News and Blog Spot

It is so exciting to see all the new home building activity that is happening in our otherwise quiet little neighborhood!

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC. Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

Every day brings something new–a new resident moving in, green sod being rolled out, or a builder breaking ground. This week we are excited to see new roads being built in our Churchill Collection.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

These new roads will make close to 30 new lots available in the Churchill section.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino
community in Clayton NC.

These lots are beautiful–some backing up to the nature trails and our stunning equestrian facility.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

We expect the roads to be completed and the lots to become available in about two weeks!

Images from the new Churchill section in the beautiful Portofino community in Clayton NC.

These desirable lots will certainly move quickly. If you haven’t visited Portofino in a while–now is the perfect time to come out for a visit!

New home sales in Portofino in Clayton NC continue with the next  spec home to be finished is being built by Royalty Homes and is priced at $540,000, this home is in a very quiet cul-de-sac with lots of trees and should be finished September.

New luxury home sales in Portofino in Clayton continue in the newest section is Churchill and there is a flurry of activity with three pre-sales and a number of spec homes.
There have been a number of recent home sales in Portofino, in June we closed on Neil Jarman’s custom built former Parade of Homes entry at 154 Sicily Drive.

This past week we closed on a pre-sale at 70 Calabria Court and a spec home at 154 Vercelli Drive. There are seven pre-sale luxury homes currently under construction in price ranges from the $300’s to the $600’s.

The luxury community of Portofino is located right across the road from the new Harris Teeter Supermarket, scheduled to open October 2013 and there is a lot of work being done on that site. If you are relocating to the Clayton NC or Raleigh NC area it is definitely worth a visit to see all that Portofino has to offer, quality new homes, custom builders, salt water beach entry pool, miles and miles of trails, fishing, biking, horses. The schools for Portofino are some of the best in Johnston County.

Sales, Sales and more Sales.
It’s not quite a boom – that’s for sure, but the activity in Portofino is as busy as it ever has been since the neighborhood was started. You better not get distracted looking at the horses or the beautiful homes as there are cement trucks, carpenters, landscapers, irrigation installers, stone masons all over the place.

The community of beautiful custom built homes in Clayton on large private lots has homes started in all three sections. The Churchill Collection has homes ranging from $290,000 up to $400,000. The Belmont Collection has homes from $375,000 up to $700,000 and the Saratoga Collection has homes starting in the $500,000. All the homes in Portofino are built by custom builders who are some of the best in the area.

Relocating to Clayton? Or Relocating to Raleigh NC?

If you are looking to relocate to the Clayton area or relocate to the Raleigh area or even relocate FROM the Raleigh area, it is worth it to see all the wonderful amenities Portofino has to offer.

All the luxury amenities – the beach entry, saltwater pool, the stunning Clubhouse, the miles and miles of hiking/walking trails. The equestrian center and show rings, the Neuse River Trails, the Fishing Pond, starting to sound like a resort yet???

The residents of Portofino are some of the happiest folks around who compare living in Portofino to being on vacation as they cruise around on their golf carts, wine glass in hand (plastic). The age to drive a golf cart in Portofino is………7!!

Relocating from the Northeast?

This area is part of the Raleigh Triangle area, basically encompassing the greater Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill Area, which has seen tremendous growth over the past few years as people from all over the country, especially the Northeast, have sought refuge from exorbitant taxes, brutal winters, and living on top of their neighbor… All the things you WON’T find at Portofino.

Instead, if you would like to pay less in taxes, then Portofino will work nicely. If you would rather have a winter that lasts a couple of weeks instead of six months, then Portofino will work nicely as well. And if you’d rather not hear your neighbor shower in the morning, then a Portofino luxury home in Clayton is the place for you! The smallest lot in Portofino in Clayton? Half an acre!

Call or email for a list of available homes or schedule a time to come and see first hand what the North Carolina Home Builders voted Community of the Year for the entire State of North Carolina in 2010.

House Sales In Portofino in Clayton, NC Are Everywhere.

The building activity in Portofino  in Clayton has stepped into high gear with three pre-sale homes under construction  two more pre- sales about to get started and two spec homes under construction.

We will have at least six more spec homes coming out of the ground within the next month in all three neighborhoods, Churchill, Belmont and Saratoga. In Churchill we are building homes in the high $200,000 and we have a selection of ranch style homes where everything is on the main floor and some two story homes with more bedroom options.
In Belmont we should have homes starting in the $375,000 range up to $550,000 and in Saratoga we will have a home at $540,000.
The Churchill neighborhood has three homes started, and we have already sold the first one and had an offer on the second and the third home in there at 22 Persano Lane will be in the Johnston County Parade of Homes.

