Wilmington, NC Housing Market
AI-powered market intelligence for the Wilmington, NC metro area.
PropertyIQ Scores
Wilmington, NC Market Analysis
Market Overview
Wilmington, NC has a PropertyIQ Score of 27 out of 100, placing it in weak territory. The score’s main drivers include 12-month home value momentum of 2.41%, 3-month home value momentum of -0.48%, median days on market of 71 days, and a 20.6% share of listings with a price cut. These inputs paint a picture of a market that had some annual price growth but is now cooling, with homes taking longer to sell and sellers more frequently reducing asking prices.
Compared with state benchmarks, Wilmington stands out for its higher costs. The median home value is $445,278, well above the state average of $334,773. The rent index is $1,734, compared with $1,162 statewide. Median household income is $73,687, which is higher than the state average of $69,904, but that income advantage does not fully close the affordability gap created by housing costs. The unemployment rate is 4.1%, also above the state average of 3.6%.
Overall, Wilmington is a moderate-to-weak market. It is not a severe downturn; the 12-month momentum is still positive at 2.41%. But the recent 3-month momentum is negative, the year-over-year median home value change is -$5, and market speed is slow. These factors justify the low PropertyIQ Score and indicate a market that is tilted toward buyers.
Key Trends
One clear trend is cooling price momentum. The 12-month home value momentum of 2.41% shows that values rose over the longer window, but the 3-month momentum of -0.48% and the year-over-year median home value change of -$5 show that price gains have stalled. A median home value of $445,278 remains high, but the direction has recently flattened to slightly negative.
A second trend is slower market turnover. Wilmington has 3,923 homes for sale, a median time on market of 71 days, and 20.6% of listings with a price cut. These figures indicate that inventory is not moving quickly and that sellers are adjusting prices to attract buyers. The 71-day median is a significant drag on the market’s momentum score.
A third trend is affordability pressure. With a median home value of $445,278 and a median household income of $73,687, Wilmington’s home price-to-income ratio is about 6.0. By comparison, the state-level ratio using the $334,773 median home value and $69,904 median household income is about 4.8. The rent index of $1,734 is also roughly 49% higher than the state average of $1,162, meaning renters face an elevated cost base as well.
A fourth trend is the mixed rental and employment backdrop. The rent index is well above the state mark, which may reflect underlying demand or a high-cost market, but the unemployment rate of 4.1% is higher than the state average of 3.6%. Population growth data is not available, so it is not possible to assess whether local demand is being supported by in-migration.
Who Is This Market For
This market is best suited to patient buyers and investors who can tolerate slow price momentum in exchange for negotiation power. With 20.6% of listings having price cuts and a median days on market of 71 days, buyers may be able to negotiate more effectively than in a fast-moving market. First-time buyers may find opportunity in lower seller expectations, but the median home value of $445,278 relative to a median household income of $73,687 makes affordability a real obstacle.
For rental property investors, the rent index of $1,734 is a notable draw compared with the state average of $1,162, but the high median home value, slow selling times, and elevated unemployment rate of 4.1% mean rental demand and property performance should be evaluated carefully. Move-up buyers who need to sell an existing home may face longer sale times and may need to price competitively. Cash buyers or those with flexible timelines are in a better position than buyers relying on rapid equity growth.
Outlook
The near-term outlook is cautious. Wilmington’s recent price signals are soft: 3-month home value momentum is -0.48%, the year-over-year median home value change is -$5, and more than one in five listings has a price cut. With 3,923 homes for sale and a median days on market of 71 days, supply is likely to keep pressure on pricing unless absorption picks up. The 12-month momentum of 2.41% suggests the market is not in freefall, but the overall trend is toward flat or slightly negative price movement. The unemployment rate of 4.1% compared with 3.6% statewide adds another layer of caution. Because population growth data is not available, the demand outlook cannot be fully measured. The data supports a neutral-to-weak outlook until there is a sustained improvement in 3-month momentum or a reduction in days on market and price cuts.
AI-generated analysis based on current market data. Last updated September 25, 2026.
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Wilmington, NC market data
Wilmington, NC Housing Market Overview
Wilmington, NC's median home value is $445K, up 2.4% over the past year. Homes here sell in a median 71 days. Its PropertyIQ Score of 27 sits below the state average of 50, marking a market positioned to lag its state over the next three years.
Understanding the Wilmington, NC housing market requires looking beyond headline price figures. The PropertyIQ Score reads both sides of market strength: Zillow price momentum across 3- and 12-month windows, and Realtor.com flow signals — days on market and the share of listings with price cuts. Together they predict how this NC metro is set to perform relative to the rest of its state.
The South Atlantic region continues to attract domestic migration with its combination of job growth, favorable tax environments, and year-round climate. Markets range from rapidly appreciating tech corridors to established retirement destinations with strong rental demand. Within the South Atlantic, Wilmington, NC's PropertyIQ Score of 27 runs below the South Atlantic norm.
