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Onslow County, North Carolina Court Filings Intelligence

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

Investor takeaway

About Onslow County

Onslow County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 204,576. Its county seat is Jacksonville. The county was created in 1734 as Onslow Precinct and gained county status in 1739. Onslow County comprises the Jacksonville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. The southern border of the county is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

Source: Wikipedia

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At a glance

2779 property-related court filings tracked across 20 months (Aug 2020 to Jul 2026).

135 typical monthly filing volume.

0% of filings involve owners whose mailing address differs from the property address (1 of 2779 filings).

$280,961 median estimated property value across the 834 filings with property-enrichment data (30% 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 2380 85.6%
Divorce 282 10.1%
Pre-Foreclosure 87 3.1%
Probate 18 0.6%
Tax Sale 12 0.4%

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

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Monthly filing activity

MonthFilingsvs prior
Aug 2020 3
Sep 2020 3 0
Oct 2020 9 +6
Nov 2020 7 -2
Sep 2022 5 -2
Oct 2022 3 -2
Nov 2022 5 +2
Jul 2025 76 +71
Aug 2025 206 +130
Sep 2025 309 +103
Oct 2025 191 -118
Nov 2025 176 -15
Dec 2025 202 +26
Jan 2026 266 +64
Feb 2026 245 -21
Mar 2026 214 -31
Apr 2026 179 -35
May 2026 202 +23
Jun 2026 273 +71
Jul 2026 201 -72

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 Onslow County account for 0.4% of all tracked filings, showing where distressed real estate activity clusters.

ZIPCityFilingsShare
28539 Hubert 4 0.1%
28574 2 0.1%
28540 2 0.1%
28555 1 0.0%
28546 1 0.0%

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

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Property value distribution

Estimated valueFilingsShare
Under $75k 14 1.7%
$75k - $150k 38 4.6%
$150k - $250k 255 30.6%
$250k - $400k 400 48.0%
$400k+ 127 15.2%

Source: third-party property enrichment (30% coverage on Onslow County filings). Median $280,961; mean $295,649.

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Day-of-week filing pattern

DayFilingsShare
Sun 393 14.2%
Mon 630 22.7%
Tue 580 20.9%
Wed 441 15.9%
Thu 492 17.7%
Fri 237 8.5%
Sat 2 0.1%

Filings show some weekend activity, suggesting after-hours electronic filing. Computed for 2775 filings with a parseable date.

Housing stock + distress signals

Underlying housing stock and distress indicators across all 85917 Onslow County housing units, from US Census ACS 5-year data. National reference values shown for context.

Indicator Onslow County US average
Vacancy rate (incl. seasonal + for-sale)15.6%10.5%
Share of owner-occupied units carrying a mortgage71.7%60.8%
Pre-1940 housing stock0.6%12.3%
Single-family detached share of housing stock64.7%61.2%
Residents age 65 or older9.7%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. Onslow County sits within the Jacksonville, 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$929
1-bedroom$935
2-bedroom$1,173
3-bedroom$1,631
4-bedroom$1,968

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 Onslow 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)1,372
Year-over-year change (2024 → 2025)+10.1%
Single-family share of permits (2025)96.1%
Single-family units permitted1,318
Multifamily units permitted (2+ units per building)54

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

Onslow 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 1588 57.1% +31.1%
Contract 540 19.4% -12.5%
Divorce 282 10.1% -5.0%
Eviction 210 7.6% -94.5%
Pre-Foreclosure 83 3.0% -87.9%
Other 23 0.8% +66.7%
Probate 18 0.6% +0.0%
Child Support 12 0.4% -42.9%
Tax Sale 12 0.4% +40.0%
Negligence 5 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 Jun and are lowest in Nov. The 4.4x peak-to-trough ratio suggests strong seasonal patterns — investors who time their outreach around Jun can reach more distressed homeowners.

Month Avg filings Relative
Jan 266
97%
Feb 245
90%
Mar 214
78%
Apr 179
66%
May 202
74%
Jun 273
100%
Jul 138.5
51%
Aug 104.5
38%
Sep 105.7
39%
Oct 67.7
25%
Nov 62.7
23%
Dec 202
74%

Average filings per calendar month across all observed years. Relative column shows each month as a percentage of the peak month (Jun), with a 4.4x 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
28539 Hubert 4 0.1% $286,246
28574 2 0.1% $212,559
28540 2 0.1% $256,485
28555 1 0.0% $174,225
28546 1 0.0% $298,468

