Durham's annual population growth rate is sitting around 1.87% which is phenomenal, 5.8% growth since the 2020 Consensus has been recorded. Persons over 65 account for ~12.3% of the population. Median age of 35, 22.5 min average commute to work, and a bit over 10,000 veterans locally. Durham is NC's 4th largest city, and 73rd largest in the US. Durham is speculated to have an additional 70,000 home buyers over the next decade. The population data here alone is exciting to see.

Durham has been working on revamping some nice downtown buildings; The Chesterfield, Durham Innovation District, One City Centre, 21c Museum Hotel, The Durham Hotel are recent projects of the downtown development plan. Currently on the books is the development of two intersections- Angier and Driver Street as well as Mangum and Corporation Street. Durham has been rapidly expanding for years, so it is in full drive mode to make the downtown areas more appealing, as well as able to accommodate more people.
Some more of the local neighborhood improvements recently consist of; Ashley's Corner, Grub Durham, ABC Center, Joe Van Gogh/Local Yogurt, Bookman Commercial Holdings LLC/Checkers.
Plenty of development going on Durham, and plenty more to come.

Durham's largest employers are Duke University and Duke Medical Center.

Durham's largest schools are Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and Durham Technical Community College. 2020 had the reported student population in Durham at 29,214 students. Duke accounts for 16,172 of those, with a 94.9% full-time student rate as of 2020.

Let's talk crime, then numbers. Durham sits at a 4 out 100 on the crime index (with 100 being the safest). Looking at the recent week-week/ytd report for crime stats, it would appear that Year over year Durham has seen an increase of 6.65% in overall crime. Violent crime has decreased by 11.69%; while homicide has increased by 60%, property crime has increased 11.34% since 2022. As with most cities in the US, crime is typically rather localized, and if you are familiar with the city then you know where the higher crime rate areas are. If not connect with someone who does if looking to invest in Durham.

Anecdotally I, and many other while showing properties in Durham can vouch for this- showing off a $300,000 home on a great 1/2 of a street, you look across the road and get the sense you aren't in a great area, turn around and look at the homes on this side, and you'll think the opposite. Durham is very street by street, and in some cases certain sides/sections of streets are much nicer than others. It's a rather interesting area, and knowing where you are is important here.

The median home value is around $325,000, median sale price is a moving target, somewhere near $370,000. Average DOM around 66 with average homes getting 2% under list and pending in 48 days, and hot homes are getting an average of at list and pending in 21 days. Some homes are getting multiple offers, not as much traction as other places, but I'd consider it "somewhat" Competitive for the deals that are going, but Durham remains on a lot people's radar, the buyer's come out for a right deal and snatch them very quickly.

About a 51.9% owner occupied ratio. SFH 60% MFH 40%. Poverty rate is around 12.6%, there is a potential for affordable housing in this market. A lot of renters and a massive amount of students in Durham give investors the comfort of knowing that renters will typically be abundant, couple that with the population growth, and there is little to be super apprehensive about when it comes to occupancy.

Durham has a cost of living ranked as 39/50th most expensive in NC, which means as far as NC is concerned it is pretty agreeable in pricing. People in Durham get to enjoy some of the cheaper side of NC. Being a skip down the road to Raleigh is a major plus.

Durham's most recent figure for GDP is at $60 Billion, in 2018 they were at $50 Billion. Solid.

It would be unbecoming of Durham not to mention appreciation as it is one of it's major draws for investors. "Another important note is the rate of appreciation in Durham. It is ranked in the top 20 in the nation for appreciation. In the past 10 years, Durham has seen an average annual home appreciation of 6.9%. The demand in the past two years has risen aggressively, and this has translated into higher house prices. In Q4 2022 Durham's appreciation rate was 8.78%, a great indicator of what's ahead for Durham." Since 2000 Q1, Durham has experienced an average annual appreciation of 4.54%.

To conclude Durham is a location that should be on all investors in NC's radar. There is a great market here for renters, buy & hold is extremely viable, I personally know many who have house hacked in Durham very successfully, and there is opportunity everywhere. The prices may be the biggest hurdle for some to jump through, it's not as easy on the purse as places like Fayetteville NC may be. Interestingly enough the majority of people who move to Durham that are NC locals are coming Fayetteville. Some interesting data in the previous post, that would be redundant to include here that may be worth reading into as well.

Talk at you again in 3 months Durham!

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!

Cheers!

For more reading and sources:

https://www.redfin.com/city/49...

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

https://worldpopulationreview....

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

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

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

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

https://www.durhamnc.gov/719/C...

https://www.durhamnc.gov/Archi...

https://www.neighborhoodscout....