Yes, if you want a working beach town rather than a resort. The year-round costs are the tax rate, a flood policy, and inventory that is mostly condos.

There is no single best neighborhood in Wilmington. Here is what each area costs, by buyer type, with a named source and date beside every number.

Active asking prices in Porters Neck ran $475,000 to $3,995,000 on October 16, 2026, with a median near $717,000. Here is what sits at each end.

Flood runs $1,380 a year in Zone A or AE inside the town and $743 outside it. HOA dues are not published here, so get them in writing during due diligence.

For retirees who want golf, a marina and a beach club inside one gate, yes. The catches are an hour to the airport and a flood map that splits the community.

Forest Hills trades too rarely for a reliable median: two active listings on September 30, 2026, at $559,000 and $910,000. The tract median is $522,200.

Shallotte is a 4,639-person working town that does the shopping for the west-end beaches. You trade ocean views and the Wilmington commute for short errands.

Budget 0.925% of assessed value in tax, coastal insurance that rose twice since 2025, and county water. Hampstead has no town tax at all.

Sunset Beach gets you the ocean, a higher tax rate and beach insurance. Calabash buys more house ten minutes inland, in the same school zones.

Carolina Beach for rental income and walkability, Kure Beach for quiet. Kure Beach is the higher-tax town of the two, not the cheaper one.