Hello, from your future zip code. The Southport flotilla has come and gone, the CB fireworks are back to their weekly summer schedule, and the first loggerhead nests of the season are getting close to hatch watch. Mid-July here means beach traffic on the bridges and, this year, the most homes on the market that Wilmington buyers have seen in five years. More on that below.
Tide’s in.
Carolina Beach Fireworks Show
Wilmington Right Now
The county is getting serious about attainable housing. New Hanover County leaders are weighing a $2 million investment in a workforce housing pilot from Cape Fear Development. A proposed 236 townhomes, with the county acting as a low-interest lender to help get them built. And yes, you'll read below that buyers here have more homes to choose from than at any point in five years. Both things are true: the number of for-sale signs is up, but most of that inventory sits at price points well above what local wages support. This pilot is aimed at that gap.
Downtown keeps doubling down. The longtime owners of The Reel Cafe just bought their own building at 100 S. Front Street, plus the one next door, for $3.5 million. When the businesses that anchor a district start buying their real estate instead of renting it, that tells you something about where downtown is headed.
Market Street keeps filling in. 7 Brew is planning its second Wilmington drive-thru coffee stand along Market Street, the corridor that connects midtown to Ogden and Porters Neck. If you end up house hunting on the north side, you'll get to know this stretch well.
The One Thing
June gave buyers the most choice in five years.
The June numbers from our MLS market report:
4.11 months of inventory, up 22% from May and up 23% from a year ago. That's the highest reading on the five-year chart.
Median sold price: $475,000, up 4.4% from May.
Homes still selling at 98% of list price, with a median of 23 days on market.
The median list price on active listings actually dipped about 2% to around $459,000, while the homes going under contract skewed higher. New pendings hit a median list price of about $515,000.
Here's what buyers need to know: choice is up, but discounts aren't automatic. A well-priced home in Wilmington still goes under contract in about three weeks at very close to asking. The homes sitting on the market (and there are more of them than there have been in years!) are largely the ones priced for 2024.
What that means if you're moving here: your leverage shows up as options and time, not lowball offers. You can tour more homes, compare more honestly, and negotiate repairs and terms during due diligence without racing five other offers. What it doesn't mean is that sellers of sharp, well-priced homes will take 10% under asking. Wilmington is still right on the line between a seller's market and a balanced one.
Search Starting Points
It's peak beach season, so this month we're pointing you at the water. Two starting points on the ocean side of the bridges:
Carolina Beach & Kure Beach (Pleasure Island). Carolina Beach is the eclectic, retro, easy-going one. A classic boardwalk, a mix of older cottages and newer condos, and strong short-term rental activity if you're thinking of investment or a part-time landing spot. Kure Beach, just south, is quieter: smaller-scale, near the NC Aquarium and Fort Fisher (currently undergoing renovations) with more year-round residents. Trade-off for both: one road on and off the island, and Carolina Beach Road backs up on summer weekends..
Wrightsville Beach. The closest beach to town. Vibrant and active, with a paddleboard scene, The Loop, and marina life built into residents daily routines. It carries the premium price tag to match, and parking is famously enforced. Many buyers who start here end up weighing a Wrightsville condo against a mainland house 10 minutes from the drawbridge.
Want the whole coastline in one place? We put together a guide to every beach community we work. Twelve towns from Topsail down to Bald Head Island. Each with its personality and its price range, from the high $100s on Sunset Beach to the high $800s and up on Bald Head. If you know you want the coast but not which coast, start there.
From the Agents
A flood zone is a fact to price in, not a reason to panic.
Almost every buyer moving to Wilmington asks us some version of "but what about flooding?" Here's what we say. Every property sits in a mapped flood zone. Zone X means minimal risk and no lender requirement for flood insurance. Zones AE and VE (closer to water) mean your lender will require a flood policy, and the premium becomes part of your monthly budget - sometimes modest, sometimes significant, depending on the home's elevation.
The advice we share with clients: get an actual flood insurance quote during the due diligence period, the same window where you handle inspections. That turns "flood zone" from a scary unknown into a specific number you can weigh and an elevation certificate on file can bring that number down considerably. Plenty of homes near the water sit in Zone X; some homes miles inland don't.
Worth Knowing
North Carolina runs its own flood mapping site: the NC Flood Risk Information System at fris.nc.gov. Type in any address and see its flood zone, for free, straight from the state. Pair it with the New Hanover County GIS tool we shared in May and you can vet any property's lot, zone, and history from your couch three states away.
Until Next Month
You're on this list because you asked for our relocation guide. We send this once a month. Just what's happening here and what's worth knowing before you make the move.
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The Gillespie Group
Danielle, Sara, and Brittney
2026 RealTrends Verified Ranked Team
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Tides out.
Sara Darby, Danielle Gillespie and Brittney Roseberry of the Gillespie Group
