Call it a comeback. After a recession that brought much of region’s realty market to its knees, 2013 proved to be the turning point for the area’s housing market – especially luxury home sales.

With low mortgage interest rates, existing inventories, competitive
pricing, and a rise in consumer confidence, area Realtors saw luxury homes sales increase last year.

In greater Wilmington, luxury homes start between $500,000 and $600,000, while high-end luxury homes start in the $1 million range, according to area Realtors.

The buyer profile was fairly simple.

Realtors say many of the buyers were corporate business executives from the Northeast or the Triangle and Triad areas of the state who reside in the region and conduct their business elsewhere.

Other buyers purchasing high-end luxury homes as their secondary residence for the weekend or summer vacation season, were snowbirds from the North buying their dream retirement homes or local residents looking to upgrade into a larger home.

Nowhere in the region did this occur faster than in Wrightsville Beach, Figure Eight Island and Landfall – three areas currently seeing sales and contracts on multiple offers for luxury and multi-million estates on waterfront lots.

Here are the most expensive homes sold in the region during 2013, according to data compiled by the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors (WRAR) Multiple Listing Service (MLS):
 
25 Backfin Point
Selling Price: $4,375,000
Location: Figure Eight Island
No. Bedrooms: 6
No. Bathrooms: 7
Heated square feet: 7,604
Listing/Selling Agent: Buzzy M. Northern Jr., Intracoastal Realty
 
10 Bayberry Place
Selling Price: $4,150,000
Location: Figure Eight Island
No. Bedrooms: 7
No. Bathrooms: 8
Heated square feet: 5,599
Listing Agent: Buzzy M. Northern Jr., Intracoastal Realty
Selling Agent: Team Hardee Hunt & Williams 
 
264 N. Beach Road 
Selling Price: $2,825,000
Location: Figure Eight Island
No. Bedrooms: 4
No. Bathrooms: 5
Heated square feet: 4,895
Listing Agent: Judy B. Parlatore,
Figure 8 Realty 
Selling Agent: Joel Skipper, Figure 8 Realty 
 
6 Bayberry Place 
Selling Price: $2,750,000
Location: Figure Eight Island
No. Bedrooms: 5
No. Bathrooms: 6
Heated square feet: 4,189
Listing Agent: Judy B. Parlatore,
Figure 8 Realty
Selling Agent: Buzzy M. Northern Jr., Intracoastal Realty
 
1064 Ocean Ridge Drive 
Selling Price: $2,585,000
Location: Landfall 
No. Bedrooms: 4
No. Bathrooms: 6
Heated square feet: 5,979
Listing Agent: Alison F. Bernhart, Landfall Realty
Selling Agent: Vance Young, Intracoastal Realty 
 
8 Cedar Island
Selling Price: $2,270,000
Location: Wilmington
No. Bedrooms: 3
No. Bathrooms: 5
Heated square feet: 5,712
Listing Agent: Debbie R. Mitchell,
Intracoastal Realty
Selling Agent: Lynne Boney, Intracoastal Realty
 
14 S. Beach Road 
Selling Price: $2,200,000
Location: Figure Eight Island 
No. Bedrooms: 4
No. Bathrooms: 7
Heated square feet: 5,401
Listing Agent: Judy B. Parlatore,
Figure 8 Realty
Selling Agent: Buzzy M. Northern Jr., Intracoastal Realty
 
15 Bahama Drive 
Selling Price: $2,125,000
Location: Wrightsville Beach  
No. Bedrooms: 4
No. Bathrooms: 5
Heated square feet: 3,568
Listing/Selling Agent: Bobby Brandon, Intracoastal Realty
 
305 S. Lumina Ave.
Selling Price: $2,100,000
Location: Wrightsville Beach  
No. Bedrooms: 5
No. Bathrooms: 6
Heated square feet: 3,356
Listing Agent: Tee Woodbury,
Intracoastal Realty
Selling Agent: David Eggleston Jr., Intracoastal Realty