A medical office building in Wilmington sold to investors recently for more than $5 million.

The property at 1725 New Hanover Medical Park Drive is home to New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician Specialists-Internal Medicine Specialists, according to NHRMC's website.

The local doctors who owned the 17,000-square-foot structure sold it to Charlotte-based investors, via an entity called NHRMC Wilmington DST, for a total of about $5.3 million.

That's one of the highest office building sale prices of the year in New Hanover County, according to property tax records. The Offices at Mayfaire VI sold to Raleigh investors in February for $11.7 million.

In the case of the New Hanover Medical Park Drive property, the owners were identified and approached by John Hinnant, vice president of Eastern Carolinas Commercial Real Estate (ECCRE), and Nick Silivanch, a partner with ECCRE, according to an ECCRE news release.

"The sale was the product of ECCRE’s signature real estate service named REAS – Real Estate Analysis Strategy," Silivanch stated in the release. "Initially developed nearly 10 years ago, the firm has recently begun focusing on identifying real estate assets and owners who could benefit from having a real estate professional included in their financial planning."

Silivanch added that after a review of interest rate trends and predominant capitalization rates, "the owners agreed to work with ECCRE on the disposition of the 17,000 +/- medical office building. At well over $300 per square foot, the sale generated nearly 100% more than the prevailing dollar per square foot rate that typical office buildings sell for in the market and a Cap Rate of 6.1%."

Silivanch said that's one of the best recent cap rates for the Wilmington commercial real estate market.

As for NHRMC's tenancy in the property, hospital spokesman Julian March said, "We don’t anticipate the change will affect NHRMC’s status as a tenant."

Wilmington's demographics and growth have led to an increase in demand for more medical office space in the area, something commercial real estate brokers and health care industry professionals expect to continue for years to come.