Chatham County NC Real Estate

Chatham County NC Real Estate

For years a visitor to the Triangle wouldn't hear much about Chatham County. It was missing from area maps and rarely mentioned in the local news and weather. I think that´s because it has been a rural county without a large center of population. Things are changing fast now because of Chatham´s location surrounded by Orange, Durham and Wake Counties, completion of major roads, and the growing population of the Triangle. Much of Chatham County is still very rural but North Chatham has seen quite a bit of growth in the past few years with the development of large planned neighborhoods like Briar Chapel.

Why move to Chatham County?

During the past 10 years or so the planning departments in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Raleigh have been requiring developers to cluster homes and leave areas of green space to help protect the environment. The result of this is most new home neighborhoods have small ¼ to 1/3 acre lots.

Growth has been limited in Chatham because of the lack of sewer services to the county. New improvements in waste treatment systems such as spray irrigation have made development of large golf course neighborhoods with big lots a cost effective way for developers to go. It also offers new home buyers something that is in short supply in the Triangle, a new home on a large lot. Over the past few years so much land was approved for development that there is now an over supply of homes and there are some real deals to be found.

When I saw this sign while driving from Chapel Hill to Chatham County I thought the pro-development town council had put it up. I quickly realized a prankster had added DEVELOPERS PARADISE. This was right before our market entered the recession.

Schools

The school test scores vary across the county. In the North Chatham area the scores compare favorably with the rest of the Triangle. If you focus on the North Chatham schools, Perry Harrison and North Chatham Middle and Elementary you will see that they are similar to the scores of the Chapel Hill schools which have the reputation as the best in the state. A new high school is planned for North Chatham in the next few years. There is also the Woods Charter School, grades k-12 with an excellent reputation but a waiting list.

Chatham County ABC's Test Scores