The state of the housing market both nationally and locally continues to dominate the economic conversation.

While most individuals are better off financially than they were pre-pandemic, the significant increase in interest rates coupled with the significant migration we witnessed over the past few years has made owning a home more challenging.

Economists largely agree that an important component of dealing with housing affordability requires a robust increase in supply.

The increase in development is, however, often met with resistance by residents who view this increased construction as putting stresses on an area’s roads, schools and infrastructure.

At the local level, we are experiencing a similar situation with prices currently about 60% higher than they were five years ago. (Editor’s note: To read more about housing costs in the region, see here in the Residential Real Estate section.)

This increase was partially driven by the increase in population the area experienced during the height of the pandemic.

A fundamental question facing the area is whether the pandemic-era growth was temporary and therefore not reflective of changes that need to be addressed or if the in-migration and housing demand is here to stay and supply needs to respond in an appropriate manner.

The most recent data released by the Census might have some important answers.

At the state level, North Carolina added 164,835 individuals, which translates into a 1.5% growth rate between 2023 and 2024.

At the local level, the Wilmington metropolitan area continues to be one of the fastest-growing parts of the state.

It is comprised of once again the fastest-growing county in the state: Brunswick County at 4.54% growth rate, or 7,257 individuals, the seventh fastest-growing county. The metro area also includes Pender at 2.52%, or 1,721 individuals, and the 29th fastest-growing county as well as New Hanover at 1.37% or 3,279 individuals.

This data points to continued growth towards the region, albeit at a slightly lower rate.

All three counties mentioned above grew at a slightly lower rate between 2023 and 2024 than between 2022 and 2023.

However, to put the increased demand for housing in context, Brunswick County today has 20% more individuals than it did in 2020, Pender County 14% more and New Hanover County 7% more.

There is no doubt that change is challenging and absorbing growth is difficult, but migration of the scale the area experienced and continues to experience will undoubtedly continue to put upward pressure on prices unless there is a significant effort to increase supply.

Addressing the housing question in an appropriate manner will be key to not only help the area’s residents but also remain an attractive destination for companies and talented individuals.

Mouhcine Guettabi is a regional economist with UNCW’s Swain Center and an associate professor of economics at UNCW’s Cameron School of Business.