Is Southport, NC a Smart STR Investment? The Film-Town, Festival-Town Case

Thomas Garner
Jun 24
12 min read

Southport is not a beach town — and that is the point. This historic Cape Fear fishing village on the Brunswick River punches above its weight on film tourism, festival demand, and Bald Head Island ferry overflow while carrying the smallest short-term rental inventory pool in the Cape Fear dossier. Brunswick County visitor spending reached $1.22 billion in 2024 (State Port Pilot), but Southport's STR market plays a different game than Oak Island or Ocean Isle: AirROI's trailing-12-month window (June 2025–May 2026, updated June 2, 2026) shows 116 active listings, a $241 average daily rate, $97 RevPAR, and roughly $25,853 in average annual revenue per listing — with revenue up only 3.9% year-over-year against 27.5% supply growth.

That near-flat revenue growth against rising supply is a softening signal investors cannot ignore. It is also a positioning signal: Southport rewards hosts and buyers who underwrite film-location tourism, the NC 4th of July Festival, historic-downtown scarcity, and gateway demand from Bald Head ferry travelers — not hosts who paste Oak Island beach-house comps onto a riverfront cottage and wonder why the numbers disappoint. The investment thesis here is boutique event-and-identity demand inside a regulatory moat that makes new residential STR conversions effectively impossible — which means the due diligence question is not "can I convert this porch house?" but "does this address carry verified grandfathered STR rights that survive closing?"

This is the investment thesis for Southport in 2026 — what the market data actually shows, the regulatory gate that makes this a closed market for many new entrants, how Southport compares to Oak Island on the same county tax base, and the demand drivers that justify — or disqualify — a Southport STR acquisition. Read it as an underwriting document for a mainland historic town where March shoulder strength on AirROI reflects year-round event tourism rather than pure beach seasonality, and where the lowest ADR in the Cape Fear dossier is a product-type signal, not a failure of demand when the asset is a walkable downtown home with festival and film merchandising built in.

The Southport STR Market in Plain Numbers

Southport sits on the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County, roughly 30 miles south of Wilmington and 15 minutes from Oak Island beaches. It is a mainland historic town, not a barrier island — which explains the dossier's lowest ADR ($241) and one of the flattest seasonality curves on the Cape Fear coast. On AirROI (June 2025–May 2026, updated June 2, 2026), Southport carries 116 active listings, 39.0% trailing-12-month occupancy, $241 ADR, $97 RevPAR, and peak July performance near $4,487 monthly revenue per listing at 52.6% occupancy and $259 ADR. January trough averages run closer to $2,092 monthly revenue and 28.3% occupancy — a milder winter floor than barrier-island troughs near 20% occupancy.

The distinctive seasonality signal is March: AirROI ranks March among Southport's peak months alongside July and June, reflecting year-round historic-town and event tourism rather than pure beach seasonality. Peak single-month revenue still anchors on July, but the flatter curve is the investment story — film fans, festival travelers, and ferry-gateway guests book outside the Memorial-Day-to-Labor-Day beach core. Southport also carries the highest Superhost concentration in the regional dossier at 71.6% on AirROI — a quality signal that reflects how seriously operators take guest experience in a small, reputation-led inventory pool.

*Table 1 — Southport vs. Oak Island STR performance (AirROI market-wide averages, trailing 12 months June 2025–May 2026).*

Market	County	Active listings	Market occupancy (T12M)	Average daily rate	Avg annual revenue per listing	Revenue change (YoY)	Supply change (YoY)
Southport	Brunswick	116	39.0%	$241	$25,853	+3.9%	+27.5%
Oak Island	Brunswick	1,497	37.1%	$480	$40,491	+19.6%	+60.6%

*Source: AirROI per-town reports, trailing 12 months June 2025–May 2026 (updated June 2, 2026).*

Oak Island is the volume play — nearly thirteen times the listing count, roughly double the ADR, and +19.6% revenue growth despite explosive supply. Southport is the boutique event-and-identity play — scarce downtown inventory, lower rate, higher Superhost concentration (71.6% on AirROI, highest in the regional dossier), and a demand mix that does not track July beach occupancy alone. Neither market is universally "better"; product type, regulatory eligibility, and appetite for event-driven merchandising decide which strategy fits a given buyer's portfolio goals and operational bandwidth.

Film and Television Tourism as a Year-Round Anchor

Film and television tourism is the year-round anchor Southport owns and Oak Island beach copy never reaches. Southport has served as a filming location for 40+ productions and remains a pilgrimage market for Nicholas Sparks fans tracing Safe Haven locations — Morningstar/Southport Marina, Bay Street, Howe Street, and the waterfront district guests recognize from the film. This demand is year-round, review-driven, and itinerary-led: fans book stays specifically to walk the locations, eat at waterfront restaurants, and photograph the live-oak streets.

