A gated estate on nearly five acres in The Hills of Rosemont sold for $3.5 million, the highest-priced home sale reported in the Durham, North Carolina metro area for the week ending August 16, 2026.
The week’s five highest-priced reported sales combined for $12.18 million and span The Hills of Rosemont, The Oaks, Sun Forest, Durham and Hyco Lake. Durham and Chapel Hill each account for a pair of the closings, and the remaining sale was a lakefront house in Semora.
The houses behind them were built in 1986, 1989, 2004, 2009 and 2017, and they range from a country-club ranch in Durham to a custom lakefront home on Hyco Lake that sold together with an adjacent waterfront lot.
No. 1 — $3,500,000 · 281 Rosemont Dr, Durham, North Carolina
A gated estate on nearly five acres at 281 Rosemont Dr sold for $3,500,000 on August 14, 2026, the highest reported home sale price in the Durham, North Carolina metro area that week. Built in 2004 in The Hills of Rosemont, the house is recorded at five bedrooms, five full and three half bathrooms and a reported 8,133 square feet, with dual primary suites and a four-car garage.
The residence was built with steel-reinforced, poured-in-place concrete walls, ceilings and floors. Dual staircases serve the floor plan, and a recent renovation delivered a remodeled spa-style bath in the main-level primary suite, restored limestone flooring, upgraded carpeting and new designer lighting. The kitchen carries quartzite countertops with Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances.
An open recreation level holds a billiards room with a wet bar, a media room and a bonus room, and a third-floor flex space serves as a fitness studio, office or guest retreat. Travertine terraces and extensive hardscaping frame a saltwater pool and spa, fire features, a Tiki Hut gathering space, a greenhouse and paved walking paths, all of it overlooking a private stocked pond. Research Triangle Park, Raleigh-Durham International Airport and the American Tobacco Trail are close by.
Christina Valkanoff and Courtney Hornback of Christina Valkanoff Realty Group were the listing agents. The transaction ranked No. 1 in RealtyWire’s Top 5 reported home sales for the Durham, North Carolina metro area for the week ending August 16, 2026, and the property went under contract 9 days after the current listing date. It previously changed hands for $2,275,000 in 2020. Ray Yu of Chk Realty represented the buyer.
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No. 2 — $2,850,000 · 1054 Canterbury Ln, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
A remodeled 1989 house in The Oaks, in Chapel Hill, changed hands for $2,850,000 in a closing dated August 14, 2026. The property at 1054 Canterbury Ln is recorded at six bedrooms, seven bathrooms and a reported 7,163 square feet.
White oak flooring, designer wallcoverings and specialty woods including sassafras and black locust run through the interior. The kitchen is built around leathered quartzite counters, a large center island, a 46-inch JennAir gas range and a built-in refrigerator, with a butler’s pantry alongside it holding custom cabinetry, an ice maker and a wine refrigerator. A dining room and a billiards room adjoin a family room anchored by built-ins and a fireplace.
The main-level primary suite has 16-foot vaulted ceilings, a masonry fireplace, a private sitting area and a bath with a steam shower, a standalone soaking tub and custom vanities, and a separate in-law suite with a curbless entry shower sits on the same floor. Four more bedrooms, a playroom and a flex space fitted as a guest suite fill the second level, and the third holds a home gym and a hobby loft. Gas lanterns, a bluestone front walkway and a screened porch with built-in heaters face the landscaped yard, and the Chapel Hill Country Club is a short walk away.
Denise P Kennihan and Jay Kennihan of Chapel Hill Realty Group, Inc. were the listing agents. Their listing in The Oaks produced the second-highest reported home sale price in the Durham metro area for the week, and the property previously changed hands for $2,525,000 in 2022. Rebecca S Ives of Inhabit Real Estate represented the buyer.
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No. 3 — $2,400,000 · 490 Sun Forest Way, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
A retreat-style property on more than four wooded acres off Old Lystra Road took the week’s No. 3 position: 490 Sun Forest Way in Chapel Hill, a 2009 house that sold for $2,400,000 on August 14, 2026. Records list four bedrooms, five bathrooms and a reported 6,655 square feet.
