A Realtors group based in Wilmington has started 2017 with a new name, news of record-breaking year-end numbers and a new president.

Cape Fear Realtors is the new moniker of the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors, after the group merged with the Duplin-Sampson and Laurinburg Realtor associations.

"We’ve tried to develop and come up with a name that would be more inclusive and representative of our membership that now includes a broader area than just the Wilmington region," said Neal Johnson, president of Cape Fear Realtors, on Tuesday.

Johnson, who took the helm Jan. 1, said mergers are a nationwide trend among Realtors groups.

"A lot of the associations that may have a smaller memberships are finding that it’s beneficial to merge together to have stronger numbers and are able to have a bigger voice in real estate," Johnson said.

"Wilmington" has been part of the local group's name for 95 years, but CFR "reflects our dedication to the Realtors, real property owners, and others in the real estate industry within New Hanover, Duplin, Pender, Sampson and Scotland counties," according to a recent CFR announcement.

CFR (new logo shown above) currently has 2,350 members across the region, the announcement said.

A Realtor with Network Real Estate in Wilmington, Johnson has served as Multiple Listing Service president and vice president of the association and received the 2014 Realtor of the Year award.

Johnson used the word "amazing" to characterize the organization's Monday announcement of December 2016 (which showed a nearly 14 percent jump in the number of units sold) and year-end numbers, pulled from the  N.C. Regional MLS and covering New Hanover, Pender and northern Brunswick counties. 

In a news release, he said that last year "was a record-breaking year for real estate with 8,848 total sold units and $2,218,385,319 in total sold volume," the largest number in 11 years in the region.

He said that all key indicators were up dramatically when comparing 2016 to 2015, with a 19 percent increase in total units sold, 18.7 percent increase in total sales volume, nearly 14 percent decrease in days on market and a 2 percent increase in the median sales price.

"The last time these amounts were reached was back in 2005 and we almost topped that number," Johnson said in the release. "It is simply staggering to see these year-end numbers. It is very clear that our real estate market is robust and growing aggressively. If anyone is doubting that our real estate industry is back just look at the numbers. This is very promising for 2017 and proof that our region is a highly desirable place to live and work."
 

Wilmington area housing statistics

	Jan.-Dec. 2015	Jan.-Dec. 2016	% change
Total units sold	7,423	8,848	19.2
Avg. sales price	$250,244	$249,349	-.36
Median sales price	$204,190	$209,018	2.36
Days on market	110	95	-13.84
New listings	10,891	11,457	5.2