Duck

One of the best beach towns in America, Duck is able to give off a small-town, family-friendly vibe that allows everyone to feel at home as soon as you enter the town limit. Duck is in the Northern Outer Banks and has several distinguishing characteristics to that of other beach towns. It is best known for the mile-long sound-side boardwalk that has the sound on one side and shopping and dining on the other. There are opportunities for kayaking, jet skiing, paddle boarding, and boating as you walk through downtown.

Something notable about Duck is that there are no public access parking areas for any of the beaches. This means visitors will need to walk to the beach from the houses they are staying at. This is not an issue, however, because Duck is located at a very narrow part of the Outer Banks and every house here is very close to the beach! It also means that the beaches are significantly less crowded than anywhere else on the Outer Banks.

Investments in Duck, NC

The neighborhoods in Duck vary widely from newer developments that offer many amenities to older more classic and wooded neighborhoods. Not all neighborhoods here collect HOA dues, but it is worth double checking when running numbers. Houses that are walkable or bikeable to the downtown are high in demand and rent very well! Almost all of the houses that are in walking distance to the downtown are on the ocean side because the boardwalk takes up the majority of the sound side. Duck is also the town to look for houses that have both a sound and ocean view due to the narrow location on the barrier island and the elevated ridges that are present here. Similar to Corolla, Duck has a short rental season that sees houses booked from Memorial to Labor Day and then tapers off quickly throughout September. This long off season is good for owner usage and making necessary updates to properties. Restaurants and shopping along the boardwalk close down in the winter, but to a lesser extent than up in Corolla. Lastly, Duck properties, no matter what their rental income, hold their value arguably more than any other town in the Outer Banks. This is due to a lack of supply and the number of second home owners who have or want to buy property in Duck. You can definitely make the numbers work in this town, but understand that you may be competing against buyers who want to own property here simply because it is such an amazing place regardless of rents!