Most oceanfront real estate in North Carolina is located on one of the state's many barrier islands. The greatest difference between real estate adjacent to the ocean or an inlet and inland real estate is the hazard of shore line erosion. For inland real estate, property lines are generally unchanging. However, property on the oceanfront or adjacent to an inlet has a moving property line along the shore that is determined largely by the forces of nature.
Shoreline erosion is caused by a variety of factors.
As a general rule, North Carolina's beaches erode more in the stormy fall and winter months that in the calm summer months. When a barrier island is hit directly by a hurricane, beach front erosion can be even more dramatic. Inlets are also affected by seasonal storms and can change configuration rapidly and severely as tremendous amounts of water and sand flow through them. It severe storms, it is even possible for new inlets to form and existing inlets to close. Erosion associated with storms is often severe because large quantities of sand can be moved quickly offshore from the beach and dunes.