Beaches, Affordable Housing Beckon Buyers to Onslow County
affordable housing, beaches, culture, home buyers, real estate, west fairway,
Anne Wooley doesn’t need to do a lot of explaining when friends ask why her family’s settling down in Onslow County.
“We’re near the ocean‚” she says. “Once you say that‚ they understand.”
“Newcomer” is a natural state for Wooley and her husband‚ Kevin‚ who is in the military. The couple and their two children‚ ages 14 and 9‚ have lived all over‚ from California and Washington to Virginia and Georgia – even previously in Onslow County‚ from 1994 to 1997.
“Now that we’ve been around a bit‚ there are a lot of things we like that we haven’t seen at other places‚” Wooley says.
The local housing market is one of those enticements.
“It’s incredibly reasonable‚” she says. “It’s very neighborly. You have a lot of nice neighborhoods and still get this sense of community. It’s still scenic and natural for being a coastal area.”
In fact‚ the Wooleys now are looking for property closer to the water where they can live out their retirement‚ just a few years off. It’s in that setting that they envision taking every advantage of the natural ocean setting.
“Even if all you want to do is walk on the beach and watch the sunset‚ you can‚” Wooley says. “You don’t have the distractions of nightlife and casinos.”
Not only does the local housing market welcome new residents and existing ones like the Wooleys with an average home price of about $110‚000‚ it also beckons them with a broad and varied housing selection and property values appreciating at 3% a year on average‚ says Sheila Pierce‚ a local real estate broker.
“There’s a little bit of everything‚” says Pierce‚ owner of HomeTeam GMAC Real Estate and Commercial Brokers Unlimited. “We have large tract communities out in the county‚ as well as much smaller communities.”
The dip in mortgage interest rates has spurred a surge in new home construction‚ Pierce says. It’s a trend that will continue “probably as long as the economy is good‚” she says.
When Pierce shows prospects around‚ they pick up on the area’s mild climate‚ good schools‚ low crime rate and the family-oriented‚ patriotic feel.
“Not only do we have a housing market‚ but we have a community‚” says Pierce‚ a 25-year resident.
The Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base influences the area’s higher-than-average turnover in housing stock‚ averaging around 5 to 7 years‚ Pierce says. But it also attracts a blend of people from all over the world and from all types of cultures.
“I think it gives us a wonderful window to the world‚” Pierce says.
While the area attracts families with school-age children‚ it also is considered a great place to swing a golf club in retirement years.
These buyers typically are people who have “raised families and cut grass and they don’t want a big yard to maintain‚” says John Russell‚ general manager of the North Shore Golf and Ocean Club‚ an 850-acre golf and real estate development in Sneads Ferry.
Some even might be considered boomerang residents.
“A lot of people stationed at Camp Lejeune may have moved away for years‚ but they never forgot the area and the beaches‚” Russell says.
North Shore opened its golf course in 1988. The 18-hole year-round course is rated with four stars by Golf Digest and is often the initial draw to retirees‚ Russell says.
“We also have a very nice housing community here with a variety of different housing products‚” he says. “We have basically everything from your larger single-family residences to some higher density homes‚ which are really popular with retirees because there’s less yard maintenance.”
The last couple of years have seen a resurgence of interest in the area by retirees‚ Russell says. People who live at North Shore also have private beach access‚ which is a big perk.
“They’re very near a relatively unspoiled island‚ as well as being able to play a championship golf course‚” he says.
“It really makes for a perfect fit.”
Story by Stacey Hartmann
Photo by Theresa Montgomery
