Luxury home sales in the Wilmington area shattered a 15-year-old record in 2020, outpacing the last high by 97 homes and nearly $190 million in closed sales volume.

A total of 363 luxury properties sold during 2020 for $597 million in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, according to a report by Wilmington-based Just For Buyers Realty.

The previous record was set in 2005, when 266 homes sold for a total of $409 million. Luxury homes in the report are defined as those costing $1 million or more.

Several reasons account for the stellar showing, said Kathleen Baylies, broker in charge of Just for Buyers Realty. She said the most significant of those reasons were record-low interest rates; COVID-related shifts in the workplace and the pandemic's impact on day-to-day home life; and the low inventory of homes that put upward pressure on prices in all categories, including the higher end.

“Any one of those factors, by itself, would have had a significant impact on the direction of the luxury market,” said Baylies in the report. “Combined, they pushed the sales numbers to unprecedented levels.”

According to the report, December capped the year with its own best-ever numbers: 37 luxury homes sold in the three counties for a collective $55.6 million. That breaks a December record set in 2005 when 12 homes sold for $26.6 million.

The most expensive home to sell last month is at 9 East Beach Drive on Bald Head Island (pictured above), with a price tag of $2.65 million, according to its MLS listing.

Wendy Wilmot of Wendy Wilmot Properties served as the listing and selling agent.

“It was purchased by a tax attorney in Raleigh,” said Wilmot in the report. “It was her dream to buy on Bald Head Island. She plans on initially using the property as a rental.”