Downtown Winston-Salem
Dining in the historic Schaffner Inn and a long-standing festival
Like many city centers, Downtown Winston-Salem is packed with locally owned boutiques and eateries. One of Christie’s go-to shops for gifts is Design Archives Vintage & Handmade Emporium, off Fourth Street. “They have a lot of permanent artist booths, so you can get some funky artsy stuff, but they also have a lot of Winston-Salem and North Carolina-themed gifts,” Christie says. Around the corner, there’s Bookmarks, a nonprofit, independent bookstore. “It’s an absolute gem in Winston-Salem,” Christie says. “They do the annual Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors, which is the largest annual book festival in the Carolinas, and it’s just a little local business.” Every September since 2004, the festival celebrates the joy of reading and writing with author panels, book signings, story times and other bookish activities.For at home cooking needs, there’s a Publix and a Harris Teeter just 2 miles west down U.S. Route 421. But if dining out is on the menu, Christie has a few recommendations. Her personal favorite for Sunday morning brunch— Founders Restaurant— is in the historic Shaffner Inn. “They just started doing brunch there a couple years ago. But it’s a unique experience because the historic building is just so beautiful, and it’s right there on the edge of Downtown,” she says, adding that the eatery gets busy, so it’s important to call ahead and make a reservation. She also recommends Finnegan’s Wake, a cozy Irish pub, and Señor Bravo Mexican Restaurant.
Early 1900s single-family homes and industrial-chic condos
Prices for condos run anywhere from $230,000 to $1 million, depending on the size and the building. Lofts and one-bedroom units in renovated brick buildings, such as the historic YMCA on Spruce Street, tend to fall on the lower end of the spectrum. Multi-story penthouses and three- to four-bedroom units in more modern buildings such as Twin City Lofts and One Park Vista are on the higher end. Downtown’s single-family homes are clustered on the west and southwest sides, separated slightly from the neighborhood's condos and bustling business section. They’re closely spaced, overlooking small front gardens often edged with brick sidewalks. And most are in the Holly Avenue Historic District, which joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and extends from Holly Avenue south down to Interstate 40. Prices for these Queen Anne, Italianate, Craftsman and Prairie-style homes start at around $365,000 and can climb to more than $600,000, depending on their size and condition.Never a dull moment in Downtown Winston-Salem
Downtown Winston-Salem draws crowds throughout the year for events large and small. "Downtown is one big community like other areas of Winston-Salem, but the difference is that our community takes on a lot of visitors," Thiel says. Annual happenings in and around Downtown include a Juneteenth celebration, a Pride festival, the RiverRun International Film Festival, and Gears & Guitars, a cycling celebration with live music. Smaller festivities, such as the annual spring egg hunt and the winter Holiday Parade, bring the community together, too. "Residents enjoy the variety of events," Thiel says. "There's always something within walking distance going on."Activities for the bookish, artsy, sporty and history buffs
Forsyth County Central Library is within a mile of most homes. Nicole Harterink, a public information officer with Forsyth County Public Libraries, says the branch is popular for its teen cooking programs, game clubs, story times and kids' dance classes. Not to mention the newly added makerspace, which has a 3D printer and a TV, as well as sewing and Cricut machines. The Downtown Arts District, on nearby Trade Street has "lots of cool, vibey art galleries,” Christie says, and that the district puts on monthly gallery hops and other artsy events. “In the summer, on the third Friday of each month, they have what’s called Art Crush, where all the galleries stay open late and local artists set up booths on Trade Street. There’s usually also live music. It’s a really great community event,” she says, adding that it’s one of her favorite events to attend with her son. Kaleideum offers more kid-friendly fun. The children’s museum has interactive exhibits designed to captivate youngsters and the adults with them, from ice block sculpting and pottery-making to race car building.Christie observes several live music spots close by, including The Ramkat, an indoor venue, and Winston Square Park, an outdoor stage and greenspace. Baseball fans flock to Truist Stadium to catch Winston-Salem Dash Minor League baseball games; the ballpark is just southwest of Downtown. “And you can’t talk about Winston-Salem without talking about Old Salem, one of the preserved, original Moravian settlements,” Christie says. Old Salem Museums & Gardens, a historic site dedicated to sharing the stories of the Moravian, Black and Indigenous peoples of the early American South, is about a mile south. It’s a scenic walk away via the Strollway, a trail stretching from Fourth Street down to the Old Salem Visitors Center on Salem Avenue.
Highly rated Wiley Magnet School and a historic university
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Public Schools serve kids between preschool and 12th grade. Many go to Brunson Elementary, which earns a B-plus rating from Niche and offers a STEM magnet program. Older students can continue to Wiley Magnet Middle and Reynolds High. B-minus-graded Wiley has a STEAM magnet program. Similar to a typical STEM program, the STEAM program also involves art-focused curricula. Reynolds High, which gets a B-plus from Niche, is home to the Reynolds Arts for Academics Magnet School.Winston-Salem State University’s main campus is just a couple of miles southeast. The historically Black university, founded in 1892, offers nearly 40 undergraduate degrees, 7 graduate degrees and doctorate programs in nursing and physical therapy.
Walkable downtown and a few top employers
Downtown is walkable, with sidewalks and the Strollway webbed throughout the district. Most streets also have bike lanes. The Innovation Quarter, a hub for local employers, is less than a mile east of Downtown. “It’s a cool area. Winston-Salem’s history is in the tobacco industry, and they’ve converted a lot of the old tobacco plants in the Innovation Quarter into innovative office space,” Christie says. The center of operations for the Winston-Salem Transit Authority, the Clark Campbell Transportation Center, is on West Fifth Street, within a mile of most homes. Busses connect from the depot all over the city, but there are also stops spaced at regular intervals along most of the neighborhood’s grid-patterned streets. U.S. Route 421 runs along the southern edge of Downtown, connecting west toward Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, two major local employers. Wake Forest University, another big employer, is about 3 miles north, about an 8-minute drive via University Parkway. U.S. Route 52 runs north-south past the east side of Downtown Winston-Salem. Locals can take the main road south past Winston-Salem State University toward Interstates 40 and 285.Crime
Downtown Winston-Salem has a CAP Index crime score of 9 out of 10, higher than the national average of 4. Per the CAP Index, the risk of larceny in Downtown is 10 out of 10, which is also higher than the national average of 4. Winston-Salem has city-wide initiatives to address crime, including Get Connected Winston-Salem, a public safety program that provides the police department with local camera feed access.


