Sunset Beach, North Carolina Short-Term Rental Market
Sunset Beach, NC has no STR permit requirement; state law bars local registration. June 2026 area ADR was $460.
Quick Answer: Sunset Beach, North Carolina is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Wilmington market area is 75%. average monthly revenue in the Wilmington market area is $8,822. average daily rate in the Wilmington market area is $460. the top operator in the Wilmington market area is Vacasa with 776 listings. market score is 63/100 (grade C).
Market data reflects the Wilmington regional market, which includes Sunset Beach. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Sunset Beach.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Sunset Beach has no short-term rental permit or registration program, and under North Carolina state law (G.S. 160D-1207(c)), the town is barred from requiring one. The town’s beach island holds roughly 1,200 homes, mostly vacation rentals, against only about 100 full-time residents, so STR is the customary, expected use in its residential districts rather than an exception. There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement and no cap on rental nights per year.
Sunset Beach is the southernmost of the Brunswick Islands, a small, low-rise barrier-island resort town near the South Carolina line, population 4,351, drawing drive-market visitors from the Carolinas, Virginia, and the broader Southeast.
StaySTRA tracks Sunset Beach’s ADR, occupancy, and revenue at a shared regional level with Southport, Supply, Calabash, Oak Island, and Holly Ridge. Five of those six towns, Sunset Beach, Southport, Supply, Calabash, and Oak Island, are Brunswick County coastal communities; Holly Ridge is a separate Onslow County town roughly 70 miles north, so the figures below describe a broader southeastern North Carolina coast STR market. Worth noting: Southport, one of this cluster’s members, bans new whole-home STRs in residential zones, a real contrast with Sunset Beach’s fully open market. In June 2026, that area STR market posted a blended ADR of $460.25 and 74.9% occupancy, with average monthly revenue of $8,822/listing.
One note on the annual data below: the 2026 row is a January-through-June average, which excludes July, this market’s single highest-revenue month, so it understates the eventual full-year 2026 average. Bedroom mix, listing-type breakdown, and the top-property-manager list are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Sunset Beach, so this profile omits those breakdowns.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 32% |
| Feb | 45% |
| Mar | 55% |
| Apr | 56% |
| May | 60% |
| Jun | 76% |
| Jul | 81% |
| Aug | 69% |
| Sep | 52% |
| Oct | 47% |
| Nov | 39% |
| Dec | 34% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Sunset Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Wilmington market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Wilmington market as a whole, which includes Sunset Beach, so these counts are not Sunset Beach-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 776 | 18,259 | ★ 4.46 |
| 2 | Oak Island Accommodations | 469 | 2,489 | ★ 4.43 |
| 3 | Better Beach Rentals | 445 | 3,724 | ★ 4.37 |
| 4 | Evolve | 332 | 12,283 | ★ 4.75 |
| 5 | Carolina Retreats by Vtrips | 317 | 3,785 | ★ 4.54 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Sunset Beach?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Sunset Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 21.3% |
| vrbo | 16.9% |
| both | 61.8% |
Home Value Trends (Sunset Beach)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Sunset Beach are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Insights
Booking-window and length-of-stay analysis for Sunset Beach — how far ahead guests book and how to price around it — is available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are well established and effectively unrestricted in Sunset Beach. The beach island’s roughly 1,200 homes are predominantly vacation rentals, so STR is a normal, expected use. Under North Carolina state law (G.S. 160D-1207(c)), municipalities are prohibited from requiring owners to register rental property or obtain a permit simply to rent it, so Sunset Beach does not operate an STR permit or registration program.
There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement, and no cap on rental nights per year. The main obligations are tax-related: operators must collect a 6% local accommodations tax on gross rental receipts (3% town tourism, 2% town beach-nourishment, 1% Brunswick County room-occupancy), in addition to North Carolina state and county sales tax.
Owners must still comply with general zoning, building, minimum-housing, occupancy, and parking codes; a Special Use Permit is only needed if a property is used in a way that deviates from its zoning district. Enforcement is rated minimal and focused on nuisance and code compliance rather than STR-specific licensing. Investors should confirm current tax remittance procedures with the town and Brunswick County and verify any HOA or golf-resort community rental restrictions separately, since court rulings (including the Wilmington Schroeder decision) have struck down mandatory local STR registration statewide, limiting what NC towns can require.
Market Comparison
This southeastern North Carolina coast market’s June 2026 occupancy of 74.9% runs well above the commonly cited US STR median of roughly 55%, while its $460.25 blended ADR is well above the roughly $220 US median; its luxury tier ($711.20) is more than three times the national ADR benchmark.
Top-property-manager data is not currently published uniquely for Sunset Beach in this snapshot (tracked at a shared regional level with Southport, Supply, Calabash, Oak Island, and Holly Ridge instead), so this profile omits a named-operator comparison. Sunset Beach’s fully open regulatory environment is a real contrast with cluster-mate Southport, which bans new whole-home STRs in residential zones.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sunset Beach, North Carolina
Does Sunset Beach, NC require a short-term rental permit?
What is the average daily rate for short-term rentals in Sunset Beach, NC?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Sunset Beach?
Does Sunset Beach require owner-occupancy for short-term rentals?
What is the gross yield on a Sunset Beach short-term rental?
Is Sunset Beach's STR market as restricted as nearby Southport's?
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