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New Hanover County, North Carolina Court Filings Intelligence

Live court-record analysis of property-related filings (foreclosure, probate, divorce, partition, guardianship). Data sourced direct from New Hanover County court dockets. Updated 2026-08-03. See methodology.

Investor takeaway

About New Hanover County

New Hanover County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. The county seat is Wilmington. Though the second-smallest county in North Carolina by land area, it is one of the most populous counties, as Wilmington is one of the largest communities in the state. The county was created in 1729 as New Hanover Precinct and gained county status in 1739. New Hanover County is included in the Wilmington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes neighboring Pender and Brunswick counties.

Source: Wikipedia

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At a glance

3981 property-related court filings tracked across 24 months (Nov 2022 to Jul 2026).

157 typical monthly filing volume.

0% of filings involve owners whose mailing address differs from the property address (1 of 3981 filings).

$404,200 median estimated property value across the 914 filings with property-enrichment data (23% coverage).

3.5% North Carolina unemployment rate (BLS, as of 2026-05). Filings should be read against the local-economy backdrop.

Filing type breakdown

Filing typeFilingsShare
Other 2992 75.2%
Divorce 745 18.7%
Probate 178 4.5%
Pre-Foreclosure 51 1.3%
Guardianship 10 0.3%
Tax Sale 3 0.1%
Real Estate Dispute 2 0.1%

Each row is a distinct case as recorded on the county docket.

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Monthly filing activity

MonthFilingsvs prior
Nov 2022 6
Dec 2022 4 -2
Jan 2023 8 +4
Feb 2023 7 -1
Mar 2023 5 -2
Apr 2023 1 -4
Jun 2023 10 +9
Jul 2023 25 +15
Aug 2023 13 -12
Sep 2023 19 +6
Feb 2024 1 -18
Jul 2025 158 +157
Aug 2025 342 +184
Sep 2025 306 -36
Oct 2025 342 +36
Nov 2025 208 -134
Dec 2025 288 +80
Jan 2026 395 +107
Feb 2026 289 -106
Mar 2026 303 +14
Apr 2026 292 -11
May 2026 305 +13
Jun 2026 287 -18
Jul 2026 364 +77

Each row reflects new filings entering the dataset that month, after ownership verification. Most recent month may be partial.

Geographic concentration by ZIP

Top 5 ZIPs in New Hanover County account for 0.2% of all tracked filings, showing where distressed real estate activity clusters.

ZIPCityFilingsShare
28428 Carolina Beach 2 0.1%
28409 Wilmington 2 0.1%
28411 Wilmington 1 0.0%
28412 Wilmington 1 0.0%
28405 1 0.0%

Based on filings with a parseable property address (0% of New Hanover County filings).

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Property value distribution

Estimated valueFilingsShare
Under $75k 7 0.8%
$75k - $150k 15 1.6%
$150k - $250k 50 5.5%
$250k - $400k 379 41.5%
$400k+ 463 50.7%

Source: third-party property enrichment (23% coverage on New Hanover County filings). Median $404,200; mean $485,761.

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Day-of-week filing pattern

DayFilingsShare
Sun 560 14.1%
Mon 778 19.6%
Tue 705 17.7%
Wed 660 16.6%
Thu 976 24.5%
Fri 292 7.3%
Sat 7 0.2%

Filings show some weekend activity, suggesting after-hours electronic filing. Computed for 3978 filings with a parseable date.

Housing stock + distress signals

Underlying housing stock and distress indicators across all 117236 New Hanover County housing units, from US Census ACS 5-year data. National reference values shown for context.

