St. Ives

St. Ives has sidewalks and a pool, and a lot of the people who bought the houses new are still in them. About 240 homes went up between 1998 and 2004, which makes it one of the larger established subdivisions off Ligon Mill Road. Prices run $400k to $550k and the HOA is $350 a year. Low turnover is the defining fact about the place. It keeps the streets quiet, and it also means there are rarely more than a handful of houses for sale at one time, so buyers working against a deadline often end up looking somewhere else.

Where it is

St. Ives is off Ligon Mill Road on the east side of Wake Forest. Downtown is about ten minutes from the entrance, and Capital Boulevard, which is US-1 and the road most people take south toward Raleigh, is about ten minutes as well. Having both at the same distance is the practical advantage here. Everyday stores and restaurants are on the Heritage side of town, which is the direction most trips go. Inside the neighborhood, sidewalks connect the streets to each other, so a walk does not mean walking in the road.

What to know if you're moving here

The dues are low for a neighborhood that has a pool at all, and most of the rest of the decision comes down to what each original owner did or did not do inside their own house.

• The $350 a year covers the pool and the common areas.
• Schools are Jones Dairy Elementary, Heritage Middle and Heritage High.
• Houses were finished between 1998 and 2004, so most are on a second roof and a second HVAC system by now.
• Where they are not, that is a number to put in your offer.
• Some kitchens are from 1999 and some are from last year, and both sell inside the $400k to $550k band.
• Inventory is the honest drawback, because original owners do not move, so little comes up and what does tends to go quickly.

What to do if you're visiting

The pool is for residents and their guests, so a visit means a walk and then a drive. The sidewalks make the first part easy, and a loop through the neighborhood shows what this part of Wake Forest looked like when it was new.

• For an evening out, Blackbird Brewery is the usual answer.
• On a Saturday morning, Courtney's New York Bagels & Deli covers breakfast before anybody has made a plan.
• Golfers have Heritage Golf Club close by on the Heritage side.
• If you want something to take home, NC Country Roads Honey sells local honey.
• None of it is a long drive, and all of it is a drive.