Sanford is a lovely little town situated in the heart of NC, supporting a population of just under 31,000 and employing about 13.3k people (-0.55% year over year).

Sanford's annual population growth rate is sitting around 0.71% which is not too shabby, 2.15% growth since the 2020 Consensus which is very solid. Persons over 65 account for 12.7% of the population. Median age of 34.5, 24.5 min average commute to work, and around 1,500 veterans locally. Sanford is the 35th largest city in NC, and the 1,491st largest in the US. The greater Sanford Metropolitan area consists of just over 63k people, and over the last 2 years has not seen anything less than 1.1% growth. 2020 saw a 2.5% growth that year alone. It has been growing, and is certainly on path to continue, as the local government is now prepping towards the future of Sanford.

Sanford has a Strategic Plan that is on the books with the intentions of building now, while preparing for future growth. The initiatives are set into a 5 Goal Plan:

1) Economic Prosperity for all- Focusing on partnering with local campuses to expand workforce, increase local public transit systems and encourage "micro-transit", pushing for tech companies to move in the area to support local workforce, and develop Sanford as a regional Tech Hub. Draft proposal going to the board in the 2022-2023 FY.

2) Preserving and creating affordable housing- Focusing on supporting affordable housing initiatives in East Sanford and 1st Street Initiative to push for more amenities and parks, pushing for more access to affordable housing by partnering with Brick Capitals CDC to educate homebuyers, continuing to fund urgently needed rehab and repair projects and partner with nonprofits, continuing to support the S3 Housing Connect Initiative.

3) Vibrant downtown- Focusing on connecting Sanford to Jonesboro through a municipal service district and how to market and road their way to connecting them, continue improving mobility via sidewalks/bike paths, recruit and retain small businesses in Sanford and Jonesboro, continuing to develop local infrastructure.

4) Planning & Infrastructure for growth- Making more efficient use of water and sewer systems- specifically long range future capabilities and collection/distribution, Improving Streetscapes (streets to improve determined by council), continuing to update land ordinances to promote the desire growth layout, updating local parks and other amenities, enhancing of street lights is on the book for 2022-2023 FY, development and enforcement of highway corridors passing through Sanford.

5) Engagement- Focusing on pooling community leaders together, partnering with local and non-local groups/leaders to strengthen Sanford's population engagement, developing diverse community building programs, and enhancing information dissemination for tourists.

It's quite clear that Sanford is setting it's self up for future development in a big way, and it sounds like they are approaching it using the right methods as well. Sanford won't be a city that in 20-30 years needs to rip down a whole a district to reorganize it, they're developing extremely intentionally with specific targets on what businesses and types of companies they want to bring in. You love to see a local government that produces results. Anecdotally living just south of Sanford myself personally, it's always one of the nicest areas to drive through, visit, shop at, and generally pleasing to look at as a lot of new buildings are in/around Sanford. I think Sanford's push to absorb Jonesboro is a great move and merging those economies and making it a single downtown that is much larger will plant a great seed for what Sanford may become in 40-50 years from now. Speculative of course, but it's clear they have a vision of a much larger Sanford in mind.

Side note: Ting Internet is bringing Fiber to Sanford, another signal of it's commitment to move forward into the future.

Sanford's largest school is Central Carolina Community College with about 5100 enrolled students in 2020, of which about 32% are full time students. A couple other schools like Liberal Arts & Sciences, Welding Technology, and Early Childhood Education & Teaching exist but are nominal in size by comparison. Student housing isn't completely off the table, but similar to nearby cities, the students are primarily in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area rather than Sanford/Fayetteville area.

Let's talk crime, then numbers. Sanford sits at a 20 out 100 on the crime index (with 100 being the safest), Which is a very agreeable number and relatively higher than the majority of other cities in NC.

The median home value is around $145,000, median sale price is at $300,000. Average DOM around 19, with average homes going for 1% under list and going pending in 19 days, while hot homes are going for 2% over ask and pending in 6 days. Some homes are getting multiple offers still, there are absolutely buyers here. It's considered "Very" Competitive.

About a 53% owner occupied ratio. 65% SFH, and 30% MFH. About 90% of homes are occupied. Poverty rate is around 18.5%, there is a real need for affordable housing in this market. As stated above it's clearly been addressed by local government as a need in the area as well.

Sanford has a cost of living ranked as 50/50th most expensive, which means as far as NC is concerned it is the best cost of living in any city in the state. It firmly places it in the top 33% of most expensive cities in the world. Trust me you cannot complain about cost here. The Median after Tax Salary in Sanford covers 2.8 months of expenses (talk about comfortable).

In conclusion: Sanford is currently positioning itself for a future of growth and development. Local government clearly has it's sights set to create a longer term vision, and are taking the steps now to begin laying the seeds for what Sanford/Jonesboro will become. If funding, contractors, local leaders and government continue on the agreed upon path, Sanford may very well be a hotspot for movers in the next decade. I would keep Sanford on your radar, there is some serious potential moving forward. I like to think of Sanford as what a lot of smaller NC cities wish they could be; safe, clean, easy to traverse, attractive, developing, decent schools, and an attentive government. Hence my "NC at it's finest" statement; Sanford could be another great city on the rise. Only time will tell.

As always looking for questions, comments, concerns, and any feedback. It's impossible to know everything about a market, so any value add information is expressly desired, and I appreciate it! I'm looking to connect with more people on here, so please reach out!

For more reading and sources:

https://www.sanfordnc.net/

https://worldpopulationreview....

https://www.census.gov/quickfa...

https://censusreporter.org/pro...

https://datausa.io/profile/geo...

https://datausa.io/profile/uni...

https://www.neighborhoodscout....

https://www.redfin.com/city/15...

https://www.realtor.com/reales...

https://livingcost.org/cost/un...

Raleigh, North Carolina