Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage has achieved more than $1 billion in closed sales year-to-date in 2016, the fifth time the residential real estate company has reached the milestone in its history. 

The other years when the company reached more than $1 billion in close sales were 2005, 2006, 2014 and 2015. The latest announcement's numbers are based on sales in New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender and Onslow counties.

“We’ve seen the real estate market in our region continue to strengthen in 2016 and our sales numbers reflect this,” said Tim Milam, president of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, in a news release.

Milam said to date, the company has $1.16 billion in sales and anticipates setting a new sales record by the year's end.

In 2015, the firm closed more than $1.2 billion in sales volume and more than 5,800 transactions. Sea Coast Advantage is staffed by more than 450 real estate agents in 11 offices in Wilmington, Leland, Jacksonville, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Hampstead, Southport, Sneads Ferry, South Brunswick, Oak Island and Holden Beach.

In July, the company announced that agents would be moving from Sir Tyler Drive to two different locations in Wilmington -- new office space under construction off Eastwood Road at Autumn Hall, with a projected move-in of April, and in mid-December, existing offices at Barclay Commons on Independence Boulevard. 

Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage also has an ownership interest in 18 Coldwell Banker Advantage offices in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Southern Pines with an additional 375 agents serving those markets. With the addition of these offices, closed sales volume for Sea Coast Advantage in 2015 totaled $2.2 billion with more than 12,000 closed sales transactions.

The release said that in 2015, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage was the No. 1 Coldwell Banker company in North Carolina and No. 3 Coldwell Banker company in the nation.

In the region covered by the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors, including New Hanover, Pender and northern Brunswick counties, total yearly home sales have reached more than $1 billion since 2003, peaking at nearly $2.4 billion in 2005. The amount fell to a low of $1.02 billion in 2011 but was up to nearly $1.9 billion last year, according to the latest WRAR figures based on the N.C. Regional MLS.

This year, total volume in the region covered by WRAR's statistics is $1.7 billion from January through September sales.