Contractor Records
Home › Wilmington, NC › New Home cost

Cost to Build a House in Wilmington, NC: what the permits say

How much does it cost to build a house in Wilmington, NC? The usual new home job filed with Wilmington, NC is $258,519, from 1,713 priced permits (October 2023 through September 2026); the middle half of firms file between $165,435 and $367,927. A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit, not a quote or the final bill.

$258,519usual filed value
$165,435–$367,927middle half of firms' usual jobs
1,713priced permits (100% of 1,717)
222firms on file
244days, permit issue to final
Sep 2026records through

How much does it cost to build a house in Wilmington, NC?

The usual new home job filed with Wilmington, NC is $258,519, from 1,713 priced permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The middle half of firms usually file between $165,435 and $367,927. Half of jobs were filed for less, half for more. A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit, not a quote or the final bill. A new home permit here usually takes 244 days from issue to final inspection. How long permits take →

What the spread looks like

Approximately, from each firm's own spread: every firm's range of filed values, weighted by its 1,713 priced permits across 222 firms, pooled into one. Half of Wilmington, NC new home permits were filed between $168,000 and $363,000.

PercentileFiled valueReads as
10th$130,0001 in 10 permits filed below
25th$168,0001 in 4 filed below
50th$258,000the middle permit
75th$363,0001 in 4 filed above
90th$456,0001 in 10 filed above

By home value

Firms split into thirds by the usual value of the homes they work on, with each third's usual filed value weighted by permits. Home values: New Hanover County tax-year 2026 appraised values.

Firms working onUsual home valueUsual filed valueFirmsPermits
Lower thirdunder $319,600$183,68773209
Middle third$319,600–$567,350$299,65774776
Upper third$570,000 and up$233,26374720

Busiest firms and what they usually charge

Top 10 by permits in the last 12 months. Usual is each firm's middle filed value; middle half is the range its middle half of jobs were filed in. Busy is not the same as careful: pick what you value to build a list.

FirmPermitsLast 12 moUsualMiddle halfFinished
Pulte Home Company LLC27198$299,657$253,336–$353,700100.0%
New Leaf Builders of NC LLC11134$215,065$196,536–$313,278100.0%
Trusst Builder Group LLC8932$366,714$347,413–$437,410100.0%
Bill Clark Homes of Wilmington LLC5527$367,927$333,020–$402,889100.0%
Robuck Homes Triangle LLC9121$384,195$348,406–$424,53396.0%
Hardison Homes LLC1818$310,135$306,716–$325,796—
Eastern ADU LLC1914$88,342$68,931–$103,8935 of 5
Lewis Coastal Homes and Renovations LLC1714$172,934$164,993–$335,061—
Charter Building Group Inc3811$438,513$373,607–$482,38096.5%
Johnson Custom Builders LLC2610$196,095$146,244–$216,27899.8%

Why filed values run low or high

  • On most building permits the County's recorded value is its own fee-table valuation (heated square feet times a fixed rate), not a declared price, so a typical cost is shown only for new homes, electrical, plumbing, solar and EV charger permits, and no trade shows a price comparison.
  • The 10 busiest firms usually file $299,657; the 194 firms with fewer than 10 permits usually file $209,881.
  • Firms working on the most expensive third of homes (usual home value $570,000 and up) usually file $233,263, against $183,687 for the least expensive third.
  • One permit type covers small and large jobs: 1 in 10 new home permits is filed under $130,000 and 1 in 10 over $456,000, 3 times as much.

Is your quote normal? Compare it with 1,713 filed values

Line your quote up against the file. In Wilmington, NC, 1 in 10 new home filed values sit under $130,000, the middle half between $168,000 and $363,000, and 1 in 10 over $456,000.

  • $592,000Above $456,000: higher than 9 in 10 filed values for this work in Wilmington, NC.
  • $258,519Right at the usual $258,519: in the middle of the file.
  • $91,300Below $130,000: lower than 9 in 10. Ask what the quote leaves out.

When to schedule new home construction in Wilmington, NC

Wilmington, NC files the fewest new home permits in June (71 against an average month of 100) and the most in October (175). If you can choose, ask for quotes in a quiet month. We have no prices by month, so this is about crews' schedules, not a discount. When each trade is busiest in Wilmington, NC →

How these numbers are made

Source: New Hanover County Building Safety permits on homes inside the City of Wilmington (the County issues the City's building permits). The window is October 2023 through September 2026; a permit filed after that isn't here yet.

Usual is the middle permit: half were filed for less, half for more. Only permits with a filed value count; a value of $0 or none is left out.

The spread is approximate: we keep seven points of each firm's own range of filed values, not every permit, and pool them.

Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. How the records work in Wilmington, NC →

Common questions

  • How many quotes should I get for a new home job in Wilmington, NC?At least three. In the permit record the middle half of Wilmington, NC new home firms usually file between $165,435 and $367,927 a job, so two ordinary firms can sit 2.2 times apart and both be normal for Wilmington, NC. A third quote shows which one is the outlier. Filed values are what contractors wrote on permits, not quotes, so use them to judge the spread, not to price your own job.
  • What range is normal for new home jobs in Wilmington, NC?Half of permits were filed between $168,000 and $363,000; 8 in 10 between $130,000 and $456,000. These are approximate, pooled from each firm's own spread.
  • How much do home builders charge in Wilmington, NC?The usual new home job is filed at $258,519; the middle half of firms usually file between $165,435 and $367,927. The 10 firms with the most permits in the last 12 months usually file $299,657, more than the usual. See every firm's usual job →
  • Why do prices I see online differ from $258,519?$258,519 is the construction value contractors wrote on Wilmington, NC permits. Online figures are usually all-in ranges whose scope you can't check (design, fees, site work), and our file mixes small and large jobs of this type in one number. Use the spread above to see where a quote sits.
  • Do bigger houses get bigger bills?In the file, yes for the firms: those working on the upper third of homes by value usually file $233,263, the lower third $183,687. That is firms, not single jobs.
  • Where does this data come from?New Hanover County Building Safety permits on homes inside the City of Wilmington (the County issues the City's building permits), read October 2026. How the records work in Wilmington, NC →

New Home cost in other cities: Nashville Orlando Chicago Raleigh Cincinnati Cleveland Pittsburgh Miami Minneapolis Denver San Diego Colorado Springs Honolulu Boulder Greensboro Saint Paul Arlington, VA Scottsdale Cambridge Somerville Cary Mesa Naperville Bellevue Cape Coral Provo Palo Alto Bellingham Bend Ames Denton Medford Elk Grove Bismarck Columbus, OH Sacramento County (unincorporated)