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 1588 0.0%
Contract 540 0.0%
Divorce 282 0.0%
Eviction 210 0.0%
Pre-Foreclosure 87 1.1%
Other 23 0.0%
Probate 18 0.0%
Child Support 12 0.0%
Tax Sale 12 0.0%
Negligence 5 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. Divorce, Eviction 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 76.6% 53.2% +23.4pp (rising)
Contract 16.5% 20.1% -3.6pp
Divorce 3.8% 11.5% -7.7pp (falling)
Other 0.8% 0.8% +0.0pp
Tax Sale 0.6% 0.4% +0.2pp
Negligence 0.6% 0.1% +0.5pp
Pre-Foreclosure 0.4% 3.5% -3.1pp
Eviction 0.4% 9.0% -8.6pp (falling)
Personal Property 0.2% 0.0% +0.2pp
Probate 0.0% 0.8% -0.8pp
Child Support 0.0% 0.5% -0.5pp

Distress diversity score: 1.13 (Shannon entropy; higher = more diverse distress sources). "Recent" = last 2 complete months; "Earlier" = all prior months.

Court Docket Activity

Across 60 tracked cases, the average case has 17 docket entries (median 18). 65.0% of cases are in the "advanced (16+ events)" stage. Pre-Foreclosure cases are the most court-active at 17.1 events on average. Higher docket activity signals that courts are actively processing the case, which can indicate timeline urgency for investor outreach.

17.1
Avg. docket entries per case
18
Median entries per case
31
Most active case
Activity level Cases Share
Early stage (1-5 events) 2 3.3%
Mid-process (6-15 events) 19 31.7%
Advanced (16+ events) 39 65.0%
Docket activity by case type
Case type Avg. events Cases tracked
Pre-Foreclosure 17.1 60

Based on 60 cases with docket event tracking from Onslow County court records. Docket entries include filings, hearings, orders, and motions.

Property Value Profile

The median assessed value of properties in court filings is $279,697. Eviction filings involve the highest-value properties (median $351,264), while Tax Sale filings trend lower (median $140,503). The largest segment (58.6%) falls in the $250K - $500K range.

$279,697
Median assessed value
$293,358
Average assessed value
841
Properties with values
Value range Properties Share
Under $100K 28 3.3%
$100K - $250K 286 34.0%
$250K - $500K 493 58.6%
$500K - $1M 33 3.9%
Over $1M 1 0.1%
Value breakdown by case type
Case type Median value Avg value Properties
Lien $284,546 $298,574 511
Contract $275,254 $286,826 185
Divorce $294,090 $313,919 66
Pre-Foreclosure $241,792 $247,429 51
Eviction $351,264 $338,548 14
Tax Sale $140,503 $213,228 5

Based on county assessor records for 841 properties with court filings (30.3% of total filings). Values are tax-assessed amounts, not market listing prices.

Distress Capital Analysis

$246,713,859 in assessed property value is currently tied up in 841 court-filed properties. Lien filings represent the largest capital pool ($152,571,262 across 511 properties).

$247M
Total Value at Risk
841
Properties Valued
$279,697
Median Value

Capital at Risk by Filing Type

Filing Type Total Value Properties Avg Value High Equity %
Lien
$152,571,262
511 $298,574 --
Contract
$53,062,733
185 $286,826 --
Divorce
$20,718,626
66 $313,919 --
Pre-Foreclosure
$12,618,886
51 $247,429 --
Eviction
$4,739,666
14 $338,548 --
Tax Sale
$1,066,141
5 $213,228 --
Other
$651,777
3 $217,259 --
Child Support
$460,417
3 $153,472 --

Based on 841 properties with assessor valuations (30.3% of 2779 total filings). Values are county assessor estimates. Equity calculated from estimated value vs outstanding mortgage balance where available.

Market Absorption & Turnover Analysis

2,775 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 2,775 active cases.

0.0%
Absorption Rate
2,775
Active Case Backlog
Month New Filings Resolved Net Inflow Absorption
Aug 2020 3 0 +3
0.0%
Sep 2020 3 0 +3
0.0%
Oct 2020 9 0 +9
0.0%
Nov 2020 7 0 +7
0.0%
Sep 2022 5 0 +5
0.0%
Oct 2022 3 0 +3
0.0%
Nov 2022 5 0 +5
0.0%
Jul 2025 76 0 +76
0.0%
Aug 2025 206 0 +206
0.0%
Sep 2025 309 0 +309
0.0%
Oct 2025 191 0 +191
0.0%
Nov 2025 176 0 +176
0.0%
Dec 2025 202 0 +202
0.0%
Jan 2026 266 0 +266
0.0%
Feb 2026 245 0 +245
0.0%
Mar 2026 214 0 +214
0.0%
Apr 2026 179 0 +179
0.0%
May 2026 202 0 +202
0.0%
Jun 2026 273 0 +273
0.0%
Jul 2026 201 0 +201
0.0%

Resolution by Case Type

Case Type Filed Resolved Absorption Avg Days
Lien 1565 0 0.0% n/a
Contract 532 0 0.0% n/a
Divorce 281 0 0.0% n/a
Eviction 210 0 0.0% n/a
Pre-Foreclosure 83 0 0.0% n/a
Other 55 0 0.0% n/a
Probate 18 0 0.0% n/a
Child Support 12 0 0.0% n/a
Tax Sale 12 0 0.0% n/a
Negligence 5 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 2775 total filings.

