I have just joined Websleuths but have been watching the threads since early on in this case. I live in the Wayland Heights neighborhood. Please allow me to clarify a few things about this neighborhood. The houses are small, mostly built in the 40's when this was considered "the country" outskirts of Raleigh. Now it is "Inside the Beltline," surrounded by more expensive neighborhoods, and though it may be more affordable than those neighborhoods, it is still expensive to buy a house in Wayland Heights. Due to its convenient location, many houses have additions, and some houses have been torn down for much larger houses to be built in their place. Scattered throughout are small rental houses, townhouses, and apartments--actually this is pretty common in Raleigh, even in many other more "elite" ITB Raleigh neighborhoods. There are two new townhouse developments, one of which contains $1 to 2 million homes, and one which contains townhouses just put on the market for around 350k. Homes go for around 300k to 800k. Tear-downs/rebuilds and condo development were starting to increase before the economy dropped, which may help you understand the disparity in prices. The neighborhood is a very friendly, eclectic place, including elderly people who have lived here for decades, young families, singles, etc. We often have neighborhood potlucks and parties, and people are always walking dogs and kids in the neighborhood. Many people walk down Cartier and cut through via stairs to go to the HT or coffee shop.
Cartier: Some residents make an effort to be a part of the neighborhood, and some do not, which is true for the whole neighborhood. Geographically, Cartier is somewhat cut off from the rest of the neighborhood, because there is not a need to cut through that street, and you have to go down a steep hill to get to it. I do not drive down Cartier, but I often walk there (sometimes cutting through to HT via stairs). It is not a busy street at all. There are residents who have lived there for a long time, and there are some homes that change renters often. There are lower-rent apartments across Oberlin, across Glenwood, and a few that can be accessed by the Glenwood Village parking lot.
I hope this gives you a better understanding of the nature of the neighborhood. There have been several undercover cops patrolling today.