Most High End Intracoastal Waterway Front Homes Don't Sell--Why

ICW Homes Often Unrealistic in Wilmington NC

So number one, the buyers here are mostly here to buy a second home and that means they’re looking up to five years in advance for the home, okay? There’s not significant urgency there and we’re just competing with Charleston and Savannah or Florida or the mountains. So the type of person buying these multimillion dollar intracoastal waterway front or ICW front homes in Wilmington, they don’t have urgency usually. They’re just thinking out where they want to be. It’s their final resting place. Here are your deep water Wilmington homes. Unlike Northern Virginia where I do real estate too and did it for 15 years there, my last two sales before moving here were 1.7 and 1.1 million. And there, you have people buying all these 2 and $3 million houses and they had to buy it this month or next month because they have a new job. It’s a job market, not a retirement market. So huge difference. Therefore, overwhelmingly, folks coming down here do not have the same intensity to buy something soon. They’re thinking about buying one in the next few years. They take their time and look a long time. But seriously, you got here a closing for 2 million in Masonboro. You got another one here for 2.9 million. Okay. Oh, that looks cool. Then 2.1, 2.8. Very coastal looking house here. So in several years, the highest sale you have is 2.8 and 2.9 million. So if you’re listing your home for over 5 million, do you really think someone is going to pay $2 million more than any other house that has sold in years? I think you’re deluding yourself. Now, how do we find out what the value of these homes are? Well, let’s look at a couple of solds here, the high-end sold. We got this one here and that was in Landfall homes. I’d rather stick to ICW Front Masonboro homes. This one, 2.8 in Shinnwood. This closed for 2.82. So here’s the view from the house. Really amazing views, incredible swimming pool. Just big, big, big, big water views that you would expect, you know. Excuse the clicking on the screen, but I know it makes some noise. The backside of the house. Okay. Just wonderful. The details on it, I call it the dirty details, here we go, it’s 0.98 acres, okay? The house that my people were interested in was seven acres intracoastal front property. So, what do you do for the extra six acres? Well, something to keep in mind, six of the acres are not waterfront property, they’re interior property. Only the last acre is on the water itself in most cases because they’re sort of like shoe box parcels normally. In that way, many lots get to the water as possible. So, if you’re generous, you call it $200,000 a lot times 5 extra acres, there’s a million dollars. Well, so you would take this 2.8 and go up. Now, you’re at 3.8 million. Well, this house, sure, it’s pretty and everything, okay, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not a to-die-for stately authoritative house, okay, the kind that a certain level of ego demands. So, if you’re dealing with a brick colonial stately type of home, I know it’s ambiguous and vague but that can easily illicit another $500,000, that level of curb appeal and stateliness compared to a regular coastal home, okay? So, with all that, you have to consider – here, this view, it’s not all that exclusive, there’s a community boat slips here. So it’s not even the best waterfront property because you’re sharing the view. You have to look at other people’s boats. What’s up with that? So, even if you go up to 3.8 million for the extra land, if the other property is much more stately with a better view, then you’re, you know, up there like just over four million. So that’s still like much lower than five and a half or 5.25 million. Let me find a better example though here on the water front. This one, closed for 2.5. Okay. It’s a coastal looking home. Let’s see if I can erase this thing here. All right. Well that’s a nice kitchen, isn’t it? Wow. I’m ready to cook there. Here’s the water view of it. Again, looking at a boat slips. That one closed 2.5. How many acres is it? It’s just .36 acres. So it’s nothing. So if 2.5, you had a million for the extra land. Now, you’re at 3.5. You take a home that’s much more stately and exclusive and you add 500 to it and you’re at four million for the sort of the crème de la crème home that closed. Sample Wilmington real estate listings below that are ICW front.