Wilmington NC Real Estate Market Update: Fall 2026

Fall is here, the summer crowds have thinned out, and the Wilmington market has settled into what I'd call an honest season. Buyers are still buying. More homes sold across our five-county area in the last 12 months than in the 12 before that. But they are buying carefully, and the gap between homes priced right and homes priced hopefully has never been wider.

I'm Buddy Blake. Our team has been helping families buy and sell along the Southeastern North Carolina coast since 1998. Every number below comes straight from the MLS, and we update our Market Insights every day. Here's what the numbers say right now, in plain English.

The Big Picture: Busy, But Picky

If you only read the headlines, you would think nothing is selling. That isn't what's happening here. More homes sold across our five counties this past year than the year before, and the median sale price inched up about 2%.

What changed is the buyer. Today's buyer has time, has choices and has a mortgage payment that went up nearly a full point over the past year. They compare every home against everything else on the market. When a home is priced right and shows well, they move. When it isn't, they wait. Sometimes they wait long enough that the listing expires.

County by County

Area (last 12 months)	Homes sold	Median sale price	True days on market	Listings that failed to sell
New Hanover County	4,174	$469,715	31	25.6%
Brunswick County	6,715	$385,000	55	24.6%
Pender County	1,624	$453,950	37	24.0%
Onslow County	4,622	$310,000	29	17.6%
Duplin County	307	$260,000	45	29.9%
All five counties	17,442	$373,198	40	23.2%

Source: Hive MLS data for the 12 months ending October 4, 2026, compared with the 12 months before. "True days on market" counts the full time a home was for sale, even if it was taken off and relisted. "Failed to sell" means the listing expired or was canceled without a sale.

A few things stand out to me:

• Brunswick County is the busiest and the slowest. It had the most sales of any county, but homes took a median of 55 days, up from 47. Leland alone sold 1,424 homes, but its days on market jumped from 40 to 52.
• Pender County's fail rate jumped the most. It went from 18.5% to 24.0%. Hampstead went from 18.7% to 26.3%, even though more homes sold there than the year before.
• Onslow County is the steadiest market on the coast. It has the lowest fail rate, and homes there sold at 99.7% of their first asking price. The Jacksonville market is driven by military moves, and it keeps moving.
• The City of Wilmington is still quick when the price is right. The median was 27 true days on market. Homes priced right from day one went under contract in about 9 days.

The Pricing Truth Hasn't Changed

This is the part I've been telling sellers for almost 30 years, and the data proves it again this year. Across our five counties:

• 9,331 homes sold without a price cut. Their median time on the market was 16 days.
• 8,109 homes sold after one or more price cuts. Their median was 81 days, and they ended up selling for about 92.8% of their original asking price.

Read that again. The homes that started too high didn't get more money. They got less, and it took five times as long. Every extra month on the market costs you a mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, utilities, and the stress of keeping a house show-ready. I wrote more about that in Wilmington Home Pricing: The Only Thing That Matters.

And roughly 1 in 4 listings in New Hanover County never sold at all. Most of those owners didn't fail because of the market. They failed because of the price, the preparation, or a deal that fell apart after an inspection. That's exactly why we built the Deal Killer Report and why our sellers get a pre-market inspection before their home ever hits the MLS.

Mortgage Rates: Up Again

Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.28% on October 1, 2026. That's up from 7.03% the week before and from 6.34% a year ago. It's the sixth straight weekly increase. Back in June, when I wrote my last update, the average was around 6.5%.

Higher rates don't stop people from moving. Life still happens: new jobs, new babies, retirements, divorces, a parent who needs to be closer. But higher rates do make buyers more payment-sensitive and more patient. If you're buying, get a real pre-approval from a local lender before you shop so you know your actual numbers. Our monthly ownership cost planner walks through taxes, insurance and the other costs people forget.

What This Means If You're Selling This Fall

• Price for the market you're in, not the one from 2022. Your first two weeks get the most attention you'll ever get.
• Fix the deal killers before buyers find them. A pre-market inspection takes the surprises off the table.
• Know your options. Not every home should be listed the traditional way. We lay out all three paths in Three Ways to Sell.
• Watch the competition, not the headlines. What matters is the homes buyers will compare to yours, in your neighborhood, at your price.

What This Means If You're Buying

• You have more leverage on homes that have been sitting. More than two-thirds of homes sold below their first asking price this year.
• The well-priced homes still go fast. When the right one comes along, be ready to move. In Wilmington that can mean days, not weeks.
• Look beyond the list price. Insurance, flood zones and HOA dues can matter as much as the price on the coast.

Want the Numbers for Your Neighborhood?

Every neighborhood tells its own story, and the county averages above can hide a lot. Our Market Insights pages show the live numbers for every county, town and larger community we serve, updated every day. If you're thinking about selling and want an honest, no-pressure look at what your home would do in today's market, give our team a call at (910) 395-1000. We'll tell you what the data says, even if it isn't what you were hoping to hear.

See you next time, and as always, thank you for reading.

— Buddy Blake