Nearly 3,500 apartments are either under construction or in planning stages in the Wilmington area, according to the first-quarter 2016 report by a firm that tracks the Wilmington and Triangle multi-family markets.

"There are currently 14 apartment communities at various stages of construction comprising a total of 2,166 units. We are also tracking 7 proposed projects with 1,331 units that are in the early stages of development. The demand for new apartments in Wilmington has proven to be exceptionally strong," says the report compiled by Richard Cotton, managing director of Multifamily Realty Advisors.

The developer for seven of the apartments projects in the under-construction and proposed categories in the report is Tribute Investment & Development, according to the report. Of the 3,497 units, Tribute is building or planning 778, the report says.

The total number in the first quarter of 2016 is higher than the total units completed from 2013 to 2015 in the Wilmington market, which includes parts of Brunswick County, at 2,802.

The number of units in the works for 2016 could climb. More apartment proposals for New Hanover County are on the table, with requests related to other potential multifamily projects on the county Board of Commissioners' agenda May 2. 

Cotton also notes in the analysis that nearly $46 million in apartment community sales took place in the Wilmington area through March 31. ILM Capital bought Abbotts Run, a 264-unit apartment community, off Market Street for $23.75 million on March 7, and a New York-based firm bought the two phases of The Park at Three Oaks in Ogden for nearly $22 million.

Interest has increased in recent years and months from out-of-town investors in Wilmington's apartment market as they seek higher returns than primary and secondary markets can provide.