County saw a 44 percent increase in $1 million-plus homes sold in 2017

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH -- High-end homes sales in New Hanover County -- particularly in Wrightsville Beach -- surged in 2017, signaling a healthy market but raising questions about the future.

Cape Fear Realtors reported a 48-percent increase in home sales in Wrightsville Beach last year, something Wade Wilson, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, called "remarkable."

"It was eye-opening how much it went up," he said.

Countywide, sales of properties over $1 million were up 44 percent in 2017 from 75 to 108.

While the numbers are encouraging, real estate experts are still questioning the exact reasons for the spike. Most, however, are in consensus that a healthy economy and surging stock market are partly to thank.

Adam Jones, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), said the upswing in both can return people to financially secure positions and inspire big purchases.

"Maybe the most important, consumer and business confidence is at a very high level," he wrote in an email. "When confidence about the future is high, consumers are more comfortable reaching for their wallet and taking on major expenditures. This includes high-end homes."

Wilson said when he joined the business in 2008, at the start of the Great Recession, he remembers thinking high-end properties would be immune to the housing crisis because the money would always be there.

"But really, it just took longer to fall off than the rest of the market," he said. "Like everything else, it is coming back. Just takes time."

Recognizing an opportunity

Vance Young with Intracoastal Realty has represented and sold several $1 million-plus homes in Wrightsville Beach. He said comparable markets to the region -- Raleigh, Charleston, S.C., and Charlotte -- have all exceeded their 2006 pre-recession peaks, which the Wilmington area is still trying to claw back to.

"Those people in those markets looking to buy a beach house research our area and we look cheap in comparison," he said.

Young said one cultural factor that could be influencing some buyers to snatch up pricey properties is the HGTV factor.

"Most of these buyers will pay a premium for a nicer, newer house that has been updated and less likely to take an older home that needs work," he said. "People are seeing these nice fancy houses on TV and want that, but don’t want to go through the time and expense to do it."

Cape Fear Realtors president Fred Gainey, also a real estate agent with Buy Coastal Real Estate, said he sees the influence of retirees as well.

"They are selling their properties up north and moving here where they see opportunity in the high-end market," he said.

Real estate professionals have certainly felt the impact of a strengthening market locally in recent years, but with limited inventory, Young said it can only grow so much more.

"You will see an increase in price for sure," he said. "But we don't have availability we had last year, so I don’t think we will post the same volume of buyers this year."

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.