Your guide to the 2024 Triangle Parade of Homes: Lineup, how to plan and more
With Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene mostly behind us, the Triangle’s “largest open house” is going ahead, rain or shine.
The Triangle Parade of Homes kicks off this weekend. It continues Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-13, noon to 5 p.m. each day.
The free event is a scattered-site tour of 242 newly constructed homes, stretching across four counties in 165 communities — from Durham to Zebulon.
Often billed as an HGTV-lover’s playground for scoping out design trends, this year’s parade is back to its pre-pandemic numbers, said Paul Kane, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.
Roughly 200 builders are participating with new home prices ranging from $275,000 to $5.35 million.
Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or just curious to see what’s on the market, here’s everything you need to know:
The lineup
Roughly 60 of the parade’s 242 homes — about 25% — are listed at more than $1.5 million, reflecting a nationwide upswing of homes with price tags over $1 million.
The parade’s most expensive home is listed at $5.3 million at 222 Reynolds Rd. in Raleigh’s North Hills. Built by Raleigh Custom Homes, the 6,218-square-foot modern craftsman home features five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, gym and sauna.
The second most expensive is at 117 Lochinvar Court listed for $5.33 million in Cary’s MacGregor Downs. Built by Raleigh-based Loyd Builders, the 8,300-square-foot home has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a “two-sided infinity pool overlooking the 10th hole.”
At the other end of the spectrum, about 21 of the parade’s homes, or 8.6%, are below $400,000. Many of those are townhomes in fast-growing towns like Zebulon, Wendell, Roseville and Knightdale in Wake County and Pittsboro in Chatham County.
Arizona-based Taylor Morrison’s Raleigh division has three homes at this price point. They include the Birch home in Wendell’s Magnolia Townes starting from $299,990; the Quincy home in Angier’s Camden Place starting from $339,900; and the Andrews home in Sanford’s Hickory Grove starting from $393,990.
Despite a sluggish market, demand remains steady, said Mike Reynolds, Taylor Morrison’s Raleigh division president.
“We’ve seen a downtick in customer traffic in some submarkets,” he said. “As interest rates stabilize and election season ends, we expect demand to rebound.”
California-based Tri Pointe Homes is also among the out-of-state builders showcased in the parade. It has the Shepard home starting from $487,990 in Durham’s Tredenham; and the Shelby home starting at $726,049 in Raleigh’s Elm Park.
“We are steadily selling,” said Tri Pointe’s James Flanagan. “Since opening earlier this summer, we continue to see momentum growing.”
How can you plan your tour?
Pack an umbrella! Weather reports forecast sunny skies with a high in the low 80s. But it doesn’t hurt to be safe given the recent deluge.
Other tips: Go to www.triangleparade.com and build your own “custom tour” complete with “home-to-home” directions.
The site offers step-by-step instructions.
How it works: The site provides a full list of this year’s parade entries. Beneath the photo of each home is an “Add to My Tour” option. Users can add homes to a master list and enter a starting address, which generates a “custom parade map” with a link to turn-by-turn navigation.
It can be shared with others or emailed to a specified address.
Any other pro tips or strategies?
Melody Pone is Tri Pointe Home’s area sales manager. Among her tips:
Make the tour an event with friends, pack a “Car-cuterie” board and snacks for the day.
Even if you don’t make a map, have a plan.
Take photos and create a Pinterest board of ideas for later.
Bring your checkbook/pre-qualification documents. “You may want to buy a home,” she said.
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