New Hanover County, NC real estate

What the numbers say

New Hanover County, NC real estate at a glance

By AstroCore · Realtor.com, US Census and Freddie Mac data

In September 2026, the median home in New Hanover County listed for $518,751, down 5.7% from a year earlier. That is 30% above the North Carolina median of $400,000.

Homes spent a median of 66 days on the market, faster than 72 days a year ago. That makes New Hanover County the #22 fastest-selling of 53 North Carolina counties we track.

Homeowners in New Hanover County pay a median of $2,105 a year in property taxes on a median home value of $387,800, an effective rate of about 0.54%. The North Carolina average is 0.66%, which makes New Hanover County the #21 lowest-tax of 100 counties in the state with published tax data.

Renters pay a median of $1,417 a month, and $1,400 for a two-bedroom. At today's prices a typical home costs about 31 times a year's rent, which generally favors renting over buying in the short term.

With 20% down and today's 7.24% average 30-year rate, the monthly payment on a $519,000 home here comes to about $3,279 including property tax and insurance. Lenders typically want that to be under 28% of income, which works out to roughly $141,000 a year (the median household here earns $75,166).