Listings that name filming proximity and include a short location map in the guidebook convert a niche guest segment Oak Island beach copy never reaches. Safe Haven and broader film-location tourism are searchable intent clusters with thin competitive content on corporate manager templates — independent operators who merchandise Bay Street walkability and marina proximity in title architecture can own named-market queries corporate pages do not pursue.

The film guest is not a summer-only beach booker. They arrive in March, October, and winter weekends when barrier-island troughs deepen — which helps explain Southport's March peak on AirROI alongside July and June. Underwrite film demand as a flatter calendar layer, not a July add-on.

Festival Demand and the NC 4th of July Anchor

The NC 4th of July Festival is Brunswick's biggest event anchor and a mandatory underwriting line for downtown inventory. The festival runs June 28 through July 4, 2026 (nc4thofjuly.com), drawing an estimated 40,000–50,000 attendees to a town of roughly 4,000 residents (nc4thofjuly.com). Parade, fireworks, Patriots' Ball, and multi-day waterfront programming make early July a rate-spike window and a mandatory multi-night minimum-stay opportunity for downtown and walkable inventory.

Underwrite July 4th week separately from generic July — festival guests pay for walkability and parking sanity, not oceanfront. Raise minimum nights, block orphan-night gaps around the festival window, and merchandise "NC 4th of July Festival lodging" and "Southport fireworks rental" on direct-site landing pages. Guests searching festival lodging plan months ahead — publish calendar and copy in Q1, not the week before the parade.

Fall fishing-tournament overflow from the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament headquarters in the Southport/Oak Island corridor (October 1–3, 2026 per usopenkmt.com) adds a second event layer within the same season. A host with flexible minimum nights across July 4th and early October tournament weekends captures more occupancy than a host running generic monthly rates.

Historic Downtown Scarcity and Bald Head Ferry Gateway Demand

Historic downtown scarcity supports rate on well-positioned homes even when market-wide ADR averages look modest. Southport's product is not oceanfront sand. It is walkable historic character: Cape Fear River views, maritime museum proximity, waterfront dining, and porch culture that beach condos cannot replicate. True downtown inventory is limited; new STR supply is constrained further by zoning (see regulatory section).

Bald Head Island ferry gateway demand adds overflow from travelers who balk at Bald Head's premium ADR ($686 on AirROI) or ferry logistics — Southport is the sole access point for the Bald Head Island passenger ferry from Deep Point Marina, roughly a 20-minute crossing with hourly service. Merchandise "ferry-day staging" and "Bald Head gateway" in listing copy captures overflow demand the beach towns do not structure for.

Guests staging overnight before an early ferry departure or returning after a late crossing need parking sanity, walkable dinner options, and explicit logistics copy — the same conversion levers that drive Bald Head bookings, applied to Southport gateway inventory. Pairing a grandfathered Southport downtown home with Bald Head overflow keywords is a positioning move beach-house copy cannot replicate.

Regulatory Reality: The Gate Most Investors Miss

North Carolina's Schroeder v. City of Wilmington decision (NC Court of Appeals, April 5, 2022) and N.C.G.S. 160D-1207(c) bar municipal STR registration mandates, caps, and lotteries statewide.

That preemption does not make Southport an open STR market. The City of Southport adopted a Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance on July 8, 2021 (Board of Aldermen, 4–2 vote) that prohibits new short-term rentals in the city's residential districts.

Only pre-existing, grandfathered STRs may continue as lawful nonconforming uses (WWAYTV3, July 9, 2021). Grandfathering requires proof the property was operating as a short-term rental before the ordinance took effect, documented at application, plus annual permit renewal. Per WWAY's reporting on the adopted ordinance, grandfathered status is lost if the property is sold or if the annual permit is not renewed on time — verify current transfer and renewal rules with Southport Development Services before closing, since amendments after 2021 adjusted earlier draft language on long-term-rental flexibility.

This survives Schroeder because Southport is exercising zoning authority — prohibiting a land use in residential districts — not operating a struck-down registration lottery. The blog implication for investors is blunt: Southport is effectively a closed market for new residential STR entrants. Buyers must acquire an already-grandfathered, continuously operating STR with valid annual permits — and still conduct sale-transfer due diligence with Southport Development Services before modeling returns. Commercial and non-residential districts may offer different paths; confirm parcel zoning on the city map before you treat any Southport address as beach-market simple.

Tax Compliance and Acquisition Underwriting

Guest-paid taxes run approximately 10.75% combined on typical Southport stays: 6.75% Brunswick County sales tax plus up to 3% town occupancy tax and 1% county room occupancy tax (S.L. 1989-639; Brunswick County). Marketplace facilitators often remit on platform bookings; direct bookings require self-remittance. Build the full stack into acquisition underwriting — Southport's lower ADR makes tax accuracy matter more, not less.

