Investing in North Carolina

Last reviewed 20 October 2026. Figures carry their publisher and their date. Where a figure could not be sourced, it is named at the foot of the page rather than estimated.

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General information, not advice. State landlord and tenant law, state tax and the restrictions below change often and are in active litigation in several states. Nothing here is legal advice. Before you commit, retain a licensed attorney in the state where the property sits.

Prices

$375,000Median sale price, all property types, August 2026, unchanged on the year.Source: Redfin, North Carolina housing market (all property types), August 2026

$1,621Average homeowners insurance premium, nineteenth of the states in that edition.Source: Insurance Information Institute, average premiums for homeowners insurance by state, from NAIC data, 2022 data, the latest NAIC edition

For context, the national median for existing single family homes was $434,900 in the second quarter of 2026, up 1.5% on the year. Source: NAR, existing single family home prices by metro area, second quarter 2026, published 4 August 2026

Insurance

The NAIC figure above is from 2022, the latest edition of that survey, and it is the only series that is comparable across all states. Where a state regulator publishes something more recent, it is given below, but regulator figures use their own methods and cannot be compared with the NAIC series or with each other.

No more recent state regulator figure was obtained for this state.

Letting the property

Statutory notice periods only. They are not the same as how long an eviction takes in practice, which we did not establish for this state.
Item	Position
Rent regulation	Local rent control is preempted by statute. Source: N.C. G.S. 42-14.1, consulted 20 October 2026
Notice for unpaid rent	The lease is forfeited if rent remains unpaid 10 days after demand. Source: N.C. G.S. 42-3, consulted 20 October 2026
Security deposit cap	One and a half months’ rent on a month to month tenancy, two months on a longer term. Source: N.C. G.S. 42-51, consulted 20 October 2026

Recent changes

S.L. 2025-52 caps recoverable attorney fees at 15%, retroactive to 9 September 2024.

Restrictions by nationality

This is the fastest moving area on the site. One tracker counted 26 states with 63 such laws on 13 August 2026, with eight lawsuits running. Source: Committee of 100, state property ownership restrictions database, updated 12 August 2026

North Carolina has a law restricting purchases by nationality.

Source: Committee of 100, state property ownership restrictions database, updated 12 August 2026
Item	Position
Statute	S.L. 2026-54, House Bill 133
Effective	8 July 2026, from a search summary we could not confirm at the source
Countries named	countries listed in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
What it covers	Agricultural land and land within 50 miles of a military installation, aimed at government entities and businesses.
Where the courts stand	We found no litigation.

Several of these statutes are under constitutional challenge and some have been amended since enactment. Treat anything here as a pointer to the statute, not as a statement of what applies to you today, and have a licensed attorney in the state confirm the current position before you sign.

What we could not verify

The effective average property tax rate for the state.
The enacted text and effective date of S.L. 2026-54.