Home prices are growing fastest in the Triangle's suburbs

Buyers have been flocking to the suburbs in search of cheaper housing, ballooning prices in the far reaches of Wake County and beyond.

• The trend doesn't appear to be slowing down.

Why it matters: The Triangle's rapid growth is driving up the cost of living even an hour away from downtown Raleigh.

What's happening: Newer and larger homes are more abundant further out from places like Durham or Raleigh, Jamie McGuire, a real estate agent for the Jim Allen Group at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston, recently told Axios.

• He estimated that he's traveled to Mebane in Alamance County for clients more times in the past month and a half than he had in the previous five years combined.

What they're saying: "If you want a new home, you've gotta be out further," he said, in places like, "Wake Forest, Apex and Holly Springs. Johnston County is just booming and Franklin County, out near Youngsville, it's really growing out there."

By the numbers: For example, 27816, a ZIP code outside of Youngsville, posted the fastest sales price growth in the Raleigh metro in the past year — with the typical home's price increasing 8.4% to $194,000, according to Zillow.

• On the other hand, the price of a typical house in 27605, a ZIP code near downtown Raleigh, fell 3.1% during the same period to $471,000.

• In the Durham metro, typical prices for the ZIP code 27541 (around Hurdle Mills) grew 9.9% to $287,300, and each of the four fastest-growing ZIP codes included parts of Person County.

Zoom out: With high mortgage rates and low inventory across the board, buyers are settling down wherever they can find a house within their budget — or sitting on the sidelines, Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari tells Axios.