A 264-unit apartment community in Shallotte, North Carolina has a new owner, as Hawthorne Residential Partners has acquired Hawthorne at Shallotte from Logan Homes. The deal places the Brunswick County property, completed just last year, into the hands of a Greensboro-based operator with a sizable regional footprint.
The purchase price appears differently depending on where in the report it's cited: the headline of the article breaking the news put the figure at $48 million, while the body of that same report stated Hawthorne paid $47.5 million for the complex, according to Multi-Housing News. Logan Homes sold the asset, the outlet reported, and Walker & Dunlop originated a $34.1 million Freddie Mac loan for the transaction, with the note set to mature in 2036.
Hawthorne at Shallotte was formerly known as Monument at Ocean and Main, and the community includes 11 three-story buildings completed in 2025, per the same report. The property sits on 23 acres at 43 Cabrillo Road SW, less than two miles from Shallotte's town center, and offers one- to three-bedroom units ranging from 807 to 1,226 square feet, with in-unit washers and dryers, nine-foot ceilings, oversized bedroom closets, and private patios or balconies.
Amenities and a Growing Coastal Footprint
Residents at the complex have access to a swimming pool, grilling stations, a covered pavilion with a fireplace, a clubhouse, a fitness center, a playground area, a pet spa, a pet park, and roughly 460 parking spaces, the report notes. The location also puts tenants close to the region's draws: North Carolina's Brunswick Islands sit within 12 miles, and Odell Williamson Municipal Airport is about 11 miles away.
Hawthorne Residential Partners, based in Greensboro, operates 192 communities altogether, with a presence that extends to Charlotte, the Triad, Raleigh-Durham, and Fayetteville, the outlet's report states. The acquisition extends that portfolio further into the state's fast-growing southeastern coast.
A Rare Sale in a Tight Local Market
What makes the deal notable isn't just the price discrepancy — it's the local supply picture. Hawthorne at Shallotte was the only multifamily property of more than 50 units to sell within a five-mile radius in the preceding five years, according to Yardi Matrix data cited in the same report. The broader area, meanwhile, is home to eight communities of more than 50 units in various phases of development, the same source notes.
That scarcity tracks with population trends reshaping Brunswick County. The county ranked as the 14th fastest-growing in the United States between 2020 and 2024, with population growth of 22.3 percent, according to JLL. The wider Wilmington metropolitan area has added more than 224,000 residents since 2010, a 46.8 percent increase, per JLL's figures.
Demand Pressures and Pushback on New Construction
Demand for rentals in the Wilmington area has outpaced supply for years. A 2022 RentCafe study identified Asheville, Fayetteville, and Greenville as North Carolina’s top three competitive rental markets. Yet not every proposed project in the county has found a smooth path forward.
Four development proposals in unincorporated Brunswick County could together add almost 2,200 single-family homes, including 1,676 near Northwest, 204 near Bolivia, 299 near Sunset Beach, and 15 near Supply, according to Port City Daily. The Hooper Road applicant's request to table the 1,676-home proposal near Northwest and Leland was approved on July 14, 2025, with the proposal set to return on August 11, the outlet reported.
Comparable Deals Across the County
Hawthorne's purchase arrives alongside a flurry of multifamily trading nearby. BAM Capital purchased The Marling at Town Creek, a 334-unit community in Leland situated roughly 24 miles northeast of Hawthorne at Shallotte, for $57.7 million in a deal that closed last month and marked BAM Capital's entry into the Southeast market, per the Multi-Housing News report. WilmingtonBiz separately reported that BAM Capital paid nearly $58 million for the Leland complex, a price described as 17.4 percent less than it would cost to replace or build an equivalent project; that outlet also noted The Marling at Town Creek was completed in 2024.
Another Leland property, Exchange at Westgate, a 312-unit community, sold for $58.7 million in a deal JLL announced in July, with Argyle Real Estate Capital acquiring the asset from Hathaway Cos. Completed in 2023, Exchange at Westgate features studios along with one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments averaging 931 square feet, according to JLL's announcement. Together, the deals point to steady investor appetite for apartment communities across Brunswick County's booming coastal corridor.