Case Aging & Stall Analysis

128 cases (4.6%) have been active for over a year without resolution. 184 filings in the last <30 days represent fresh opportunities.

128
Cases stalled 1yr+
4.6%
of all filings
2,775
Total tracked
Age Total Resolved Still active Resolution rate
<30 days 184 0 184 0.0%
30-90 days 461 0 461 0.0%
3-6 months 656 0 656 0.0%
6-12 months 1,346 0 1,346 0.0%
1-2 years 93 0 93 0.0%
2+ years 35 0 35 0.0%
Resolution speed by case type
Case type Total Resolved Rate Median days
Lien 1,565 0 0.0%
Contract 532 0 0.0%
Divorce 281 0 0.0%
Eviction 210 0 0.0%
Pre-Foreclosure 83 0 0.0%
Other 23 0 0.0%
Probate 18 0 0.0%
Tax Sale 12 0 0.0%
Child Support 12 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 Onslow County

Court filings in Onslow County span 12 municipalities. Jacksonville leads with 32 filings (51.6% of total), predominantly Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%). Filing activity is geographically concentrated — the top 3 municipalities account for 82% of all filings.

12
Municipalities
82.2%
Top 3 share
Concentrated
Geographic spread
Municipality Filings Share Top case type
Jacksonville 32 51.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Richlands 11 17.7% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Hubert 8 12.9% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Sneads Ferry 2 3.2% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Maysville 2 3.2% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Holly Ridge 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Maple Hill 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Beulaville 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
North Topsail Beach 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Raleigh 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Cary 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)
Midway Park 1 1.6% Pre-Foreclosure (100.0%)

Top 12 of 12 municipalities with court filings. Data from 62 filings (2% of total). Municipality names from county assessor records.

Property Value Distribution

The median property value in distressed filings is $279,474, with the largest concentration (40.1%) in the $200K–$300K range. Eviction filings have the highest median value ($338,429) while Pre-Foreclosure filings are lowest ($241,792).

$279,474
Median value
$292,664
Average value
843
Properties valued
Price range Count Share Distribution
Under $50K 13 1.5%
$50K–$100K 17 2.0%
$100K–$150K 31 3.7%
$150K–$200K 88 10.4%
$200K–$300K 338 40.1%
$300K–$500K 322 38.2%
$500K+ 34 4.0%
Value by case type
Case type Median value Average value Properties
Lien $284,385 $297,994 512
Contract $275,254 $286,825 185
Divorce $287,896 $309,234 67
Pre-Foreclosure $241,792 $247,429 51
Eviction $338,429 $338,547 14

Assessed property values from county assessor records for 843 properties (30.3% of total filings). Values reflect tax-assessed amounts, not market price.

Repeat litigation patterns in Onslow County

Of 2,573 unique property owners in court filings, 118 (4.6%) appear in multiple cases, including 29 with 3 or more filings. The most active repeat filer has 10 cases spanning 1 months. Child Support cases have the highest repeat rate at 18.2%.

2,573
Unique owners
118
Repeat filers (2+ cases)
4.6%
Repeat rate
29
Serial filers (3+ cases)

Repeat rate by case type

Case type Repeat owners Total owners Repeat rate
Lien 99 1430 6.9%
Contract 28 520 5.4%
Divorce 3 281 1.1%
Eviction 7 203 3.4%
Pre-Foreclosure 2 63 3.2%
Other 2 55 3.6%
Child Support 2 11 18.2%

Analysis based on 2,573 unique owner names across court filings. Repeat filers are property owners appearing in 2 or more distinct cases.

Serial distressed properties in Onslow County

Of 605 unique properties in court filings, 63 (10.4%) have multiple filings (averaging 2.6 filings per property). Average time between repeat filings: 3 months. Contract properties have the highest repeat rate at 17.4%.

605
Unique properties
63
Repeat-filing properties
10.4%
Serial distress rate
3 mo
Avg time between filings

Serial distress rate by case type

Case type Serial properties Total properties Serial rate
Lien 47 348 13.5%
Contract 27 155 17.4%
Divorce 4 60 6.7%
Pre-Foreclosure 2 41 4.9%

Analysis based on 605 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, "Onslow County North Carolina Court Filings Intelligence," 2026-08-03, https://keystonecourtdata.com/reports/onslow-nc-court-filings-intelligence · Download data (CSV)