Historic Oakwood, Raleigh, NC

What Oakwood is actually like

Oakwood began as "Mordecai Grove," developed on former plantation land east of the State Capitol after the Civil War, and it grew into Raleigh's largest concentration of Victorian architecture -- Neo-Classical, Second Empire, and Queen Anne homes with front porches on more than 90% of the housing stock, deep-pitched roofs, and decorative attic vents. In 1974 it became Raleigh's first local historic district, and it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places as, in the district's own words, "the only intact nineteenth-century neighborhood in Raleigh" (Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood).

That survival wasn't inevitable. In the early 1970s, the city planned a thoroughfare that would have cut directly through the neighborhood as part of a broader urban-renewal push; the Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood organized to block the road and won, and the historic-district designation followed soon after. Oakwood Cemetery, a historic 19th-century cemetery bordering the neighborhood, and Mordecai Historic Park just to the west -- home to an antebellum plantation house and museum that gives the area its origin-story name -- are both physical reminders of that history still standing today (Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood).

Oakwood sits immediately east of downtown Raleigh, just a few blocks from the State Capitol -- the shortest commute of any place in this sub-region, close enough that many residents can walk or bike to downtown jobs rather than drive. That proximity, combined with the historic district's now half-century of protected status, has made Oakwood one of the most consistently sought-after small neighborhoods in the city.

Home values in Oakwood

Redfin's most recent data (reflecting roughly mid-2025 market conditions) puts Oakwood's median sale price at $965,000, down 8.4% year-over-year, while price per square foot rose 4.2% to $361 -- in a market this small and low-volume, that combination reflects which specific homes sold rather than a broad decline in value (Redfin). No Oakwood-specific rent data was found.

Getting around

Oakwood is close enough to downtown Raleigh -- a few blocks east of the State Capitol -- that many residents can walk or bike to downtown jobs, roughly a 10-20 minute walk or short bike ride depending on the exact address. GoRaleigh routes along New Bern Avenue and Person Street serve the neighborhood for longer trips, but there's no light rail, subway, or commuter rail anywhere in the Triangle.

Oakwood FAQ