Does Schroeder v. City of Wilmington make Southport STRs unrestricted? No. Schroeder and N.C.G.S.

160D-1207(c) bar registration mandates and numeric caps — they do not bar zoning prohibitions. Southport used zoning to close residential districts to new STRs after Schroeder, and the city reaffirmed that approach in 2022 (WECT). HOA covenants add a private restriction layer on top.

The most expensive Southport mistake is buying a beautiful porch house you cannot legally rent — and no marketing stack fixes a property you cannot legally operate in residential districts after the 2021 ordinance. What happens to a grandfathered Southport STR permit on sale? WWAY reporting on the 2021 ordinance indicates that selling a grandfathered property can extinguish the nonconforming STR status — buyers cannot assume the prior owner's rental rights.

Southport vs. Oak Island: Volume vs. Boutique Identity

Oak Island fits investors who want scale, big-family beach houses, and the region's largest rentable inventory pool — 1,497 listings, $480 ADR, +19.6% revenue growth, and July occupancy near 65.6% on AirROI. Supply grew +60.6% year-over-year, so differentiation inside the pool matters more every quarter, but the demand engine is proven and beach-obvious. Southport fits investors who want event-and-identity demand, historic-downtown product, and a flatter calendar — IF they can acquire grandfathered STR rights.

The lower ADR ($241) and near-flat +3.9% revenue growth mean margin for error is thin. Southport wins when the asset is a walkable downtown home with festival and film merchandising built in, not when the buyer expected Oak Island revenue on a riverfront cottage bought without STR eligibility. Oak Island averages $40,491 annual revenue, $480 ADR, and 37.1% occupancy on 1,497 listings — a high-volume beach market. Southport averages $25,853 revenue, $241 ADR, and 39.0% occupancy on 116 listings — a boutique event-and-gateway market.

Position Southport as gateway-and-festival diversification alongside — not instead of — beach exposure. A portfolio pairing Oak Island oceanfront with a grandfathered Southport downtown home captures July sand demand and July 4th festival demand in different compsets. A single Southport acquisition without grandfathering captures neither.

Who Should Buy — and Who Should Walk Away

Southport makes sense for buyers who can verify grandfathered STR status before closing, merchandise film and festival demand in listing copy and guidebooks, hold downtown walkability as the premium hook, and tolerate lower ADR in exchange for milder winter floors and March shoulder strength. Margaret Rudd and Associates and other Oak Island/Southport firms dominate local rental culture — independent operators can win on story depth, but the regulatory moat is the binding constraint.

Southport does not make sense for buyers seeking new residential STR conversions, oceanfront beach yield comps, passive absentee ownership without event-calendar discipline, or high-growth revenue stories — +3.9% YoY against +27.5% supply is not Oak Island's +19.6% against +60.6%. It especially does not make sense for anyone who skipped zoning due diligence.

Who books Southport rentals — and why? Film tourists tracing Safe Haven locations, NC 4th of July Festival attendees who want walkable downtown lodging, Bald Head Island ferry travelers staging overnight, and Oak Island/Fort Fisher day-trippers who prefer riverfront character over beach-house volume. Drive markets from Raleigh, Charlotte, and the Triad dominate per statewide visitor profile data. Underwrite acquisition with City of Southport Development Services confirmation of permit transferability before closing, not seller representations alone.

Seven Due-Diligence Moves Before You Close on Southport

Confirm parcel zoning and grandfathered STR eligibility with Southport Development Services before you model returns — not after inspection. Request proof of continuous short-term rental operation before July 8, 2021, and current annual permit status in writing. Underwrite July 4th week separately from generic July at nc4thofjuly.com attendance assumptions (40,000–50,000 attendees).

Build film-and-festival anchor copy into acquisition pro forma — Safe Haven locations, waterfront walkability, Bald Head ferry staging. Model guest-paid taxes at approximately 10.75% combined and verify current levy stacking with town and county finance offices. Compare Southport's +3.9% YoY revenue against +27.5% supply growth — not Oak Island's +19.6% against +60.6% — when setting expectations.

Treat Southport as portfolio diversification alongside beach exposure, not a beach-comp replacement. Skip the deal if grandfathering cannot be verified or if residential zoning prohibits STR on the target parcel. No marketing stack fixes a property you cannot legally operate.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Underwriting a grandfathered Southport STR or repositioning festival-and-film copy on an eligible downtown rental?

