6 Best Neighborhoods if you love Costco (Cary & Apex, NC)

Opening a Costco store can make the property values in the surrounding neighborhoods increase by 5%. In this post I’m going to show you the best neighborhoods surrounding this Costco in Cary, North Carolina.  And case in point the neighborhoods that we’re going to look at had an increase in property value over the last year of 14% compared to only 4% in the town itself.

Since Costco sits right on the border of Apex and Cary, we’re going to look at three neighborhoods in Apex and three neighborhoods in Cary. 

The Cary neighborhoods have the advantage of being on the north side of Route 64, just like Costco.  So while most of these neighborhoods aren’t really walkable to Costco, the Cary neighborhoods have the advantage of not needing to cross over a busy highway if you did want to walk there.  

Apex neighborhoods near Costco

If you love Costco you can just live right across the street in the neighborhood of Knollwood.  This one isn’t on my list, but it can’t be beat for conveniences.

Knollwood is an older neighborhood with homes built in the 1960s and 70s.  There are a lot of split level and split foyer plans that were popular in that era.  Those floor plans aren’t as common today, but neither are the huge lots they sit on.  There’s one advantage of an older home – a larger lot.  And often these older neighborhoods do not have active covenants or HOAs. If you’re in the market for a home in Cary or Apex you can search active homes for sale in Cary or in Apex here. And if you just want to browse for homes all over the Triangle, our detailed search page gives you many ways to find your perfect home.

Shephard’s Vineyard

Knollwood runs into Shepherd’s Vineyard, which is an early example of a master planned community.  The majority of the homes here were built in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  Shepherd’s Vineyard does have an HOA and you can see the difference in the HOA governed subdivision versus the non-HOA governed subdivision when you drive from Knollwood into Shepherd’s Vineyard.  The lots are smaller, but generally better maintained.  

The amenities in Shepherd’s Vineyard include a community pool, a playground, walking trails, tennis courts and a sand volleyball court.  The Eva Perry Library actually sits in the neighborhood, so you can walk or bike to the library fairly easily.  

The home prices in here range from the mid $500k to above $700k.  Home sizes range from 1500 to 3200 square feet.  There are some townhomes in the community, but the majority of homes are single family homes.  

Shepherd’s Vineyard is also walkable to downtown Apex and all the amenities there: shopping, restaurants, a skate park, a dog park, and several athletic fields.  The Apex Community Center and Senior Center are also in downtown and walkable from Shepherd’s Vineyard.  There is so much programming that takes place in these community centers, it really is amazing.

The neighborhoods that we’ll look at in Cary do not have in-town, walkable, amenities like the neighborhoods we’re looking at in Apex.

Villages of Apex

The Villages of Apex is another planned community right next to downtown Apex.  One of the things that sets this community apart from many others is that the builder used a lot of very vibrant paint colors on the exteriors of the homes.  They also incorporated some architectural elements that aren’t all that common in the Triangle.

Throughout the neighborhood you’ll see a mix of styles from traditional townhomes to Victorian inspired elevations.  There are many townhomes in the Villages of Apex along with the single-family homes.  The homes sit right up on the street with the garages to the homes accessed through back alleyways.  This makes for a very nice streetscape and gives the whole community the feeling of an older village.

Prices in the Villages of Apex begin in the high $300k’s and go up into the $800k’s.  There is a pond in the neighborhood with walking trails as well as a community pool and clubhouse.  And of course, all the amenities of downtown Apex are within walking distance.

Haddon Hall

Haddon Hall was another master planned community built in the 1990’s.  There is a pool and clubhouse in the neighborhood.  They’ve got walking trails and tennis courts as well.  And you can actually walk both to Downtown Apex and Beaver Creek Shopping Center, depending where you are in the neighborhood. Beaver Creek is the largest Shopping Center in Apex.  It has all of your big box stores, lots of restaurants, a Super Target, and a movie theater 

Prices begin in the $300k’s for condos and rise to the $900k’s for some of the larger single family homes.  There are also townhomes in Haddon Hall. Home sizes range from around 1000 square feet to 5800 square feet.  The lot sizes are generous compared to a lot of new construction neighborhoods today, especially this close into town.  Lot sizes for single family homes range from .25 to .33 acres.  

Cary Neighborhoods near Costco

MacGregor Downs

McGregor Downs is one of the truly aspirational neighborhoods in the Triangle. Governor’s Club in Chapel Hill would be one of the others.  Part of what makes both MacGregor and Governor’s Club unique is not just the large beautiful homes, but the maturity of the neighborhoods.  They’re both built around a beautiful golf course with a country club.

It isn’t hard to see why people would love to live in MacGregor.  The homes are beautiful and sit on large lots.  Because of the age of the community the homes in MacGregor are eclectic.  Some were built in the 1960’s and some were built in 2024.  The variation in style that this creates makes this upscale neighborhood feel homey and unpretentious.

You’ll find almost every style of architecture in MacGregor, from 1960’s brick ranch homes to Tudor, Tuscan, and Modernist inspired homes.  There are townhomes in MacGregor that are really beautiful.  A small townhome will begin in the $400k’s and large golf course homes can fetch into the $4 millions.  The townhomes might net you around 1300 square feet while some of the larger homes come in over 12,000 square feet.

The typography boasts more hills than many other neighborhoods in the area, helping with the old-world Scottish vibe of the community.  The rising and falling elevation also makes for a great golf course. Search for homes currently for sale in MacGregor.

Picardy Pointe

Picardy Pointe is, in many ways, a classic upscale Cary neighborhood.  It was mostly built in the 1990’s, and homes generally go on the market for prices in the $700k’s to the $800k’s.  Not as eclectic as MacGregor, most of the homes will range in size from the high 2000 square feet to the high 3000’s.  

Even though the elevations of the homes are varied, they mostly reflect the floorplans of the 1990’s.  This generally means a foyer with a family, living, dining, and kitchen downstairs and the primary suite and secondary bedrooms up.  They usually will also have a bonus room over the two-car garage.  While luxurious in the 90’s, these floor plans lack the vaulted ceilings and open concepts that are currently popular.

What you get is location.  Homes at this price range in towns and communities a little further out are generally much newer and often incorporate the newer style of interior living.  You can get homes with more modern floorplans in Cary, it will just cost you more money.

Picardy Pointe is right next to the Apex Nature Park, which has a large lake,  walking trails, pavilions, tennis and volleyball courts, even an obstacle course for the little ones.  Picardy Pointe does have its own pool and tennis courts as well.

Normandie

Normandie could be considered a step up from Picardy Pointe and just below MacGregor.  Prices will range from the $800k’s into the $1.5 million.  For that you’ll be getting homes around 5000 square feet.  Unlike the eclectic feeling of MacGregor, Normandie feels more cohesive.

Normandie runs right into MacGregor, but you can feel it when you cross into the other neighborhood.  Normandie is manicured and younger.