The community is buzzing now with work being done to finish the 22 stall barn, get the show rings ready, jumps were being painted today. On the bridal front there has been a huge amount of interest in renting the magnificent clubhouse for weddings, the proceeds of which will go to the HOA for maintenance and to keep the dues low. There are ten or more weddings booked for this year 2012.

There is also a new wedding ceremony area under construction where guests will be able to stroll back to the clubhouse after the ceremony. It is a sunny plateau where they just planted thirty big holly bushes and the plan is to add a rose trellis, like everything at Portofino it will be spectacular.

Developer Buys 200 Trees For Residents Of Portofino In Clayton.

Norwood Thompson, the developer of Portofino in Clayton bought 200 seedlings from the NC Forestry Service to plant in the neighborhood and give to the residents.

They are now planted all throughout the neighborhood, there is a long row near the equestrian center that leads to the walking trails that go behind the Churchill neighborhood. There are two rows along the trails in Churchill. There are seedlings planted on Sicily Drive in the Belmont neighborhood.

Just in time for Arbor Day which in North Carolina is the first Friday after March 15TH. Portofino is in the Audubon Signature Program which provides environmental planning assistance to new developments. The neighborhood has been planned to protect as much of the natural setting as possible. The 400 acre property that borders the Neuse River has been relatively untouched for years and most recently was used to hide moonshine. The land has wonderful topography with steep banks that descend to the river, rolling hills, rocky outcrops and flat pastures.

There are two creeks that wind their way through the heavily wooded property to the river. There is plenty of wildlife from the minnows and crawdads in the streams to the hawks and deer and the occasional Bald Eagle!

There are hundred plus year old live oaks which have been preserved and protected, there are benches and picnic areas throughout so the residents can enjoy the natural beauty of Portofino.  The homes are situated as much as possible along riparian buffers, creeks, trails or wooded areas to provide the homeowners with privacy.There are fewer than 200 home sites in Portofino which is very low density for a property this size.

The common area’s are irrigated by the fishing pond, and the landscaping features drought resistant grasses and shrubs.

Norwood purchased all kinds of trees among them Dogwoods, Southern Red Oaks, Persimmon, Yellow Poplar, Crabapple and Black Walnut, it will be nice to watch them mature and add to the beauty of Portofino.

The many different modes of transportation the residents of Portofino in Clayton are using these days. Horses, golf carts, walking, bikes, all great fun and wonderful ways to see the many trails and neighborhoods of Portofino.

There are 6 miles of trails and you can do the two mile jaunt which is nice and easy or if you feel like a work out take the Spider Pint Trail and go up to the barn where you can take a rest under the viewing stand at the main arena.

Almost without fail the first purchase for new residents is a golf cart, some even get the golf cart first, then the house. This is one of the coolest golf carts I have seen, a pair of Fuzzy Dice and the Reilly’s will be all set.

Looking for a home in an equestrian Community in Raleigh?

There are none! Well none like Portofino Equestrian Community in Clayton

But twenty minutes away in Clayton there is the best equestrian community in the Raleigh area. Portofino in Clayton has been getting rave reviews from the residents (human and equine), from the visitors and from the builders who have some of the best lots and land to build their custom homes on.Portofino is a 400 acre property on the Neuse River which has beautiful topography ranging from heavily wooded lots, river frontage, equestrian lots, flat and basement lots. The smallest lot in Portofino is a half an acre, the largest is five plus acres…..currently!

We have custom built homes in the Churchill Section right now that are in the low $300’s, we have larger homes in the Belmont Section right now in the high $400’s. These homes are built by the finest builders in the area, builders like JordanBuilt Homes, Kirkwood Builders, Jarman Homes, Royalty Homes, NC Custom Homes, all capable of building you a dream home.

Come out and experience it yourself, take a walk on the six miles of trails or have David take you around on the Mule (Kawasaki). Walk through the beautiful homes and compare the price with what you would get in Cary, North Raleigh, Apex or Chapel Hill and you will be amazed and there won’t be another house sitting on top of you. Take a look in the breathtaking 22 stall barn, walk around the pastures and the riding rings, the covered viewing stand. Go fishing in the pond, catch and release of course!

Incredible Basement Home in Equestrian Community in North Carolina

Three great new floor plans for homes under way at Portofino in Clayton.

Jordan Built homes is moving along nicely with the three homes they have going in the Churchill section of Portofino.  A combination of three and four bedroom homes, all built to the custom standards you can expect at Portofino in Clayton,NC. The homes all have low maintenance fiber-cement siding, there are brick and stone exteriors, large lots, landscaping.

These homes are some of the finest in Clayton, NC and Portofino which was named the North Carolina’s ” Community of the Year” in 2010 is the best community in Clayton if not the entire Triangle Area. The schools are highly rated, low county taxes, incredible amenities, like the beach entry pool, the miles and miles of walking trails,and the equestrian center.