Stephanie Lanier, Team Lead/Broker/Realtor, Lanier Property Group

In an interview with Invest:, Stephanie Lanier, team lead, broker, and realtor at Lanier Property Group, discussed changing buyer behavior, seller strategy, and the value of local expertise in Wilmington’s housing market. “Your house should have a point of view,” Lanier said.

How has buyer behavior changed over the past year?

Buyers are taking more time to make decisions than I have ever seen. They are looking for value because of inflation, and they do not want to overpay. Many come to us after months of research, using AI or visiting open houses before selecting an agent. Buyers are more educated than ever, and their expectations of sellers are higher. That is changing the market, even when there are multiple offers. We are beginning to see some multiple-offer situations again, but the pattern is polarized: A great house can sell in the first two weeks, while another can take much longer.

What do clients expect from an agent when so much information is available?

People are using AI as a third agent in the transaction. They may put an inspection report into an AI tool or consult a website that assigns a property a flood-risk rating, but the result may not be accurate for a coastal environment. Information is everywhere; clients come to an agent to distill that information based on their wisdom and local knowledge. Asking whether a property flooded during Hurricane Florence is not enough. Buyers need to understand how the property drains, what is happening in the neighborhood, and how the city or county responds to storms. They also need connections to insurance professionals. The expectation now is depth of knowledge, experience, relationships, and an ability to call the right person.

What types of homes are attracting buyers?

Buyers tend to want one of two things. The first is a turnkey house where they can bring a toothbrush, move in, and make it their own without repainting or changing the floors. That means sellers may need to do significant preparation. The other is something truly unique: a midcentury modern home, a great view, an unusual location, or a hard-to-find feature, such as a corner lot in a planned community. People are tired of the same beige-gray look. They want color, wallpaper, personality, and a home that creates emotion, even if the choices differ from what they would have made themselves. Your house should have a point of view.

How do affordability challenges differ across generations?

Baby boomers hold significant wealth, while many younger buyers are struggling to purchase their first home. Starting later makes it harder to begin building wealth through real estate. Younger clients are balancing student loans, retirement savings, travel, and other expensive life events. Some parents are helping with a down payment instead of paying for a large wedding, and some younger buyers defer having children. Pets have also become a major factor in home decisions, with buyers prioritizing a yard or a particular setup.

I ask clients what matters to them and how we can make it happen. Sometimes the answer is living 20 or 30 minutes from the place they initially considered. I love helping a younger client buy a first home, make a smart choice, contribute some sweat equity, and begin building equity. Trying to start with a forever home is more difficult. Wilmington is more affordable than many cities, and buyers coming from California or the Northeast are often surprised by both prices and taxes.

How are you helping sellers compete in a slower, hyperlocal market?

We recently met with owners of a Carolina Beach condo in a saturated price band. At the current absorption rate, it would take about eight and a half months to sell all the condos on the market, compared with six months for a healthy market. That gives buyers more power. Every conversation must be hyperlocal: What are the seller’s goals, how quickly do they need to sell, and what are they willing to do?

Pricing matters, and we often stage homes because buyers want to envision a lifestyle. Coastal presentation is lighter and brighter than in other places, and vacation- or second-home buyers may want something they can lock and leave. Buyers can become focused on whether a couch fits or whether they can add a pool, while our job is to bring attention back to structural and mechanical issues, such as the HVAC system or roof. For an occupied home that needs paint or floors, we may gather quotes, recommend colors, identify vendors, or structure a credit. Giving buyers a plug-and-play menu can make the work feel easier.

How are AI and changing client expectations affecting real estate marketing?

Sellers now commonly interview two, three, or four agents. Five clients in four and a half months told me they found me through ChatGPT. Their prompts were specific, sometimes down to a ZIP code, price point, waterfront experience, or experience with properties that had flooding issues. It is a fascinating change in how people choose an agent.

We also need better ways to communicate complex topics. I work in commercial and development as well as residential real estate, including 1031 and reverse 1031 transactions. Commercial clients often return for multiple transactions, while residential work draws on the emotional side of my background as a clinical social worker. We are considering handbooks, videos, LinkedIn content, and client success stories. A Qualified Intermediary, for example, is how the money is held in a 1031 transaction. Waterfront buyers likewise need detailed information about flood insurance, docks, and CAMA permits. We created a waterfront handbook, but accurate long-form content takes time.

What makes useful real estate content difficult to produce?

Much of real estate is nuanced, complex, and layered, yet there is pressure to turn everything into a hot take. The challenge is to make information digestible while remaining technically correct. A busy agent has to decide where to spend time and know what clients actually want to learn. Sometimes carefully prepared content gets little response, while something spontaneous resonates. You have to keep putting useful information out there, even when you cannot predict which topic will connect.

What is your outlook for Wilmington?

The outlook is strong. People continue to move here, corporations are considering the area, and small businesses are growing. People want the coastal lifestyle. I can drive over the bridge, see sailboats, and go to the beach any day. Wilmington now checks more of the boxes for people comparing cities; several years ago, we often lost them to Charleston, but now they usually choose Wilmington.

The airport has grown, with more direct flights, and the Riverfront Amphitheater brings major concerts. I tell buyers that real estate here can be a good investment if they are prepared to hold it for three to five years. I moved here in 2000 for undergraduate and graduate school at UNCW, and I have watched the city grow while retaining a sense of community. It is large enough to offer amenities, small enough to run into people you know, and a place where people live purposefully and enjoy the coast.