In July, Holly Springs Town Council voted on a rezoning for up to 450 apartments near Sunset Lake Commons. Before the vote, one council member asked what the town gained by approving it now. According to Holly Springs Update, the town attorney said there was "very little benefit to the town," but also "no detriment," because an existing development agreement already blocks construction until sewer capacity is available.
In southern Wake County, more of the cost of growth now shows up in two places outside the property tax rate. The first is the monthly utility bill. The second is the conditions attached to building permits, which decide whether an approved project can actually be built. If you're choosing between Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina, the tax rate is the easiest number to find and the least useful one.
A rezoning in Holly Springs doesn't start a construction clock
The project is Meridian at Sunset Commons, on 30.6 acres at 4950 Optimist Farm Road. Council approved it 3-1 after a motion to deny failed for lack of a second. The vote ended a process that had run for about five years. The rezoning allows up to 15 dwelling units per acre.
Town documents say two existing pump stations need upgrades, and a new Eastern Regional Pump Station has to be built, before the site can get sewer service. The same applies to much of the surrounding Northeast Gateway area. The development agreement says the town "would not ordinarily grant zoning approval" under current conditions, and it prohibits building permits until there is enough capacity.
For a buyer, this cuts both ways. A large approved project near a home you're considering may not break ground for a long time, because its start date depends on pump stations. When those stations come online, though, the whole Northeast Gateway area can be served, not just this one site. So when you check the land around a listing, ask whether nearby approved projects have sewer service, not only whether they've been rezoned.
Some projects stop before they reach approval. On August 18, council unanimously deferred a rezoning at 2420 Avent Ferry Road. The proposal covered 32 acres, with 53 detached homes and 5,000 to 16,000 square feet of commercial space, and the council set no date to take it back up. The Planning Board had split 3-3 on July 28, even though town staff recommended approval. Council members raised concerns about crosswalk safety, commercial access and use, and buffering. The developer had offered to widen about 1,400 feet of Avent Ferry frontage, extend Buckhorn Duncan Road as a three-lane road, and add a 10-foot multi-use path.
Hoodline's account of WRAL's reporting quotes Mayor Mike Kondratick saying the council needs to help the town catch up on infrastructure while development continues. The same account says Fuquay-Varina and Apex face similar pressure.
Holly Springs pays for the pipes through utility bills
That catch-up costs money, and Holly Springs collects most of it through the utility bill, not the property tax. In March 2026, the North Carolina Local Government Commission approved $135 million in revenue bonds for Holly Springs. Part of the money will expand and rehabilitate the Utley Creek Water Reclamation Facility, raising its capacity from 6 million to 8 million gallons per day. The State Treasurer's announcement forecast that water and sewer rate increases of 9% to 15% could be imposed through fiscal year 2031. That is a forecast. It is not an adopted rate schedule.
The first increase came with the fiscal 2026-27 budget, which council adopted unanimously on June 2. The town's property tax rate stayed at 34.35 cents per $100 of value, which council members described as the lowest municipal rate in Wake County. Starting July 1, the same budget added these monthly charges:
- $11.89 for a typical residential water and wastewater customer
- $1.30 in stormwater fees
- 69 cents for garbage and recycling, tied to the town's contract with GFL Environmental
Together, that's $13.88 a month, or about $167 a year. Council Member Chris Deshazor explained the reasoning, as reported by Holly Springs Update: "One of the things that we always hear... is that we need to pause development and invest in infrastructure. And that's what we're doing with water."
Fuquay-Varina raised both its tax rate and its utility rates
Fuquay-Varina's board adopted its fiscal 2026-27 budget on June 1 by a 4-1 vote. According to the town's July 2026 newsletter, the property tax rate went up 2 cents, from 35.8 to 37.8 cents per $100. For a home at the town's average value of $458,000, that adds about $7.67 a month. The newsletter says the single increase replaces a planned series of smaller increases totaling 2.5 cents, and that the town expects no further tax rate increases through FY2031. Solid waste fees went up $1 a month.