Indicator New Hanover County US average
Vacancy rate (incl. seasonal + for-sale)12.7%10.5%
Share of owner-occupied units carrying a mortgage66.7%60.8%
Pre-1940 housing stock5.5%12.3%
Single-family detached share of housing stock61.0%61.2%
Residents age 65 or older18.7%17.3%

Source: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS 2023 5-year). National reference values are ACS 2022 5-year US totals. Why these matter: vacancy rate is the strongest single proxy for distressed inventory; mortgage-carrying share defines the risk pool exposed to rate environment; pre-1940 stock signals deferred maintenance and renovation opportunity; senior population correlates with probate pipeline depth.

Rent benchmark (HUD Fair Market Rent)

HUD sets Fair Market Rents at the metro area level — the same FMRs apply to every county within the metro. New Hanover County sits within the Wilmington, NC. Used to set Section 8 voucher amounts; investors use it as a defensible rent-estimate floor for buy-to-rent underwriting.

Unit size Fair market rent / month
Efficiency / studio$1,144
1-bedroom$1,513
2-bedroom$1,659
3-bedroom$2,178
4-bedroom$2,319

Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents (None). 40th-percentile gross rent including utilities. Why this matters: Section-8-eligible tenants are a baseline demand floor for rental inventory at these price points; FMR is the official ceiling for voucher-eligible rents.

New construction (market momentum)

Annual building permits filed in New Hanover County from the US Census Building Permits Survey. Trend signal on whether new housing demand is accelerating or contracting in this market.

Indicator Value
Total housing units permitted (2025)2,332
Year-over-year change (2024 → 2025)-9.6%
Single-family share of permits (2025)51.8%
Single-family units permitted1,208
Multifamily units permitted (2+ units per building)1,124

Source: US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, annual cumulative data. Why this matters: permits trending up signals strong demand for new inventory; permits contracting at the same time foreclosure activity rises indicates broader market softening (deals price differently). Multifamily share shows whether the market is densifying or holding to single-family stock.

Macro context: state home prices and national delinquency

New Hanover County filings should be read against the broader housing-market backdrop. North Carolina state home-price trend and the national mortgage-delinquency rate are the two macro signals most directly relevant to foreclosure exposure.

IndicatorValuePeriod
North Carolina home price index (year-over-year)+2.4%2026-01-01
North Carolina home price index (cumulative since 2020)+72.0%2026-01-01
National mortgage delinquency rate (30+ day, single-family)1.89%2026-01-01

Sources: Federal Housing Finance Agency state house price indices (FRED series NCSTHPI); Federal Reserve Board, Mortgage Delinquency 30+Day Rate on Single-Family Residential Mortgages (FRED series DRSFRMACBS). Updated quarterly. Free public data.

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Filing velocity by case type

How each distress category is trending — are foreclosures accelerating while divorces cool, or vice versa? This breakdown is only possible with direct court-record data.

Case type Total Share Trend
Lien 2732 68.6% +15.9%
Divorce 745 18.7% -17.2%
Probate 178 4.5% +221.4%
Eviction 164 4.1% -38.5%
Contract 69 1.7% +123.1%
Pre-Foreclosure 49 1.2% -30.0%
Other 16 0.4% +0.0%
Guardianship 10 0.3% --
Child Support 6 0.2% --

Trend = recent 2-3 month volume vs prior 2-3 months (current partial month excluded). Positive = accelerating; negative = cooling.

Seasonal filing patterns

Court filings peak in Oct and are lowest in Feb. The 3.5x peak-to-trough ratio suggests strong seasonal patterns — investors who time their outreach around Oct can reach more distressed homeowners.

Month Avg filings Relative
Jan 201.5
59%
Feb 99
29%
Mar 154
45%
Apr 146.5
43%
May 305
89%
Jun 148.5
43%
Jul 182.3
53%
Aug 177.5
52%
Sep 162.5
48%
Oct 342
100%
Nov 107
31%
Dec 146
43%

Average filings per calendar month across all observed years. Relative column shows each month as a percentage of the peak month (Oct), with a 3.5x peak-to-trough ratio.

ZIP code distress hotspots

Distress is geographically dispersed across 5 ZIP codes, with no single area dominating.

