When Dick Davis and his wife moved from Red Hook, New York, to Wilmington almost four years ago, they decided to change up their living space.

As a man who is about to turn 79 years old, the advantages of living in an apartment far outweigh those of a single-family home, he said.

“You don’t have any maintenance in an apartment,” said Davis, who rents a two-bedroom apartment at the recently opened One Midtown off Independence Boulevard. “You don’t have to worry about anything at all, we close the door on our way out and go about our lives.”

Like many who followed the trend of selling their homes and moving south, the Davises traded harsh winters and high taxes in New York for a place near the coast. But, unlike some of their fellow migrators, their new residence was a leased apartment not a traditional home.

Residents like the Davises, both young and old, migrating or not, are fueling what is currently a boom in new apartments in Wilmington.

In 2014, 931 apartment units were completed in the Wilmington area, according to reports by Richard Cotton, managing director of Multifamily Realty Advisors. That is compared to the 906 units completed in 2012 and 2013 combined.

So far, 777 units have been built in 2015 with 1,123 currently under construction, as of Cotton’s first-quarter report. A further 1,754 units are being proposed.

The market for apartments has been a strong one across the country and North Carolina – and Wilmington is no exception.

“We’ve had a huge influx of young people, the driving force of the boom, change their preference for a more urban lifestyle,” said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo. “It has helped fuel development – Charlotte and Raleigh have seen some of the strongest growth in the country.”

“Wilmington and the Triad haven’t been as strong,” he said, “but 2 percent growth in Wilmington in new construction is still quite a bit, and it’s noticeable.”

The apartment increase seen in Wilmington is the result of making up for lost time, Cotton said.

“During the recession years of 2009 through 2012, new apartment development in the Wilmington area nearly came to a complete standstill with only two new apartment communities completed during that entire four year period,” he said. “Yet the demand for rental apartments actually increased during the recession years due primarily to declining home ownership and an ever-increasing area population.”

In contrast, the market for single-family homes still lags what it was pre-recession, Vitner said, but Wells Fargo analysts are optimistic that single-family housing will be one of the drivers for the U.S. economy, as demand for first-time home ownership improves.

And the market could be approaching a turning point between the popularity of apartments and single-family homes.

For example, apartment rents in the Wilmington area have steadily increased in recent years, particularly because of new apartments.

“The average overall monthly rental rate for apartment communities built in the past five years is $1,149 or $1.23 per square foot compared to $963 or $1.03 per square foot for communities built in the past 12 years,” Cotton said.

The average rental rate for apartments overall in the Wilmington market is $835 a month, Cotton said.

A February report by Wells Fargo on the economic outlook of North Carolina called its apartment boom aging. Vitner said this might be because the fuel of the apartment trend – millennials – might be beginning to consider other options.

“Millennials are beginning to get into their late 30s, an age usually associated with first-time home ownership,” Vitner said, adding that he also is starting to see meaningful construction of townhomes and condominiums.

While the next couple years still look promising for the apartment market, vacancy rates have also increased, and with more apartment construction in the pipeline they more than likely will keep increasing – perhaps even to 10 percent in the coming years, Vitner said.

But while apartment growth might be reaching its zenith in other parts of the state, Wilmington is not in danger of being overbuilt, Cotton said.

“More than 2,500 units have been completed and absorbed since the beginning of 2013 ...  imagine if those had not been built,” he said. “The overall occupancy would be close to 100 percent, and rental rates would go through the roof. The apartment development boom over the past few years has prevented what may otherwise have been a severe shortage in available rental apartments.

“In my opinion, the current level of apartment development is sustainable, and I do not think that Wilmington is at risk of becoming overbuilt with apartments anytime soon.”