The owners turned the backyard into an architect-designed pool and play area with a heated saltwater pool and spa, and a cabana that holds an office, a half bath, pool storage and a fully equipped bar with refrigerators, grills and a sink. A game area adds a putting green and a basketball surface.
Indoors, the main level carries the primary bedroom with terrace access, a music and living room, a study, a dining room, and a kitchen and great room that also open to the terrace. The second floor takes in an en suite guest room, two bedrooms sharing a bath with separate vanities and a workout studio, and the walk-out pool level holds a guest suite, a media room, a wine room and a flex room now used as an art studio.
Beth Louden of Leland Little Properties, LLC was the listing agent. The sale closed $5,000 above its final asking price of $2,395,000 and went under contract 6 days after the current listing date, ranking No. 3 among reported home sales in the metro area for the week; the property previously changed hands for $1,100,000 in 2020. Michele Burris of Local Market Realty, LLC represented the buyer.
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No. 4 — $1,725,000 · 3604 Darwin Rd, Durham, North Carolina
A ranch house with a full walk-out basement in Hope Valley Country Club changed hands for $1,725,000 in an August 10, 2026 closing. The 1986 property at 3604 Darwin Rd in Durham is recorded at four bedrooms, six bathrooms and a reported 5,137 square feet, with all four bedrooms on the main level, the primary suite among them.
The kitchen is fitted with a six-burner gas cooktop, double wall ovens, a built-in refrigerator, a microwave drawer, a wine refrigerator and under-cabinet lighting, and the laundry room carries a second sink, refrigerator and dishwasher. Two masonry fireplaces, extensive crown molding, custom built-ins, updated lighting and walk-in closets run through the house, and storage includes a walk-up attic. Two screened porches and an oversized deck overlook a park-like setting with a water feature, and the two-car garage is wired for electric vehicle chargers on both sides.
Debbie McCormick and Mark McCormick of Berkshire Hathaway HomeService were the listing agents. Their listing went under contract 16 days after the current listing date and finished the week as the No. 4 reported home sale in the Durham metro area; the property previously changed hands for $470,000 in 2021. Taylor Dixon Zundel of EXP Realty LLC represented the buyer.
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No. 5 — $1,700,000 · 601 Estate Rd, Semora, North Carolina
The week’s fifth reported sale, at $1,700,000, was a custom house in The Reserve, a gated waterfront community on Hyco Lake in Semora; the closing at 601 Estate Rd was recorded August 14, 2026. Built in 2017 on a 1.41-acre lot set well back from the road, the craftsman-style house is recorded at three bedrooms, three full and one half bathrooms and a reported 3,170 square feet. The sale also carried an adjacent 1.66-acre waterfront lot, a buildable parcel that gives the property a point-lot setting.
An open main floor joins the kitchen, living room and dining room, with the primary bedroom and its double-vanity bath on the same level and a large screened porch and deck facing the lake. Below, a second living room with a kitchenette is joined by two more bedrooms, two full baths and a flex room, opening onto a paver patio arranged for grilling. Paver walkways run down to a double-slip boathouse with two oversize covered slips and electric lifts.
Fiber cement siding with stone accents, composite double-pane tilt windows and tile baths carry through the build, and the house has a propane standby generator, a water softener and filtration system, and a 2.5-car garage with a walk-up attic. Exterior paint was redone in 2025 and interior paint in 2026.
Carla Stovall of West & Woodall Real Estate – S was the listing agent. The Hyco Lake closing ranked No. 5 in RealtyWire’s Top 5 reported home sales for the Durham, North Carolina metro area for the week ending August 16, 2026.
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RealtyWire selected these transactions from publicly reported residential sales identified for the calendar week ending Sunday, August 16, 2026. The report may exclude private, off-market, delayed or nondisclosed transactions. Prices, property details and professional representation are reported as available at publication and may be updated following confirmation from transaction participants.
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