ZIP Area Filings Share Median value
28428 Carolina Beach 2 0.1% --
28409 Wilmington 2 0.1% $341,100
28411 Wilmington 1 0.0% $299,000
28412 Wilmington 1 0.0% $299,100
28405 1 0.0% $239,800

Top 5 of 5 ZIP codes with filings.

Non-resident owner analysis

Most filings (100%) involve owner-occupied properties. The relatively low absentee rate suggests distress is primarily hitting homeowners, not institutional investors.

0.0%
Non-resident owners
Case type Total filings Non-resident %
Lien 2732 0.0%
Divorce 745 0.0%
Probate 178 0.0%
Eviction 164 0.0%
Contract 69 0.0%
Pre-Foreclosure 51 0.0%
Other 16 0.0%
Guardianship 10 0.0%
Child Support 6 0.0%

Non-resident = owner's mailing address differs from the property address. Could indicate out-of-state landlords, inherited estates, second homes, or in-transition properties.

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Distress composition and shifts

Lien share is rising. Probate share is declining. Low diversity — distress is dominated by one or two case types, suggesting a concentrated driver.

Case type Recent share Earlier share Shift
Lien 76.0% 67.2% +8.8pp (rising)
Divorce 18.4% 18.8% -0.4pp
Contract 3.4% 1.4% +2.0pp
Pre-Foreclosure 0.8% 1.3% -0.5pp
Eviction 0.8% 4.8% -4.0pp
Other 0.6% 0.4% +0.2pp
Tax Sale 0.0% 0.1% -0.1pp
Real Estate Dispute 0.0% 0.1% -0.1pp
Negligence 0.0% 0.0% +0.0pp
Probate 0.0% 5.4% -5.4pp (falling)
Personal Property 0.0% 0.1% -0.1pp
Child Support 0.0% 0.2% -0.2pp
Guardianship 0.0% 0.3% -0.3pp

Distress diversity score: 1.07 (Shannon entropy; higher = more diverse distress sources). "Recent" = last 2 complete months; "Earlier" = all prior months.

Court Docket Activity

Across 97 tracked cases, the average case has 10 docket entries (median 8). 46.4% of cases are in the "mid-process (6-15 events)" stage. Probate cases are the most court-active at 10.5 events on average. Higher docket activity signals that courts are actively processing the case, which can indicate timeline urgency for investor outreach.

10.1
Avg. docket entries per case
8
Median entries per case
27
Most active case
Activity level Cases Share
Early stage (1-5 events) 32 33.0%
Mid-process (6-15 events) 45 46.4%
Advanced (16+ events) 20 20.6%
Docket activity by case type
Case type Avg. events Cases tracked
Probate 10.5 87
Guardianship 6.3 10

Based on 97 cases with docket event tracking from New Hanover County court records. Docket entries include filings, hearings, orders, and motions.

Property Value Profile

The median assessed value of properties in court filings is $404,300. Pre-Foreclosure filings involve the highest-value properties (median $454,000), while Other filings trend lower (median $280,900). The largest segment (59.7%) falls in the $250K - $500K range.

$404,300
Median assessed value
$491,779
Average assessed value
915
Properties with values
Value range Properties Share
Under $100K 16 1.7%
$100K - $250K 56 6.1%
$250K - $500K 546 59.7%
$500K - $1M 256 28.0%
Over $1M 41 4.5%
Value breakdown by case type
Case type Median value Avg value Properties
Lien $391,500 $480,847 672
Divorce $453,500 $533,265 154
Probate $409,700 $588,750 32
Contract $445,600 $440,823 22
Pre-Foreclosure $454,000 $473,305 19
Eviction $356,000 $442,460 5
Other $280,900 $296,260 5

Based on county assessor records for 915 properties with court filings (23.0% of total filings). Values are tax-assessed amounts, not market listing prices.

