Wake County Real Estate

  • Condo Mortgage Rules Raleigh NC: What Changed in 2026

    ByKevin Martini

    Condo mortgage rules Raleigh NC changed in 2026 when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac retired the fast-track review path roughly 40% of condo loans used to rely on. Kevin Martini and Logan Martini of Martini Mortgage Group have seen the shift firsthand across Raleigh, Wake County, and the Triangle, where North Carolina’s lack of a state reserve-study mandate leaves many HOAs unprepared for the new 15% reserve standard. Buildings with thin reserves or outdated reserve studies can now slow or derail a loan regardless of the buyer’s credit profile. The building’s paperwork, not just the borrower’s file, decides the timeline in 2026.

  • New Construction vs Resale Raleigh: The Truth About Cost

    ByKevin Martini

    New construction vs resale Raleigh is a pricing question disguised as a lifestyle question. Builders fund advertised rate buydowns by holding home prices firm, and because a builder controls the comparable sales in an active subdivision, future price cuts on unsold lots can erode an earlier buyer’s equity with no contractual protection. Kevin Martini and Logan Martini of Martini Mortgage Group show Raleigh and Wake County buyers how to separate the price from the rate before signing, using current Freddie Mac and Doorify MLS data rather than a builder’s payment illustration. The strongest deals in today’s Triangle market are frequently resale homes with motivated sellers, not builder incentives.

  • Raleigh Home Buying Window Closing: What May 2026 Data Shows

    ByKevin Martini

    Raleigh home buying window closing conversations picked up after Cotality’s May 2026 data showed national home price growth reaccelerating to 0.8% annually, the first uptick in two years. Kevin Martini and Logan Martini of Martini Mortgage Group break down why the reacceleration is uneven, what it does and does not mean for Wake County and the Triangle, and how a first-time buyer should weigh the cost of waiting against today’s still-available negotiating room. The data does not point to a spike, but it does point to a narrowing window.