A local investor bought 10 townhomes in a community off South College Road recently, an example of what those who work in the real estate industry say are ongoing trends.

One of those trends is the rise in demand for certain kinds of property.

“The investment market is extremely strong right now. Everyone’s chasing yield right now,” said Garry Silivanch, a partner with Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate. “People are looking to do something with their money other than keeping it in the stock market, so what they’re doing is investing in income-producing real estate.”  

Silivanch represented the seller, ZBL Contracting, in the $885,000 sale of 10 townhomes in Mandeline Place, 4804 S. College Road. Built in 1997, the 10 units were foreclosed on about five years ago, Silivanch said, and they were refurbished in 2014.

First Step LLC, the buyer of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhomes, purchased them at an 8 percent cap rate, Silivanch said. John Hinrichs of Commercial Realty represented First Step in the transaction.

While the Mandeline Place townhomes involved in the First Step purchase are rentals, with base rents of about $875 to $925, demand has also increased for the individual purchase of townhomes, developers say.

Townhomes are part of a number of current residential projects underway in Wilmington, including Summerwalk at Oleander Drive and Greenville Loop Road; and The Forks at Barclay off 17th Street and Independence Boulevard.

At The Forks, 14 townhomes are under construction and 35 have sold of the 52 planned for the neighborhood, according to the latest numbers from the community's builder, Trusst Builder Group. The Forks at Barclay also includes single-family home lots for sale. 

In general, townhomes “provide a strong niche in our market, particularly as it relates to in-fill development within the city,” said Cameron Moore, executive officer of the Wilmington-Cape Fear Home Builders Association.  “When we look at the urban cores of the city, a developer can use a townhome product to enhance the overall density of a project that in return will help provide the necessary support for a project to be successful.”