Agents Specializing in this Area
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Jennifer Sapp
Allen Tate Winston Salem
(336) 815-5954
126 Total Sales
1 in Downtown Winston-Salem
$450,000 Price
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Charles Reece
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Carolinas Realty
(743) 219-1240
84 Total Sales
3 in Downtown Winston-Salem
$567K - $1M Price Range
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Carla Hoots
Fader Real Estate at ERA Live Moore
(743) 219-6732
146 Total Sales
1 in Downtown Winston-Salem
$310,000 Price
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Blake Ginther
Responds QuicklyKeller Williams Realty Elite
(336) 815-5547
627 Total Sales
1 in Downtown Winston-Salem
$145,000 Price
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CW
Charlie Watkins
Responds QuicklyLeonard Ryden Burr Real Estate
(336) 559-7231
178 Total Sales
3 in Downtown Winston-Salem
$170K - $685K Price Range
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JB
Jason Bragg
Responds QuicklyLeonard Ryden Burr Real Estate
(336) 770-2554
344 Total Sales
2 in Downtown Winston-Salem
$630K - $720K Price Range
Schools
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Downtown Winston-Salem Demographics and Home Trends
On average, homes in Downtown Winston-Salem, Winston-Salem sell after 140 days on the market compared to the national average of 70 days. The median sale price for homes in Downtown Winston-Salem, Winston-Salem over the last 12 months is $435,000.
Housing Trends
Neighborhood Facts
Distribution of Home Values
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Area Factors
Very Bikeable
Bike Score®
Very Walkable
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Nearby Neighborhoods

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Industrial-chic apartment/condo living in a trendy, walkable downtown district

Downtown neighborhood north of Winston-Salem State University