Richard Wallace started the homebuilding company that bears his name about 50 years ago.

He had worked in other industries, including for a utility company and in state government. “I just decided that my heart was in homebuilding,” Wallace said.

The firm started small in Raleigh.

“It was pretty much a mom-and-pop type operation for many years,” he said.

Now based in Carolina Beach, the company, which focuses on custom and semi-custom homes, has grown over the decades, and this year marks a new era. Wallace is trading his hard hat for retirement at the end of the year and handing over the helm of the firm to one of his sons and co-owner, Greg Wallace. Richard Wallace Builder also recently rebranded to Wallace Custom Homes.

Richard Wallace said Wallace Custom Homes has “the same way of doing business, putting the customer first and trying to do the very best we can for the customer,” but with a more contemporary name that reflects the firm’s natural evolution.

“At the end of 50 years, that’s kind of a milestone that we’ve achieved; it just makes sense,” he said.

The Wallaces see ongoing demand for their products. Custom homebuilding experienced an uptick last year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The organization’s economists analyzed census data in 2025 and found that in the second quarter, custom homebuilding grew 4%, “as high interest rates and home prices suppress demand for traditional spec home production,” an NAHB report stated.

According to the report, the market share of custom-built homes at the time was 19%, the highest since 2022, although it was 31.5% in 2009, before the Great Recession caused a downturn.

“Things this year are looking good (for 2026). We’ve actually seen an increase here lately in sales activity, so that’s really encouraging,” said Greg Wallace in February. “We’ve seen … about a 20 to 25% increase over last year in terms of what we plan to deliver this year. So, we’re excited. We’re feeling positive.”

During the past several years, the company has delivered about a dozen homes a year, Greg Wallace said.

“And then this year, we’re forecast to deliver 16 homes, which is a sizable step up from where we’ve been the last couple of years,” he said
Richard Wallace said about half of the homes Wallace Custom Homes produces each year are custom, while the other half are speculative homes. The firm typically builds homes priced between $750,000 and $2 million, excluding land, he said.

“That would be our bread and butter right there,” he said.

Richard Wallace said the baby boomer market continues to grow.

“Those are the types of homes that really baby boomers are growing up into and retiring to … they have all the amenities that they want,” Richard Wallace said. “They have the nicer custom features on the inside, the luxury kitchens, the luxury bathrooms, the higher quality finishes in flooring and cabinetry and those kinds of things. So that’s what I see is the market that we’ve cultivated and gravitated towards, and I think it’s a market that’s really growing.”

Wallace Custom Homes is active in the New Hanover County towns of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.

“Carolina Beach and Kure Beach are really, I feel like, seeing a resurgence,” Greg Wallace said. “I think what’s happening in that market is that there is maybe more opportunity for people who want to live at the coast and don’t have the means to be able to afford Wrightsville Beach.”

Beyond Carolina and Kure beaches, the company also builds in other Wilmington-area communities, including River Bluffs, East & Mason and Shoreline in New Hanover County, as well as the upcoming Waterway development in Brunswick County.

Greg Wallace said building in other communities outside of the beach towns has been a strategic effort.

“We’ve been making an aggressive, active push to try to grow our company, and as a result of doing that, we’ve had to be more aggressive and more active in terms of seeking out opportunities,” he said.

About seven years ago, the Wallaces decided to branch out and lay the building blocks for growth.

“When we decided to make that transition to more of an actual building company, we started to bring on staff and built an office,” Greg Wallace said, “and through doing that, we’ve been more aggressive about pursuing opportunities outside of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, and it seems to be working well for us.”

Today, the company employs 10 people, including Richard and Greg Wallace.

Greg Wallace said the move has strengthened the company.

“I feel like we’re better able to serve our customers and our clients because we’ve got help through our employees,” he said. “I feel like that our product is better, and I feel like our customer service is better as a result.”