Distress Capital Analysis

$449,977,500 in assessed property value is currently tied up in 915 court-filed properties. Lien filings represent the largest capital pool ($323,129,000 across 672 properties).

$450M
Total Value at Risk
915
Properties Valued
$404,300
Median Value

Capital at Risk by Filing Type

Filing Type Total Value Properties Avg Value High Equity %
Lien
$323,129,000
672 $480,847 --
Divorce
$82,122,800
154 $533,265 --
Probate
$18,840,000
32 $588,750 --
Contract
$9,698,100
22 $440,823 --
Pre-Foreclosure
$8,992,800
19 $473,305 --
Eviction
$2,212,300
5 $442,460 --
Other
$1,481,300
5 $296,260 --

Based on 915 properties with assessor valuations (23.0% of 3981 total filings). Values are county assessor estimates. Equity calculated from estimated value vs outstanding mortgage balance where available.

Market Absorption & Turnover Analysis

3,976 court filings tracked with 0 resolved (0.0% absorption rate). The court system is accumulating cases faster than they resolve, creating a growing backlog of 3,976 active cases.

0.0%
Absorption Rate
3,976
Active Case Backlog
Month New Filings Resolved Net Inflow Absorption
Nov 2022 6 0 +6
0.0%
Dec 2022 4 0 +4
0.0%
Jan 2023 8 0 +8
0.0%
Feb 2023 7 0 +7
0.0%
Mar 2023 5 0 +5
0.0%
Apr 2023 1 0 +1
0.0%
Jun 2023 10 0 +10
0.0%
Jul 2023 24 0 +24
0.0%
Aug 2023 13 0 +13
0.0%
Sep 2023 18 0 +18
0.0%
Feb 2024 1 0 +1
0.0%
Jul 2025 158 0 +158
0.0%
Aug 2025 342 0 +342
0.0%
Sep 2025 306 0 +306
0.0%
Oct 2025 342 0 +342
0.0%
Nov 2025 208 0 +208
0.0%
Dec 2025 288 0 +288
0.0%
Jan 2026 395 0 +395
0.0%
Feb 2026 289 0 +289
0.0%
Mar 2026 303 0 +303
0.0%
Apr 2026 292 0 +292
0.0%
May 2026 305 0 +305
0.0%
Jun 2026 287 0 +287
0.0%
Jul 2026 364 0 +364
0.0%

Resolution by Case Type

Case Type Filed Resolved Absorption Avg Days
Lien 2695 0 0.0% n/a
Divorce 739 0 0.0% n/a
Probate 176 0 0.0% n/a
Eviction 163 0 0.0% n/a
Contract 69 0 0.0% n/a
Other 60 0 0.0% n/a
Pre-Foreclosure 49 0 0.0% n/a
Guardianship 10 0 0.0% n/a
Child Support 6 0 0.0% n/a

Absorption rate measures the percentage of filed cases that have reached a terminal resolution (judgment, dismissal, settlement, or sale). A low absorption rate indicates a growing backlog of active cases in the court system. Resolution timing based on 0 resolved cases out of 3976 total filings.

Case Aging & Stall Analysis

275 cases (6.9%) have been active for over a year without resolution. 332 filings in the last <30 days represent fresh opportunities.

275
Cases stalled 1yr+
6.9%
of all filings
3,976
Total tracked
Age Total Resolved Still active Resolution rate
<30 days 332 0 332 0.0%
30-90 days 585 0 585 0.0%
3-6 months 873 0 873 0.0%
6-12 months 1,911 0 1,911 0.0%
1-2 years 178 0 178 0.0%
2+ years 97 0 97 0.0%
Resolution speed by case type
Case type Total Resolved Rate Median days
Lien 2,695 0 0.0%
Divorce 739 0 0.0%
Probate 176 0 0.0%
Eviction 163 0 0.0%
Contract 69 0 0.0%
Pre-Foreclosure 49 0 0.0%
Other 14 0 0.0%
Guardianship 10 0 0.0%

Case aging computed from filing date to present for unresolved cases. Resolution classified from court docket entries (judgments, settlements, dismissals, sheriff sales). Cases with a resolution event are removed from the stall count.

