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Good afternoon, Raleigh. How is everyone surviving the cold weather? 🥶

In today’s Raleigh Rundown:

• 6 fun things to do in Raleigh this weekend

• North Carolina College acceptance rates

• New location for popular Raleigh restaurant

• Home prices in Raleigh

Let’s get to it. 🏃

STORIES THIS WEEK

How hard is it to get into college in North Carolina? 🎓

According to recent U.S. Department of Education data, Duke University remains North Carolina's most selective institution with a 6.8% acceptance rate and 55.4% matriculation rate in 2023, ranking among the nation's top 15 for selectivity. From 46,365 applications, Duke enrolled 1,742 new undergraduates.

Other selective NC schools include Davidson College (14.5% acceptance), UNC-Chapel Hill (18.7%), and Wake Forest (21.6%). NC State’s acceptance rate is 39.8%, while Campbell University and UNC-Asheville had the state's highest acceptance rates at over 90%. For comparison, Harvard leads nationally with a 3.5% acceptance rate and 83.7% matriculation rate.

Mami Nora’s is moving to a new location 🍗

Mami's Latin Style Rotisserie Chicken, a longtime Raleigh establishment formerly known as Mami Nora's, is relocating from Wake Forest Road to the Salvage Yard at Raleigh Iron Works, with plans to open in late 2025. The new location will occupy nearly 6,000 square feet in the development, which already houses Triangle Rock Club and will soon welcome Bond Brothers' NOCO taproom.

Founded in Durham in 2007 by Nora Palma, the restaurant is known for its Peruvian-style dishes. After Palma's retirement in 2015, her children rebranded most locations as Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken, while this location retained its original concept. The current Wake Forest Road property was recently sold to neighboring Hanna Imports for $2.95 million.

Home prices drop slightly in Raleigh’s most expensive area 📉

In Raleigh's upscale 27608 ZIP code, which includes Hayes Barton and Five Points, home prices cooled in 2024, with average sale prices dropping 7% to $1,186,996 in Q3. Despite this decline, prices remained 80% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, north Raleigh's 27614 emerged as the city's hottest housing market, with average sale prices increasing 25% to $920,616 and homes selling in an average of 76 days. The shift reflects broader market changes, as higher mortgage rates above 6% have impacted both buyers and sellers. While 27614 ranked 128th nationally among hot markets, 27608 placed at 3,113th.

Raleigh is a top city for company headquarters 🏢

Site Selection magazine's 2024 survey ranks North Carolina second nationally for business climate, behind only Georgia, while Raleigh ranks fourth among best cities for headquarters. The South dominates the rankings, with South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas following North Carolina.

The survey identified workforce quality, tax policy, and cost of living as the most crucial factors while noting labor shortages and housing affordability as key challenges. Raleigh has recently attracted several headquarters relocations, including a tech company from New York and an electric vehicle company's U.S. headquarters.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND

RETRO PIC OF THE WEEK

A snow-covered South Salisbury Street in downtown Raleigh taken in 1968.

WEEKEND WEATHER

Friday

38 🌡️ 28 | ⛅️ | 20%

Saturday

43 🌡️ 23 | 🌨️ | 40% (chance of rain and snow showers)

Sunday

42 🌡️ 24 | 🌤️ | 0%

LOCAL SPORTS

Hockey 🏒

• Friday: Carolina Hurricanes VS Vancouver Canucks | 7 PM

• Sunday: Carolina Hurricanes VS Anaheim Ducks | 5 PM

Men’s College Basketball 🏀

• Saturday: Notre Dame at Duke | 12:00 PM

• Saturday: UNC at NC State | 4:00 PM

THANKS!

Thanks for reading the Raleigh Rundown today. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who likes racing. 🏁

Have any suggestions for what you would like to see in future editions? Reply to this email and let me know!

Let’s do this again next Thursday!