Soundfrontsobx.com OBX Market Report – January
2026
This report is provided to you by Rick Kinne (REALTOR) with Keller Williams Outer Banks in Southern Shores, North Carolina. It is a monthly feature for my soundfronts OBX Facebook page and soundfrontsobx.com website, intended to keep you informed of the local real estate market.
I preface this report with the following: The Outer Banks Association of Realtor's disclosure is printed on all of OBAR's statistical reports and reads as follows:
"This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market."
"Active and Under Contract" data pulled 2/1/26. All other data pulled 2/5/26.
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Soundfrontsobx.com OBX Market Report – January
Sales also take place through For Sale By Owner (FSBO's) and Real Estate Agents who are not Realtors and therefore don't have MLS access, etc. However, I don't believe that amount is significant.
The Outer Banks market covered by OBAR is a bit unique. It's a mixed market but it's primarily a vacation/rental home market. Coverage stretches from lower Currituck County and the Dare County mainland, all along the beaches from Carova through Ocracoke. However, increasingly, we are seeing more properties within our MLS from outside of the core Outer Banks as local agents expand the markets they work in, and agents from outside of the local area also work here.
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Executive Summary
Summary Comparison to January 2025
Residential unit sales are down by 14.0%
Residential sales volume is down by 10.8%
The overall median price is down 3.6% for Residential and up 1.8% for Land
Under Contract listings are up 87.6% for Residential over last January
Average Days on Market (DOM) is down 2 days and is at 69 days
Inventory is down by 6.9% for Residential and down 2.0% for Land
The overall absorption rate is stable for Residential and 37% improved for Land
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Residential Market Snapshot for January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Land Market Snapshot for January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
January 2026 Statistics By Town…
It's always a good time to strategize and plan! Please feel free to call me to begin that process or to just talk about a specific market.
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Corolla - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Duck - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Southern Shores - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Kitty Hawk - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Kill Devil Hills - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Colington - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Nags Head - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Roanoke Island - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
All Hatteras - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Currituck Mainland - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)
Ocracoke - January 2026
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to the Subscribers of the Outer Banks Association of R EALTORS® Multiple Listing Service. Information contained herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Data maintained by the OBAR MLS is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate ac tiv ity in the market. Based on information from the Outer Banks Association of REALTORS® for the period (1/1/2026) through (1/31/2026)