A study says Wilmington is first among midsize metros in building homes
Cheryl M. Whitaker
Despite rising home values and mortgage rates, as well as a lack of supplies, the Wilmington area saw a boost in new home construction.
Construction Coverage, a website that provides construction software and insurance reviews, conducted an analysis on the housing market.
Construction Coverage found that last year, the Wilmington metro area authorized 42.5 new housing units per 1,000 existing homes, marking the most of any midsize United States metro.
The report noted 10,628 homes were built in the area in 2023 with a median home price of $430,799. That's nearly a 10 percent uptick from 2021 with 9,667 built, according to the report.
Metro areas were grouped into the following units based on population size ― small (less than 350,000), midsize (350,000–999,999) and large metros (1,000,000 or more).
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Three Florida midsize metros made the top five in Lakeland-Winter Haven, North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota and Cape Coral-Fort Myers. Boise City, Idaho, was also in the top five.
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, ranked sixth, with the median home price at $338,481.
To determine the locations building the most homes, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s "2023 Buidling Permit Survey," U.S. Census Bureau’s "2022 Population and Housing Unit Estimates" and Zillow's "Zillow Home Value Index" (ZHVI).