Are school caps having an adverse effect on home sales in Wake County?
HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County school district is the largest school system in the state, and it's dealing with one big issue -- not enough classroom space in some of the fastest growing communities in the county.
Amid the endless subdivisions and non-stop construction in western Wake County sits Middle Creek Schools.
The elementary, middle and high school are some of the most highly regarded in this section of Wake. But good luck getting your child enrolled, the schools are capped because of crowding. It's a growing issue that is having ripple effects in the real estate market.
"No question we selected this particular place because of school availability and the rankings of the school," said David Brown.
Brown, who is the father of six, insists if he had to make the choice today, he'd choose elsewhere to buy a home. He lives less than a mile-and-a-half from Mills Park. It's where five of his children have attended, but Brown says his youngest son has to attend somewhere else because the school is at capacity.
Two homes are for sale on Brown's block. One has been on the market nearly a year. Brown is convinced the cap on the neighborhood school is making homes here less attractive to prospective buyers.
"The contract fell through because the people who were buying found out that the schools were capped", Brown explained.
Wake County schools are struggling to keep up with growth. This upcoming school year, 20 schools have capped enrollments, which is the most in district history. The biggest impact is in Raleigh, western Wake, and Holly Springs.
"If we have to put a cap on it, it's reached a crisis point," according to Wake school board member and Keller-Williams real estate agent Bill Fletcher.
Fletcher acknowledges the crisis, but says the data shows the real estate market is weathering the crisis just fine so far.
"With less than 45 days of inventory of houses in these school communities, it's not adversely affecting the market," said Fletcher.
Eager to hold on to the luster as the best place to raise kids, Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears has concerns about what some local realtors are telling him about the caps.
"Another realtor will say, 'I'm losing sales.' I just can't get this across," said Sears.
Sears points out just because a school is capped, that doesn't necessarily mean it's filled. The numbers constantly change. Parents should check with school's data manager personally.
"If you're a new family in town and say 'I want to go to Holly Ridge Middle.' Well, the latest number is 1,266 and the current is 1,181. So, there's opens," said Sears.
For most the answer is simple -- build more schools. Wake voters approved an $810 million school construction bond last year. The bond will result in 16 brand new schools. Even still, it all adds to only half what Wake needs to keep up with growth.
