The luxury home market in New Hanover County decreased a little in May, where the total sales volume fell by $5 million compared to the same month last year. 

“In 2017, a total of 14 luxury homes sold in the county for a combined price of $22.3 million. This May, only 10 homes sold for a combined $17.3 million,” said the report collected from the N.C Regional Multiple Listing Service by Kathleen Baylies, broker in charge at Just For Buyers Realty in Wilmington.

In New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, sales fell by 33 percent from May 2017 to May this year.

But June could be a better month. Fifteen houses in the tri-county region went under contract in May 2018, slightly lower than the 18 that were under contract in May 2017, Baylies said Monday.

Luxury homes are defined as those priced $1 million or more. The decrease in the number of homes sold comes after New Hanover had the largest sales increase this April in the past 12 years.

Vance Young, broker at Intracoastal Realty Corp., said May, June, and July are peak months for home sales. He also said that while listing numbers vary, there has been a decline in the number.

“The listing inventory is down in a lot of neighborhoods. For example, Wrightsville Beach inventory is very thin, particularly beachfront. The oceanfront inventory is as thin as it's been in the last 10 years,” he said.

Young said the weather was an influencing factor in the sales decline.

“This winter we had an unusually cold, gray, long winter,” he said. “April was a very wet, cold month; we had some challenges from a weather standpoint, so we are very pleased that sales had picked up despite the weather.”

Despite the overall decrease in home sales, the report said there was an increase in homes sold for multiple millions of dollars.

“The best news to come out of May could be the number of multi-million dollar properties that sold,” said Baylies on the report.

In the tri-county area, there were five homes sold worth more than $2 million in May, three of them in New Hanover County.

“Two of the newest homes to come on the market in May made it to the list of the top 10 most expensive houses in the tri-county area,” said Baylies in the report.

One of them is a luxury home at 49 Piper’s landing on Figure Eight Island, the fourth most expensive home in the tri-county area, listed at over $5 million and featuring eight bedrooms and 6,500 square feet.

There are 183 luxury homes on the market in New Hanover County.

Young said he anticipates June will have an increase in sales.

“June is off to a good start, which is unusual," he said. "Normally the market quiets as schools let out and summer starts and then picks back up by mid-June."