For some homebuilders, following the yellow brick road has led them to Brunswick County.

“Overall, the Brunswick County housing market has improved, especially since 2010-11,” said Cameron Moore, executive officer for the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association and the CEO of Business Alliance for a Sound Economy. “We have noticed an exponential increase in the permit numbers over the last 18 months, which typically translates into construction starts.”

With home construction on the rise in the county, long hailed as one of the fastest growing in the state, more building companies are acting on the potential. The population of Brunswick County grew by nearly 47 percent from 2000 to 2010, while the state’s overall number of residents grew by 18.5 percent in the same period, according to U.S. Census Bureau numbers.

“We are seeing more and more builders come back into the market, but we are also starting to see some new builders come into our market from other areas of North Carolina,” Moore said. “That is a sign to me that our market here is being viewed as a growth potential area.”

A large Ohio-based custom homebuilder is leaving the office it has occupied at Mayfaire Community Center after eight years.

Schumacher Homes plans to move in February from 6801 Parker Farm Drive off of Military Cutoff Road in Wilmington to a new design center, located inside a model home that’s adjacent to two additional model homes the company is building on land the firm bought off U.S. 17 in Winnabow.

“We see growth in that area, and we’re excited about investing there,” said Mary Becker, vice president of sales and marketing for Schumacher Homes. “And we had more of a retail environment in our current location.”

By September, at least three builders – Logan Homes, Trusst Builder Group and JordanBuilt Signature Homes – had expanded or moved into design centers in Brunswick County.

About two months ago, Brunswick County issued a permit to True Homes to build a design center at 5051 Main St. in Shallotte.

Homebuilders typically don’t seem to take the decision to place design centers and model homes lightly, said Brian Schrader, a Realtor with the Coastline Real Estate Team of BlueCoast Realty Corp. who lives in Leland’s Waterford community.

“It’s scary to do that because they have to invest a lot of money to build those models,” he said.

Good economic times and bad

Explaining the reasons behind the county’s building trend, Moore said, “What we are seeing is that the subdivisions that have been able to financially weather the recession are really starting to see some traction … Really the subdivisions that are gaining the most traction are the ones that are set up as a lifestyle communities. These are the communities that are not just selling a lot and a house but are selling the complete amenities package. One of the biggest drivers behind this these types of communities is the 50-plus [age group] demographics.”

But despite the numbers, the outlook isn’t completely rosy. Some challenges that have cropped up in the past remain potential hurdles this year, Moore said.  

“Many of the subdivisions that were approved years ago in the prime of the market most likely will never be constructed in their current form. There are still quite a few of these types of developments that exist where the only thing that has been approved are the necessary permits,” Moore said. “The ground itself was never even touched in regards to clearing, grading and the construction of infrastructure. Some of these developments were approved so long ago that now their permit approvals may be in jeopardy. 

“However, on a positive note, with the market improving, some of these properties have been bought from development interests and most likely are or will be in the process of being restructured and put back on the market.”

From a price perspective, Moore said, the association is seeing a fairly even distribution of homes under construction at different spectrums of prices. 

“This would range from the under $175,000 to the high $600s,” he said.

Moore based some of his observations on research from MarketGraphics-Coastal Carolinas Inc., a new home market research and data tool initiative affiliated with MarketGraphics Research Group Inc. out of Brentwood, Tennessee.

While Leland, Belville and additional portions of the northeastern segment of the county are some of the best examples of where the housing market has improved in Brunswick, Moore said home
construction in other segments, including Shallotte and some of the county’s beach towns, can be counted in the trend.  

“The Southport area is also seeing a lot of improvement, notably with a lot of the increase in activity coming from St. James,” Moore said.

Realtors moving in

In addition to homebuilders, some residential real estate firms have set their sights on capturing more of the Brunswick County market in recent months.

Century 21 Sweyer & Associates, for example, merged with Holden Beach firm Century 21 Anne Arnold in November.

“We’ve always wanted to have a physical office in Brunswick County, and we believe the timing is right to be there based on market conditions,” Jeff Sweyer, president and owner of Century 21 Sweyer with his brother David, said in a previous Greater Wilmington Business Journal article.
Wilmington’s largest residential real estate company, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, announced its merger with Holden Beach-based Laura Hewett Realty in October last year.

Insiders expect such expansions to continue.

“There’s a lot of room, opportunity for growth as far as the real estate industry goes” in Brunswick, Schrader said.

Baby boomers seeking warmer climates and improved quality of life are major contributing factors, Schrader said.

“There’s a pent-up demand of people who have already made the decision to move to this area but just haven’t been able to sell their [current] homes,” Schrader said.

“You’re starting to see that loosen up in certain sectors of the Northeast, so that’s freeing up their cash flow in order to make the move down south. I see it continuing in the next couple of years.”

Single-family residential building permit numbers for the past two years
Brunswick County*
2014: 1,191
2103: 980
Source: Brunswick County Building Inspections Department

City of Southport
2014: 119
2013: 83
Source: City of Southport Planning & Inspections Department

* Brunswick County issues building permits for Bolivia, Belville, Northwest, Shallotte, Varnamtown and St. James. The county’s other municipalities do their own permitting.