June home sale totals in Brunswick County reached some of their highest levels so far this year, according to statistics released Thursday.

The number of units sold increased from 228 in June 2014 to 290 during the same period this year, a 27 percent increase, a Brunswick County Association of Realtors news release said.

In addition to total sales, the average selling price and dollar volume for residential real estate in June reached their highest points for 2015 so far. Units sold and dollar volume soared to their highest levels in one month since before 2011, according to the release.

“These latest figures emphasize the forward momentum of real estate sales in Brunswick County,” said Cynthia Cumbie, interim CEO of BCAR, in the release.
 
The total sales volume for June rose nearly 49 percent from the same month the year before, $54.2 million to $80.75 million. The average sales price increased 17.1 percent, from $237,869 to $278,440, the BCAR announced.
 
Cumbie said that houses sold in the $200,000 to $249,999 price range represented the largest amount of sales in June, with an average time on the market of about six months. Three-bedroom homes with an average square footage of 1,638 sold the fastest, with 166 days on the market, according to the release.
 
Cumbie said the most homes were sold in the Southport area and the Brunswick islands, followed closely by Carolina Shores.

A significant sign of improvement in the real estate market is the decrease in months of inventory, Cumbie said in the release.
 
“Months of inventory has been trending downward all year, with June reaching a 2015 low of 8.3 months, which is down from 16.4 months in January,” she said. “This means if sales continue on the same path they did last month, we have about eight months of inventory left.”

The inventory in historic Southport is extremely low, said Pamela Frandano, a broker and owner of Southport Realty. 

"Well-priced properties are tending to sell very quickly with multiple offers, if they’re well priced," she said, adding that many buyers are very savvy, having conducted extensive market research before looking for a home.

Frandano said while baby boomers are still among current Southport homebuyers, the city has also attracted younger retirees and people who want second homes.
 

Brunswick County's single-family home sales stats for June

Listings	Units sold	Avg. sale price	Total volume	Lots sold	Avg. lot sale price
2014: 369	228	$237,869	$54,234,216	82	$65,638
2015: 443	290	$278,440	$80,747,730	78	$99,711
20.1%	27.2%	17.1%	48.9%	-4.9%	51.9%