It won’t take a lot of looking to realize one thing: When you purchase a home, whether permanent or a second home, in Wilmington, NC, you’ll be doing much more than putting a roof over your family’s heads. You will also be buying a lifestyle in one of the eastern seaboard’s most-treasured waterfront communities.
Why Now is the Time to Buy
Although the town’s real estate market has picked up tremendously, Wilmington’s real estate prices remain well below the highs which prevailed before the crash. If you hurry, you’ll still have time to acquire the residence you want at what many would consider a bargain price.
Wintertime Housing Opportunities in Wilmington, North Carolina
The weather outside may be getting chillier, but home buyers in Wilmington who seal the deal in winter will have several big advantages over their warmer-weather counterparts. The greatest of these stems from the lowered rates of competition. The benefits of buying now include:
- Better deals. With fewer cold-weather buyers in sight, sellers can be more willing to lower the asking price.
- Less need to battle price-creep. It takes at least two to tango, and a heated bidding war is one number you’d probably rather sit out.
- Faster closings. At this time of year, attorneys and agents have more free time to set up a meeting and seal the deal.
- Tax savings. When April 15 rolls around, settlement fees that accrued before January 1 will have morphed into attractive deductions.
- More time to dream. Before too long, the wintertime buyer of real estate in Wilmington, NC will be soaking up rays on the beach.
North Carolina Market Summary
In most areas of Wilmington, the median sales price of $187,750 remains affordable for smaller homes, condos and apartments. However, this does differ from one neighborhood to the next, with the price of homes in popular Landfall averaging in the neighborhood of $716,000.
Other desirable environs such as Mayfaire and Rivers Edge offer housing in the more affordable range of $250,000 to $300,000 while prices in the equally popular areas of Carriage Hills and Pine Valley Estates currently average around $190,000.
Depending on the neighborhood, listing prices can rise and fall at different rates. During the month of October 2014, they dropped by as much as 30% in Sea Pines and South Oleander while rising by 22.5, 15.3 and 14.6% in Lansdowne Estates, Sunset Park and Ashley Forest, respectively.
Don’t Wait Too Long
While real estate prices in Wilmington, North Carolina have enjoyed a general stabilization in recent months, nothing lasts forever. If your heart is set on living the ideal outdoor life, there might be no better time to buy.
