PRICING ON THE RISE
INTRACOASTAL REALTY CORPORATION
THE AGE-OLD BATTLE THE battle between supply and demand will continue to drive the market. The flight from the metropolitan areas shows
no indication of slowing down.
“I expect the COVID phenomena to continue to push people our way,” Vance Young says. “More people will continue
to work from home, and who wouldn’t want to live in a coastal town with a historic riverfront, great university, world
class beaches, and mild four-season climate?”
For area Realtors, meeting the demand is challenging.
“We need more inventory for 2021. I would love to see more sellers putting their properties on the market, but the same forces that
are bringing buyers here are causing fewer of our property owners to sell,” Nick Phillips says.
“I’ve been with Figure Eight Realty at least 22 years and my Broker-in-Charge has been on the island since the mid-80s,” Kirra
Sutton says. “This has been the least inventory selection that either of us have ever experienced. Honestly, what we’re seeing, what all
the beach communities are seeing, is the inventory is going to remain tight.”
64
WBM february 2021
Real estate prices are
on the rise, including on
Wrightsville’s Harbor
Island.
ON a national comparison, luxury home prices on the Carolina coast are considered low.
“An incredible oceanfront home can be purchased for pennies on the dollar here compared to other luxury, more
metropolitan beach towns such as Newport Beach or West Palm. A $4 million oceanfront home on Figure Eight or
Wrightsville would push $8 to $20 million in other ‘discovered’ towns, ones that are arguably less friendly and less
charming,” Trey Wallace says.
“I believe that our luxury market here is just beginning to hit its stride. The prices are going to go up,” says Nick Phillips.
Carla Lewis said all
property is selling for
higher prices. She noted
a tear-down on Pelican
Drive selling for over $3
million.
“Second row, third
row, everything is
hot,” Lewis says. “If
you can fit a couple
of beds in there, some
kids, and you can
walk to the beach, it
is a popular prop-erty.
Even on Harbor
Island, small homes
are selling for close to a
million dollars. That’s
not happened ever, I
believe.”
The 2020 real estate totals presented are as of Jan. 4, 2021, for Realtor-assisted sales only. They do not include for sale by owner or non-Cape
Fear Realtors member-assisted sales.