We help Cape Fear investors and hosts with the practical work this thesis describes — Safe Haven and festival anchor copy, July 4th calendar merchandising, and direct-booking pages for "NC 4th of July Festival lodging" and "Southport Safe Haven rental" queries. If you want hands-on help applying this framework to a specific property, our team takes a limited number of new engagements per quarter — Reach out at crestcove.co — we'll take an honest look at where your listing stands and tell you plainly whether we can help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Southport, NC a good short-term rental investment in 2026? It can be — for grandfathered downtown inventory underwritten on event and film demand, not beach comps. AirROI shows 116 listings, $241 ADR, $25,853 average annual revenue, and only +3.9% YoY revenue growth against +27.5% supply growth (June 2025–May 2026). The regulatory gate matters more than the averages: new residential STRs are prohibited; only pre-July 8, 2021 grandfathered properties qualify.

Can I start a new Airbnb in Southport's residential districts? No. Southport's 2021 ordinance prohibits new short-term rentals in residential districts. Only grandfathered nonconforming STRs with documented pre-2021 bookings and annual zoning permits may operate. Verify eligibility with City of Southport Development Services before purchasing any residential property for STR use.

How does Southport STR performance compare to Oak Island? Oak Island averages $40,491 annual revenue, $480 ADR, and 37.1% occupancy on 1,497 listings — a high-volume beach market. Southport averages $25,853 revenue, $241 ADR, and 39.0% occupancy on 116 listings — a boutique event-and-gateway market. Oak Island grew revenue +19.6% YoY; Southport grew +3.9%. Different products, different theses.

What demand events should Southport investors merchandise? Lead with the NC 4th of July Festival (June 28–July 4, 2026; 40,000–50,000 attendees per nc4thofjuly.com), Safe Haven and broader film-location tourism, Bald Head Island ferry staging demand, and fall fishing-tournament overflow from the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament (October 1–3, 2026). March shoulder strength on AirROI reflects year-round historic-town travel — not a data error.

What occupancy taxes apply to Southport short-term rentals? Approximately 6.75% Brunswick County sales tax plus up to 3% town occupancy tax and 1% county room occupancy tax — roughly 10.75% total guest tax depending on levy stacking. Confirm current rates with town and county finance offices before quoting guest totals.

Does Schroeder v. City of Wilmington make Southport STRs unrestricted? No. Schroeder and N.C.G.S. 160D-1207(c) bar registration mandates and numeric caps — they do not bar zoning prohibitions. Southport used zoning to close residential districts to new STRs after Schroeder, and the city reaffirmed that approach in 2022. HOA covenants add a private restriction layer on top.

Who books Southport rentals — and why? Film tourists tracing Safe Haven locations, NC 4th of July Festival attendees who want walkable downtown lodging, Bald Head Island ferry travelers staging overnight, and Oak Island/Fort Fisher day-trippers who prefer riverfront character over beach-house volume. Drive markets from Raleigh, Charlotte, and the Triad dominate per statewide visitor profile data.

What happens to a grandfathered Southport STR permit on sale? WWAY reporting on the 2021 ordinance indicates that selling a grandfathered property can extinguish the nonconforming STR status — buyers cannot assume the prior owner's rental rights. Underwrite acquisition with City of Southport Development Services confirmation of permit transferability before closing, not seller representations alone.

About the Authors

Crest & Cove Creative is a Southeast-focused short-term rental marketing agency founded by Thomas Garner and Jacob Mishalanie. We build direct-booking brands, listing optimization systems, and market-specific content strategies for independent STR operators across the Gulf Coast, Appalachian Mountains, Coastal Georgia, the Carolinas, and Southeast lake country.

Sources

AirROI — Southport and Oak Island market reports, trailing 12 months June 2025–May 2026 (updated June 2, 2026) (https://www.airroi.com/report/world/united-states/north-carolina/southport). WWAYTV3 — City of Southport approves ordinance limiting vacation rentals (July 9, 2021) (https://www.wwaytv3.com/city-of-southport-approves-ordinance-limiting-vacation-rentals/). WECT — Southport revisits STR ordinance post-Schroeder (August 2022). State Port Pilot — Brunswick County 2024 visitor spending ($1.22B). NC 4th of July Festival — 2026 dates (https://nc4thofjuly.com/). U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament — schedule (https://www.usopenkmt.com/schedule). UNC School of Government — Schroeder and N.C.G.S. § 160D-1207(c). S.L. 1989-639 — Southport occupancy tax authority. Brunswick County — Room Occupancy Tax (https://www.brunswickcountync.gov/382/Room-Occupancy-Tax). Margaret Rudd and Associates — Southport rentals (https://www.rudd.com/). Nicholas Sparks — Safe Haven (Southport filming locations). Avalara — Brunswick County sales tax (6.75%). AirROI — Bald Head Island market report ($686 ADR).