Water and sewer rates rose 15%, on both base and usage charges, under a long-term rate model from the consulting firm Stantec. The town also raised system development fees, which developers pay, to the maximum so that existing residents don't carry the full cost of growth.
The two towns' budgets side by side:
| Holly Springs | Fuquay-Varina | Apex, per its FY26-27 overview | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town tax rate, FY2026-27 | 34.35 cents, unchanged | 37.8 cents, up 2 cents | 37.35 cents, up 1.75 cents, labeled proposed |
| Water and sewer change | $11.89/month for a typical home | 15% on base and usage charges | $3.40/month at 5,000 gallons |
| Other fee changes | Stormwater +$1.30, garbage +69 cents | Solid waste +$1 | Sanitation +$3.05 |
| Stated outlook | Water and sewer increases of 9% to 15% forecast through FY2031 | No further tax increases expected through FY2031 | Not stated |
The Apex column comes from the town's FY2026-27 budget overview, which labels its rates proposed and subject to change. Confirm the adopted figures with the town before relying on them.
For a $458,000 home, the 3.45-cent gap between the Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina town tax rates works out to about $158 a year, or roughly $13 a month. That's almost exactly the $13.88 in monthly utility and service fees Holly Springs added in July. The two towns started from different water bills, and Fuquay-Varina's bill rose 15% too, so this isn't a full comparison. It does show how quickly the advantage of a lower tax rate shrinks once utility bills are counted. A buyer who compares only tax rates will miss where Holly Springs has chosen to collect.
Holly Springs is weighing a bigger capacity decision
Utley Creek is only part of Holly Springs' plan. At an October 13 workshop, utilities staff led by Deputy Director Rachel Ingham presented a draft proposal for the town to buy a 15% ownership share of the Western Wake Regional Water Reclamation Facility, which Cary and Apex own jointly. A meeting summary published by North Carolina Record puts the preliminary cost between about $141 million and $259 million, split across three pieces:
- A buy-in of roughly $60 million to $70 million
- Conveyance, the pipes and pumping that carry wastewater to the plant, at roughly $51 million to $149 million
- A share of a second-phase plant expansion at roughly $30 million to $40 million
The council took no vote. Members supported continuing negotiations, and Town Manager Randy Harrington said he would raise questions about how the buy-in cost was calculated with the Apex and Cary town managers. The conveyance estimate alone spans about $100 million, and the top of the total range is close to twice the $135 million Utley Creek borrowing. If the partnership goes forward, buyers should expect it to affect future utility rate decisions.
The current market gives buyers time to compare costs
Recent sales data supports this kind of comparison. Doorify MLS's September 2026 local market update, with data current as of October 10, combines Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs into one area. It showed:
- a median sale price of $495,000, up 5.3% from September 2025
- 686 homes for sale, up 13.2%
- 3.5 months of supply, up from 3.1
- 195 closed sales, down 8.9%
- homes selling in a median 24 days and for 97.6% of original list price
The average sale price fell 1.2% that month to $529,614 while the median rose. When the median and average move in opposite directions, the mix of homes that sold usually changed.
Because the figures combine both towns, they don't show which town costs more. They do show more homes for sale, a slower pace of closings, and homes still selling close to list price. In that market, buyers have time to ask sellers for recent utility bills and to look up what's approved, deferred, or waiting on sewer service near a property. They should still expect sellers to price close to recent comparable sales.
A few questions narrow the comparison:
- What did the home's water, sewer, stormwater, and trash charges total before and after July 1, 2026?
- Is any nearby rezoning still waiting on a pump station or other sewer work before permits can be issued?
- Which wastewater plant serves the address, and has that town adopted, forecast, or only discussed future rate changes?
- If the cost estimates you're comparing use different home values, what does each town's tax rate produce on the price you'd actually pay?
Everything above is general information drawn from public budgets and reporting. It isn't tax, legal, or financial advice, so confirm the charges for a specific property with the town utility department or a qualified professional.
If you're selling in one southern Wake town to buy in another, we'll compare the full monthly cost of both homes, not just the tax line, and start with what your current home is worth. Reach out to The Property Shop Real Estate Co. for a free home valuation.
