Brunswick County Real Estate - About the Beaches

Brunswick County has been around since 1764, named for a colonial port called Brunswick Town, and owned by the British. It encompasses over a thousand square miles, of which 200 is water. Although not in South Carolina, Brunswick is considered a part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan statistical area by the US Census Bureau - an action that Wilmington, North Carolina hotly contested yet lost. The County Seat is Leland, NC, which is just a few miles from Wilmington. All of Brunswick County is much more residential than the Myrtle Beach area, although several of the beach cities provide a good tourism industry as well.

Calabash NC is our most southern city, and home to the famous Calabash-style seafood. Its waterfront is the Intracoastal Waterway, offering boat access, several dry-dock storage facilities, and fresh seafood right out of the ocean available for sale on the docks daily. Several beautiful golf courses are nearby, and the real estate in Calabash is very reasonable. It is also right on the state line, and very close to several of the best golf courses in the Grand Strand. Calabash residents enjoy living in a small North Carolina town with all of Myrtle Beach just a few miles up the highway.

Sunset Beach is next heading north up the coast. Mostly residential with a pier and one of the most beautiful coastlines in the state, Sunset Beach is not well known, but visitors fall in love with its uncrowded white beach. Ocean Isle Beach comes next, with another popular beach, pier, and host of vacation condos for rental income. Both have piers and old fashioned arcades that appeal to those who like the small beach town feel.

Shallotte, NC is an inland city between Ocean Isle and Holden Beach, and is quickly becoming the hub in Brunswick County for shopping, restaurants, medical offices, and everything in between. The Shallotte River separates the two, and offers waterfront property for this rapidly growing city.

Holden Beach is perhaps the most popular as well as the largest coastline. Homes on Holden can be along the Intracoastal Waterway, or the actual island beach that is accessed by bridge. Those who have grown up taking family vacations to Holden Beach, and those who have discovered it as adults are often fiercely loyal to it, preferring it over the more touristy Myrtle Beach or Carolina Beach. 

Its neighboring Oak Island is actually larger, but has much less waterfront area. Oak Island has the many elegant golf course communities such as River Sea, St James, and Winding Oaks Plantations. It was given its name in the late 1990's when Yaupon and Long Beach were combined. Golfers and boat enthusiasts will love its residential non-tourist appeal. Much of the area between Holden and Oak Island is actually considered part of the inland towns of Supply, North Carolina, and Bolivia, North Carolina, although most consider themselves residents of one or the other of the beach towns.

Southport is a historic fishing village where many recent television shows such as "Under the Dome" and several big-name movies have been filmed. A very scenic, beautiful town, it is also home to the Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry and the Bald Head Island Ferry. Visitors can drive their cars right onto the large barge and enjoy a scenic cruise and shortcut to Kure and Carolina Beach for pennies. Bald Head Island is a nature conservatory with no cars allowed - and a paradise for shell collectors and bird lovers. Southport is growing in popularity and new construction daily.

Brunswick County offers so much variety of lifestyle and laid-back luxury living. Let me take you on a tour of the area and help you choose where you'd like to live. If you already have a favorite location chosen, I can show you the best homes for sale and guide you to an enjoyable, trouble free real estate experience!