swap in a fresh air filter, clear leaves and debris away from the outdoor unit, and vacuum out registers and vents around the house. It's also worth updating the thermostat schedule for shorter days and cooler mornings, especially if it's still running on a summer program.

A trained technician can catch worn parts, loose connections, or a refrigerant issue while they're still minor, so the system is running the way it should well before the coldest nights of the year.

Getting on the schedule now means the appointment happens on your timeline, not whenever the technician can finally fit you in.

Advice by Design How to Buy Before Selling Your Current Home

Buying your next home before your current one sells can mean shopping without coordinating every showing around your own sale, and moving straight into the new place instead of somewhere temporary. This week's Advice by Design looks at what actually makes that sequence work: how to know if it's financially realistic, the different ways to access your current home's equity, whether your offer needs a home-sale contingency, and what it really costs to carry two homes at once, even for a few weeks.

Read the full post: RealEstatebyDesignNC.com/LearnMore

"Autumn thanks the sun with an abundant harvest."
Terri Guillemets

All that summer heat turns into something this time of year. Backyard gardeners around Durham start running out of room for what the sun left them, peppers still coming on strong, the last of the figs, okra that outgrew every plan, and sooner or later a cardboard box shows up at the end of a driveway in Lakewood with a hand-lettered sign: help yourself.

Seems like the right way to say thanks.

Just Listed
121 Dunstan Avenue
Durham, NC 27707
Listed by Theresa Olson

Just minutes from Downtown Durham, this bungalow-style home is only seven years old, with hardwood floors running through the main level and up the stairs.

The kitchen features quartz countertops, two-tone cabinetry, a tile backsplash, and a pantry. The main-floor primary suite includes a double vanity and a ceramic-tile shower, with stackable laundry on the same level. Upstairs, a loft with a built-in desk nook works well as a home office or reading space, along with two more bedrooms and a full bath with ceramic tile flooring.

Outside, a screened-in back porch with a ceiling fan and a patio open onto the fenced backyard, and a covered front porch with two ceiling fans adds another place to sit outside.

The home is currently operating as a short-term rental and is fully furnished; the furnishings may be purchased separately for buyers interested in a turnkey short-term rental, investment, or second home.

Curious what a turnkey short-term rental in Durham could look like? Theresa Olson can walk you through it.