Rising tide: real-estate sales are up along the coast.

• Position: SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION: REGIONAL FOCUS - Advertisement

Though the calendar says it's winter along the Carolina coast, the housing market is still hot. And it shows no signs of cooling off. From the Outer Banks to Wilmington and on down to Myrtle Beach, S.C., existing homes are being sold and new homes are being built in record numbers.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Take the boom under way in Brunswick County, nestled on the North Carolina coast between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. Home to 45 miles of sandy beaches, the historic port towns of Calabash and Southport, Bald Head Island, Oak Island and more than 35 golf courses, it's no wonder that Brunswick had the largest increase--46%--in existing home sales in North Carolina in 2003. The county also topped the category in 2002, with a 58% jump, according to the North Carolina Association of Realtors. Brunswick also led the state in 2003 with a 17% increase in its average home price.

Real-estate agent Richard D'Anjolell runs Oak Island-based Richard D'Anjolell Group, part of Century 21 Dorothy Essey & Associates Inc. "Oak Island has traditionally been Brunswick County's most affordable beach community," he says. "In the last three years, land value on the island has doubled each year."

The growth isn't just in Brunswick County. In 2002 and 2003, the real-estate association reported strong increases in home sales for coastal communities. One reason for the growth is that retirees have discovered the region. But other factors are at play. "One thing driving the coastal boom is that the second-home market has developed more into an investment market," says Richard Hess, vice president and general sales manager of Kill Devil Hills-based Sun Realty, which has seven offices on the Outer Banks. "Price appreciation on homes has been so strong that people are choosing to invest in real estate instead of putting all their money in the stock market."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Data from the National Association of Realtors supports Hess' theory. The Chicago-based organization conducted a benchmark survey in 2002 that showed 37% of second-home owners use the properties for investment income, up from 20% in 1999.

Due to the growing interest, the residential market in the Outer Banks now encompasses more than the traditional hot spots, Hess says. "People used to just want to be in, say, Duck, for their second home. But now with the investment properties, people are less focused on location and are open-minded to different...