What is the cheapest oceanfront area in NC & Why? (Wilmington: real estate, renting)

[robin11]

I'm curoius to knwo where the cheapest oceanfront areas to live in NC any why? I heard kittyhawk. We want a getawy home and want peace! Also, I heard there are differences between oceanfronts such as oceanfront, outerbanks oceanfront. I would appreciate any help. Thanks!!

[dsobotta]

Originally Posted by robin11

I'm curoius to knwo where the cheapest oceanfront areas to live in NC any why? I heard kittyhawk. We want a getawy home and want peace! Also, I heard there are differences between oceanfronts such as oceanfront, outerbanks oceanfront. I would appreciate any help. Thanks!!

You might want to use something like Trulia to research that since it pretty hard for people to have a really good perspective of oceanfront along the whole state. Real estate is very local and the beaches are often different every day.

Here are their screens for Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Emerald Isle, Topsail (http://www.trulia.com/NC/Topsail_Beach/74444444 - broken link), Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Oak Island.

All the areas have people who enjoy living there. In any stretch of beach, you can find oceanfront homes that have different topography. Some areas have high dunes, and there are places with almost no dunes.

You can also get places like North Topsail where homes have been lost.

Your best bet if you are planning on a purchase is to take a quick tour of the areas and see which one you like the best. What I like or someone else likes should be secondary to what you like.

It is a pretty easy trip and a beautiful one if you start at Kitty Hawk, drive down the Banks to Hatteras, catch the ferry to Ocaracoke, then the ferry to Cedar Island, and drive down to Atlantic Beach and down the beach to Emerald Isle. At that point you are only an hour and a half from Wilmington and the really southern beaches.

You could spend four or five days looking at property and come away a much more informed beach consumer. Most places have lower rates in effect right now. The temperatures are cooler, the crowds are gone, and those of us who live on or near the shore are easy to find.

You can also save lots of money in up front costs by buying off the beach. Of course it you are planning on renting, being close the beach helps a lot, but it also drives up your insurance costs.

It you want to learn about the area where I keep my feet cool in the salt water, you can visit my Southern Outer Banks site or my homepage where you can even find recipes that we enjoy on the coast.

Good luck with your search. There is a lot of delicious seafood which you can sample while doing your research. People on the forum can give you names of favorite spots to eat and stay.

If you need other questions answered, give me a call.

-David Sobotta

[robin11]

Thank you, I'm checking it out now.... I was planning on driving to NC in October and spending a few days looking. Thanks again!!

Originally Posted by dsobotta

You might want to use something like Trulia to research that since it pretty hard for people to have a really good perspective of oceanfront along the whole state. Real estate is very local and the beaches are often different every day.

Here are their screens for Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Emerald Isle, Topsail (http://www.trulia.com/NC/Topsail_Beach/74444444 - broken link), Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Oak Island.

All the areas have people who enjoy living there. In any stretch of beach, you can find oceanfront homes that have different topography. Some areas have high dunes, and there are places with almost no dunes.

You can also get places like North Topsail where homes have been lost.

Your best bet if you are planning on a purchase is to take a quick tour of the areas and see which one you like the best. What I like or someone else likes should be secondary to what you like.

It is a pretty easy trip and a beautiful one if you start at Kitty Hawk, drive down the Banks to Hatteras, catch the ferry to Ocaracoke, then the ferry to Cedar Island, and drive down to Atlantic Beach and down the beach to Emerald Isle. At that point you are only an hour and a half from Wilmington and the really southern beaches.

You could spend four or five days looking at property and come away a much more informed beach consumer. Most places have lower rates in effect right now. The temperatures are cooler, the crowds are gone, and those of us who live on or near the shore are easy to find.

You can also save lots of money in up front costs by buying off the beach. Of course it you are planning on renting, being close the beach helps a lot, but it also drives up your insurance costs.

It you want to learn about the area where I keep my feet cool in the salt water, you can visit my Southern Outer Banks site or my homepage where you can even find recipes that we enjoy on the coast.

Good luck with your search. There is a lot of delicious seafood which you can sample while doing your research. People on the forum can give you names of favorite spots to eat and stay.

If you need other questions answered, give me a call.

-David Sobotta

[Bill Hitchcock]

The average sold price for the past three months of a residential property (not condo) in Atlantic Beach is $636K. For Emerald Isle it is $711K. Cross one bridge to Morehead City and the average price is $379 (Behind Atlantic Beach on the Sound) and Cape Carteret $227K (Behind Emerald Isle on the Sound)
Hope this helps!
Bill