Cary, North Carolina Housing Market

What stands out in Cary?

• The median household earns $135,352 a year: among the highest incomes of 765 tracked cities. Tenants can carry higher rents.

Is housing keeping up with Cary's growth?

The population in Cary's ZIP codes grew 8.7% over five years, faster than 81% of the cities we track. Households (+11.5%) and housing (+12.1%) grew in step. Homes for sale are 20% below 2017–2019 at this time of year.

How does Cary compare with other North Carolina markets?

Ranked among the 21 North Carolina markets we track:

• Asking price: 2nd priciest of 21. Cary is at $609,320. Closest: Apex and Chapel Hill.
• Buyer competition: 6th most competitive of 21. Cary is at 0.45 buyers per home. Closest: Concord and Durham.
• Time on market: 2nd shortest time on market of 21. Cary is at a median of 52 days on market. Closest: Kannapolis and High Point.
• Price cuts: 5th most price cuts of 21. Cary is at 27% of sellers cutting. Closest: Concord and Durham.

Who will rent from you in Cary?

In Cary, 33 out of every 100 households rent. Most own their home. The renter share is growing. Five years ago it was 32 in 100. Cary added about 3,200 renter households in five years. Renter households average 2.2 people. Two and three bedrooms fit the typical renter.

The median Cary household earns $135,352 a year. Incomes here have grown 5.0% a year since 2019. Incomes are rising faster than home prices. Affordability is improving. A typical home costs 4.5 times the median income. That is the national middle. Neither cash flow nor appreciation is free here. At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $3,384 a month.

To see what one Cary address would rent for and cash flow, run it through the app.

Is now a good time to buy in Cary?

The median asking price is 16.3% below its May 2024 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 9.5% below the Apr 2024 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower. Cary prices have risen in 89 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.

This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.

How much can you negotiate in Cary?

For every 100 homes still for sale, 45 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 38. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. About 1 in 4 sellers has already dropped their price. Each one has learned their first price was too high. Start your offer below their new price.

Cary listings spend a median 52 days on the market. There are 391 homes for sale in Cary. That is 8.3 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 525. Supply is shrinking against last year.

What to do about it

• Judge each listing on its own.
• Homes listed 60+ days ago with a price cut are where your discount is.
• Fresh, well-priced homes will not move on price. Do not waste offers on them.

What numbers should you underwrite a Cary deal with?

• Price growth to assume — +3.4%/yr. Cary grew 5.4% a year over the decade. Ignore that rate. Most of it landed in the 2020 and 2021 boom. Without the boom, Cary grows about 3.4% a year. That is the number to type in. Prices fell 3.2% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
• Odds you cut your price to sell — 1 in 4. 27% of Cary listings have cut their asking price. Underwrite your exit below asking.
• Comp on price per square foot — $254/sqft. The typical Cary listing shrank from 3,079 to 2,370 sqft since Jul 2016. So median price hides real growth: 69% per sqft versus 39% on the median. Comp on median price and you will overpay for small homes.
• Competition when you exit — -5%. Homes for sale in Cary are down 5% on last year, so your resale faces less competition than today's comps did.

Read how population change affects rentals and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.

What is the median home price in Cary?

The median asking price in Cary is about $609,000 as of Sep 2026, up 2.4% from a year ago. The typical listing is 5% larger than a year ago, and asking price per square foot is down 3.2%. So the size of homes on the market explains much of the rise. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Cary figures cover the 5 ZIP codes with a Cary mailing address, which can reach past city limits.

Is Cary a buyer's or seller's market in 2026?

Neither side has the upper hand in Cary right now. We compare Cary with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 20% fewer homes for sale; there are 45 pending sales per 100 listings, against 38 then; listings spend 11% fewer days on the market.

Are Cary home prices going up or down?

The median asking price is 16.3% below its May 2024 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 9.5% below the Apr 2024 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are still falling. Waiting has paid off so far. Let listings age, then come back lower.

What is the best month to buy a house in Cary?

Across 9 full years, Cary asking prices ran lowest in January, about 2.7% below the year's average. They peaked in March. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 18% above the yearly average.

Are there more homes for sale in Cary than before the pandemic?

No. There are 391 homes for sale, 20% fewer than in 2017–2019 at this time of year.

What is the fair market rent in Cary?

HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Wake County is $1,750 a month for 2 bedrooms and $2,196 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.