Market Overview

The real estate market in this community is strong and has a bright future. This area is located one hour from the mountains and three hours from the Coast which makes it an ideal place to live. This region has had slow and steady growth while keeping a warm, Southern town feel. Unlike other metropolitan areas in our State, there are no traffic issues and commuting is an easy process. There is a strong night-life, diverse eating options, and a number of major shopping retailers as well as local boutiques. The park system is numerous, walking and biking trails are abundant and several State parks are within a 30-45 minute drive. Winston-Salem attracts a robust convention business with the newly renovated Benton Convention Center located in Downtown Winston-Salem and connected to two major hotels. Piedmont Triad International Airport serves this metropolitan area and is the 3rd busiest in North Carolina averaging 280 takeoffs and landings daily.

US News ranked Winston-Salem as the 59th Best Place to Live in America, the 35th Best Place to Retire, and the 5th Best Place to Live in North Carolina. It is one of the most affordable places to live in North Carolina while offering an array of amenities and services.

For Greater Winston-Salem, 2020 was a recording breaking year for real estate. Closed units, volume and price appreciation were at record highs. For the year, closed units were up by 6.4% and closed volume is up by 20.2% due to a 12.9% increase in the average sales price. A record $4.66 Billion in volume closed, almost $800 million more than 2019. The most active price range is between $100,000-$200,000 with 37.9% of all closed sales in 2020. The most sales in the last year were in the 27284 zip code with 1,113 closed sales.

Average Annual Salary: $45,850

Seasonal Climate: 69.7 degree average high and 49.4 degree average low

Median Age: 40.6

Median Home Price: $154,458

Unemployment Rate: 3.7%

Average Commute Time: 23.5 minutes

Winston-Salem is known as the City of the Arts with the first Arts Council established in the United States. The University of North Carolina School of the Arts produces renowned actors, filmmakers and musicians yearly including Alumni Mary-Louise Parker, Jada Pinkett Smith, Kristin Chenoweth, Sage Stallone, and Judge Reinhold to name a few. Its drama program is one of the highest ranked in the world.

Winston-Salem is also home to Wake Forest University, ranked #28 by US News in best universities in the US. Winston-Salem State is ranked by US News as the 59th best regional university in the South. Salem College is the oldest Women's College in America and is ranked 131st in national liberal arts institutions by US News. Forsyth Technical Community College is one of the largest in the NC college system and has 11,000 students each year.

Winston-Salem attracts a number of national manufacturing and biotech firms operating in state of the art facilities. A few months ago, Amazon opened a fulfillment center in Kernersville, NC, occupying 1,000,000 square feet of space and employing 1,000 people once fully staffed. Other major employers include HanesBrands, Novant Health, Wake Forest Baptist Medical, Lowes Foods, Caterpillar, Herbalife, Reynolds American, BB&T/Truist, Cook Medical, and Inmar.