Cary was ranked No. 11 and Durham came in at No. 30 in Realtor.com's annual list.
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The report noted that the latest median price in Cary is $442,000, slightly more than Raleigh's.
Stephanie Jabusch bought her Cary home in the late 1990s.
She's finished raising all of her children there and now is considering ways to prop up the price even further.
"It has tripled in value," said Jabusch. "We are very pleased with our investment and thinking of investing in our house by updating or adding to it, and we'll still get money back if we sell it."
Anthony Fuller said the town has changed a lot since his family came from Florida 15 years ago.
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"When I moved here, there wasn't a lot. It was just a small... it was cool, it was like, it was more like a home feel," he said.
The area feels like it is exploding. New construction keeps going up. Townhomes by the intersection of Highway 55 and Morrisville Parkway are going for $650,000.
There are new entertainment centers, such as The Fenton.
Phaedrea Watkins owns Realty One Group in Cary and says there are other draws.
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"(There are) good schools, very good schools and it's just a family-oriented area," said Watkins.
She continues helping out-of-state buyers relocate to the area.
Watkins has noticed that homes are sitting on the market a little longer.
"It's increasing a little bit, and I wouldn't say significantly, this is kind of what we saw as normal before we got this big jump in a lot of people moving to the area and it flying off the market in one to two days. Now, we're seeing maybe a week or two," said Watkins.
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