North Carolina's Research Triangle and Charlotte financial corridor drive two distinct housing economies, with university and healthcare employment providing stability across smaller metro areas.
For the Wilmington, NC market, PropertyIQ calculates a single score each month from four inputs: twelve-month Zillow home-value momentum, three-month Zillow home-value momentum, median days on market from Realtor.com, and the Realtor.com price-reduced share. The score is computed nationally across all metros and calibrated so 50 equals the state average. Across the validation history, metro markets in the top score band have outperformed their state by roughly 1.7 percentage points more per year than bottom-band markets. Momentum here has been positive, with home values up 2.4% over the past year.
Explore the interactive map to see how Wilmington, NC compares to neighboring metros, or view the full market dashboard for detailed analytics including time-series trends, score breakdowns, and AI-generated market reports.
Counties in the Wilmington, NC metro area
ZIP codes in the Wilmington, NC metro area
View all 32 →Market data through August 2026. Sourced from Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, U.S. Census Bureau, FRED, BLS, and BEA. Per-statistic source and date shown above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wilmington, NC a good place to buy real estate in 2026?
PropertyIQ doesn't label markets simply good or bad. Instead, the PropertyIQ Score measures a market's demand momentum against its own state, where 50 marks the state average. Wilmington, NC currently scores 27, a weak-momentum reading that leaves it positioned to lag its state over the next three years. For buyers, cooling demand usually brings more inventory, longer sale times, and real leverage to negotiate on price. Backing that up, the median home value here is $445K, up 2.4% over the past year. So whether Wilmington, NC is right for you comes down to your goals: a rising-momentum market can favor long-term appreciation but offers less room to negotiate, while a cooling one hands buyers more leverage. Treat the score as a timing signal to weigh alongside your budget, holding period, and plans for the property, not a verdict on the market's quality.
What is the PropertyIQ Score for Wilmington, NC?
Wilmington, NC's PropertyIQ Score is 27, indicating weak momentum on a 1-to-99 scale. The score distills four transparent inputs into a single number: Zillow home-value momentum over the past 12 months, Zillow home-value momentum over the past 3 months, the median days homes spend on the market from Realtor.com, and the share of listings with a price cut, also from Realtor.com. Rising values and faster sales push the score up, while slow sales and frequent price cuts pull it down. The scale is calibrated so 50 equals the state average, meaning a score above 50 predicts the market will outperform its state over the next three years and a score below 50 predicts underperformance. PropertyIQ computes the score across every US market nationally, then recenters it against each state, so 27 places Wilmington, NC below its state benchmark.
Are home prices in Wilmington, NC rising or falling?
Home prices in Wilmington, NC are rising. Over the past year, the median home value increased 2.4%, reaching $445K. Over the latest three months, values slipped 0.5%, a sign near-term demand is softening. PropertyIQ derives these figures from Zillow's home-value index, which tracks the typical value across the market rather than only the homes that happened to sell, giving a steadier read than a raw median sale price. Both the 12-month and 3-month momentum readings feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, so this price trend is one of the core signals behind Wilmington, NC's current score. Keep in mind that appreciation can vary widely by neighborhood and price tier across the metro area, so treat these figures as the market-wide baseline rather than a guarantee for any single property.
How quickly do homes sell in Wilmington, NC?
In Wilmington, NC, homes sell in a median of 71 days from listing to pending sale, based on Realtor.com market data. Median days on market is one of the clearest real-time reads on local demand: when homes move quickly, buyers are competing and sellers hold the advantage, while lengthening timelines signal cooling interest and more room to negotiate. Alongside sale speed, about 21% of active listings here have taken at least one price cut — a complementary demand gauge, since a rising share of reductions often precedes slower sales and softer prices. Both median days on market and the price-cut share feed directly into the PropertyIQ Score, where faster sales and fewer cuts push the score higher. As a general guide, medians under about 30 days indicate a brisk, competitive market, while medians well beyond 60 days point to buyers regaining leverage. Actual time on market still varies by price band, property type, and season, so treat the median as a market-wide baseline.
How current is this metro area data?
This Wilmington, NC market data is refreshed on a monthly cycle, with the latest figures current through August 2026. PropertyIQ ingests fresh data every month from a range of authoritative sources: home values and rents from Zillow, days on market and price-cut activity from Realtor.com, additional housing signals from Redfin, demographic and housing-stock data from the U.S. Census Bureau, mortgage and macroeconomic series from FRED, and employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The PropertyIQ Score itself is recomputed every month once the new source data lands, so the score and its four underlying inputs always reflect the most recent complete reporting period rather than a static snapshot. Because official housing data is typically released with a short lag, the current-through date usually trails the present by a few weeks, which is normal across the industry and not a sign the data is out of date.