Home listings across Brunswick County reveal buyers with a budget around $400,000 can get dramatically different amounts of living space depending on the community.
Data from the Brunswick County Association of Realtors and a review of current listings show inland communities generally offer more living space, while coastal communities come with premiums. Though house hunting can be challenging in a competitive market, the best bang for the buck depends on what you value most: square footage, amenities, acreage or beach access.
Brunswick County Association of Realtors CEO Cynthia Walsh said homes priced between $250,000 and $349,999 accounted for the largest share of Brunswick home sales so far this year. Walsh pulled data from Jan. 1-Sept. 30,
2026, using the Multiple Listing Service, commonly known as MLS.
Inland communities offer the most space
A 1,984-square-foot home in Shallotte was listed on Zillow at $339,000, or roughly $171 per square foot. Another Shallotte-area home offered 1,875 square feet for $325,000, or about $173 per square foot. However, the smaller home included a garage with a bonus room above, vaulted ceilings, a large screened porch and a fireplace.
Bolivia is another option that offers substantial living space for home buyers with a $400,000 limit. A Webfoot Drive NE home was listed on Zillow at $349,990 for 1,898 square feet, or about $184 per square foot. The property came with community amenities.
Southport and Leland offer a middle ground
For buyers seeking waterfront views without paying beachfront prices, two and three bedroom homes in Southport and Leland occupy a middle tier.
In Southport, a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home on Alamance Drive SE offered 2,006 square feet for $375,000, or about $187 per square foot, while a 1,610-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home off Frying Pan Road SE was listed for $369,000, or about $229 per square foot.
Leland's active listings fell between Southport and the county's inland markets. An active listing for a home off Woodriff Circle NE in Leland was priced at $350,000 for 1,615 square feet, or about $217 per square foot. The listing noted a custom brick-and-limestone fire pit, pergola, screened porch and more.
The largest home selling under $350,000 was a 3,306-square-foot home in Leland that sold for $323,900, Walsh said. Walsh was surprised to see a few homes inside the Brunswick Plantation community within the $400,000 price range this year that sold as well.
Beach access comes at a premium
Someone spending roughly $350,000 can approach 2,000 square feet of living space in Shallotte or Bolivia, but only about half as much on Oak Island. While buyers receive less house for the same price point, they gain access to beaches, marsh views and the island lifestyle.
On Oak Island, a home on Northwest 20th Street was listed on Movoto.com for $345,000 and offered 1,010 square feet, or about $342 per square foot. However, a 821-square-foot home on Northeast 58th Street was listed for $400,000 and included two screened porches, a hot tub, a dedicated fire pit area and two detached outbuildings.
Where homes under $400,000 are selling
Countywide, homes priced between $250,000 and $349,999 represented the largest share of sales this year, said Walsh. Of the 5,198 home sold between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2026, approximately 1,490 fell within that price range and 1,144 within budget were single-family homes.
Large concentrations of home sales so far this year are in Leland, Boiling Spring Lakes, Calabash and Carolina Shores, Walsh said. The hot market areas likely reflect the variety of housing options available in those communities, Walsh said
Some subdivisions offering new homes under $400,000 were Avalon and Bella Point in Bolivia, Bell Creek in Winnabow, Cedar Hill Landing in Navassa, Coastal Haven in Leland and Creekview Landing in Shallotte.
"It's totally possible to buy a new house in Brunswick County for under $400,000," Walsh said. "It's not going to be a beachfront property, but it's possible to be a homeowner."
Acreage remains hard to find
For buyers seeking land, options are more limited. Only a handful of homes sold under $400,000 this year were on more than one acre of land, Walsh said. Those properties were located in Bolivia, Supply, Longwood and Leland.
The largest property sold within the $400,000 price range was a 3.3-acre tract in Leland's Eastbrook subdivision that changed hands for $290,000, Walsh said. All other properties sold were under 3-acres in size.
Though there are some properties within the $400,000 budget, Walsh said there is not an abundance of them and that they sell fast when they become available. One standout sale was a Leland home on 1.6 acres with a swimming pool and two-car garage that sold for $330,000 after just 12 days on the market.
Prices have changed dramatically
Brunswick's year to date median sales price is $385,000 for a single-family home, up about 3% from $373,045 during the same time period last year, Walsh said. However, Walsh said the median excludes the 300 homes that sold for over $1,000,000 this year.
In 2016, the median sales price for a home by this time of year was $200,000. Though, Walsh said only 2,819 homes were sold between January-Sept. 2016, compared to more than 5,100 sales so far this year.
More than the purchase price
"It's not just the cost of the home," Walsh said.
Homeowners association dues, insurance costs, maintenance expenses and access to amenities can all affect the true cost of homeownership, Walsh explained. For example, insurance rates and premiums increase when you get closer to the beach and could cost additional hundreds of dollars each month, Walsh said.
Many builders offer specials and discounts as well, Walsh said.
For some buyers, the best value may be a larger home inland. For others, paying more for less space may be worthwhile if it means living within a golf-cart ride of the beach.
That tradeoff, Walsh said, ultimately defines much of Brunswick's housing market.
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Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: What does $400,000 buy in Brunswick? It depends where you're looking