Municipality filing concentration in New Hanover County

Court filings in New Hanover County span 5 municipalities. Wilmington leads with 71 filings (84.5% of total), predominantly Probate (83.1%). Filing activity is geographically concentrated — the top 3 municipalities account for 98% of all filings.

5
Municipalities
97.6%
Top 3 share
Concentrated
Geographic spread
Municipality Filings Share Top case type
Wilmington 71 84.5% Probate (83.1%)
Carolina Beach 7 8.3% Probate (85.7%)
Castle Hayne 4 4.8% Probate (100.0%)
Taylors 1 1.2% Probate (100.0%)
Raleigh 1 1.2% Probate (100.0%)

Top 5 of 5 municipalities with court filings. Data from 84 filings (2% of total). Municipality names from county assessor records.

Property Value Distribution

The median property value in distressed filings is $406,800, with the largest concentration (48.6%) in the $300K–$500K range. Pre-Foreclosure filings have the highest median value ($454,000) while Lien filings are lowest ($391,650).

$406,800
Median value
$492,883
Average value
891
Properties valued
Price range Count Share Distribution
Under $50K 1 0.1%
$50K–$100K 15 1.7%
$100K–$150K 6 0.7%
$150K–$200K 13 1.5%
$200K–$300K 131 14.7%
$300K–$500K 433 48.6%
$500K+ 292 32.8%
Value by case type
Case type Median value Average value Properties
Lien $391,650 $483,342 656
Divorce $453,500 $533,047 149
Probate $409,700 $578,506 29
Contract $436,900 $440,822 22
Pre-Foreclosure $454,000 $473,305 19

Assessed property values from county assessor records for 891 properties (22.4% of total filings). Values reflect tax-assessed amounts, not market price.

Repeat litigation patterns in New Hanover County

Of 3,595 unique property owners in court filings, 227 (6.3%) appear in multiple cases, including 52 with 3 or more filings. The most active repeat filer has 38 cases spanning 7 months. Pre-Foreclosure cases have the highest repeat rate at 16.7%.

3,595
Unique owners
227
Repeat filers (2+ cases)
6.3%
Repeat rate
52
Serial filers (3+ cases)

Repeat rate by case type

Case type Repeat owners Total owners Repeat rate
Lien 214 2357 9.1%
Divorce 13 730 1.8%
Contract 8 69 11.6%
Other 5 59 8.5%
Pre-Foreclosure 6 36 16.7%

Analysis based on 3,595 unique owner names across court filings. Repeat filers are property owners appearing in 2 or more distinct cases.

Serial distressed properties in New Hanover County

Of 641 unique properties in court filings, 88 (13.7%) have multiple filings (averaging 2.4 filings per property). Average time between repeat filings: 3 months. Contract properties have the highest repeat rate at 33.3%.

641
Unique properties
88
Repeat-filing properties
13.7%
Serial distress rate
3 mo
Avg time between filings

Serial distress rate by case type

Case type Serial properties Total properties Serial rate
Lien 79 455 17.4%
Divorce 9 123 7.3%
Contract 6 18 33.3%
Pre-Foreclosure 4 14 28.6%

Analysis based on 641 unique property addresses across court filings. Serial distressed properties have 2 or more distinct case filings at the same address.

Methodology and data sources

Related North Carolina guides

North Carolina foreclosure process How to find leads in North Carolina Top foreclosure counties in North Carolina North Carolina statewide analysis

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Cite: Keystone Court Data, "New Hanover County North Carolina Court Filings Intelligence," 2026-08-03, https://keystonecourtdata.com/reports/new-hanover-nc-court-filings-intelligence · Download data (CSV)