More luxury buyers are choosing Pender County, according to an August market report measuring sales in the Wilmington area.

"For the first time, luxury sales in Pender County hit double digits with 10 homes selling at prices of $1 million or more – its best month ever," stated the report, compiled by Wilmington-based Just For Buyers Realty from the N.C. Regional Multiple Listing Service.

Scott Saxton of Just For Buyers Realty stated in the report, “Three of those sales were in Hampstead neighborhoods, away from the water. That’s a sign that luxury buyers have fallen in love with this entire region and that is going to continue, not just in Pender County, but pretty soon you will see more and more luxury buyers looking at Onslow County, too.”

August became the 27th month in a row, according to the report, when luxury home sales in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties saw year-to-year increases. A total of 60 homes with a price tag of $1 million or more sold in the tri-county area last month, compared to only 54 in August 2021.

Although more homes sold in August this year, the total volume was down by almost $1 million, the report stated – $96,018,443 this year compared to $97,011,399.

“This is just the latest sign that the leverage is moving back to the buyer,” Saxton stated in the report. “A few months ago, we started to notice an increase in inventory of luxury homes – meaning buyers had more options. Then in July, we noticed a decrease in the number of luxury homes going under contract, and now we are seeing an overall dip in prices. What all that tells me is that this is once again becoming a more balanced market.”

The most expensive transaction was for a concept home that has yet to be built on Wrightsville Beach, the report stated. The property at 15 Augusta St. eventually closed Aug. 1 for $5.9 million.

The most expensive purchase of an existing home was in Wilmington’s Shandy Point neighborhood. The four-bedroom, four-bathroom, custom home is on a peninsula at 136 Skystasail Drive and measures more than 4,100 square feet, according to the report. The property was listed by Vance Young of Wilmington-based Intracoastal Realty Corp. and closed for $3,875,000.