How to find demolition leads in Wilmington from building permits — free
Wilmington & New Hanover County filed 229 demolition permits in the last 12 months — about 4.4 a week, 41 in the last 30 days. Every one is a public record naming the address, the work and, usually, who's doing it. Here's how builders, demolition contractors and suppliers find them for free, which ones are worth a call, and when it's worth paying not to.
The busiest ZIP code was 28403, with 17% of them, and the most active name on them was Ingram Bros Inc, with 21.
- Last 12 months
- 229
- A week, on average
- 4.4
- Last 30 days
- 41
- Busiest month
- 42
- October 2026
Step 1: Search New Hanover County's COAST portal (free)
The permit office's own records, straight from the source. Search for: demolition, and new residential dwellings.
- Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look).
- Set the search to Permit, then filter by permit type (residential or commercial building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) and an applied or issued date range.
- Page through the results; each permit opens to its address, work description and status.
Who's on a permit: A permit's page lists its contacts on some permits, not all.
Step 2: Keep the permits worth a call
Does the work need a permit in North Carolina? Yes. Demolishing or removing a building needs a building permit before work starts. So these are the demolition permits on file, and what each is worth.
Teardowns
A house demolished on an infill lot is usually followed by a new one. The owner or builder on the demolition permit is about to need a site, foundation and every trade after it.
Owner-filed demolitions
Where the owner filed the permit, they may not have picked a builder yet: the one lead on this list a builder can still win outright.
Commercial demolitions
Interior and partial demolitions come before an upfit or a redevelopment, and the general contractor on the next permit buys the trades.
Step 4: Know who's pulling them
The builders on this list are tearing down to rebuild; the demolition contractors are who you're up against. Ranked by permits in the last 12 months.
| Contractor | Last 12 months | Last 90 days |
|---|---|---|
| Ingram Bros Inc | 21 | 4 |
| Deck And Patio Tuneup Inc | 9 | 1 |
| 4 Seasons Demolition Inc | 7 | 5 |
| Dae Building Inc | 6 | 3 |
| Timeless Properties Inc | 5 | 1 |
| Hallmark Building Corporation | 4 | 0 |
| Rodgers Builders | 4 | 4 |
| Sexton Construction Coastal LLC | 3 | 0 |
| Monteith Construction Corp | 3 | 3 |
| Of The Essence Designs LLC (Gc) | 3 | 2 |
| Lightning Labor Construction Services LLC | 3 | 0 |
| Ghhp LLC | 2 | 0 |
Step 5: Reach out at the right time
Call when the demolition permit is filed. The new-home permit for the same address often follows within months, and by then the builder has the crews.
The free way, and the fast way
The permits are free either way. What costs time is finding them, one office and one search at a time.
| The office's portal | TarSignal Free | TarSignal Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | One permit office's site at a time | 23 North Carolina offices, one search | 23 offices, one search |
| How recent | Same day, if you search every day | Permits over 30 days old | Up to today |
| Who's doing the work | Depends on the office; phone numbers rarely | Contractor and contact, on permits over 30 days old | Contractor and contact on every permit |
| New permits sent to you | No | Weekly, one ZIP code | Daily, every area |
| Export | Rarely | No | CSV |
| Cost | Free | Free | $199/month |
Demolition Leads in Wilmington: common questions
- How do I find demolition leads in Wilmington for free?
- From the building permits. New Hanover County's COAST portal is free to search: Open the portal and choose Search (no account needed to look). TarSignal's free search has the same permits from 23 North Carolina offices in one place, with the contractor where the record names one, for permits more than 30 days old.
- How many demolition permits are filed in Wilmington?
- 229 in the last 12 months, about 4.4 a week, and 41 in the last 30 days. The busiest ZIP codes were 28403, 28409 and 28412.
- Are building permits public record in North Carolina?
- Yes. Permits are public records under the North Carolina Public Records Act (G.S. Chapter 132), so anyone can look them up, and the contractor named on a permit is part of the record.
- Does demolition need a permit in Wilmington?
- Yes. Demolishing or removing a building needs a building permit before work starts. That's state law (G.S. 160D-1110), so it's the same at any permit office in the state.
Related
The numbers behind this guide, with recent permits: Demolition permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County. Every permit in the area: building permits in Wilmington & New Hanover County.
Demolition Leads in other places
See this week's demolition leads
Permit Search has every demolition permit filed in Wilmington & New Hanover County, with the contractor where the record names one. Free for permits over 30 days old; Pro has them the day they're filed.
Source: TarSignal, from North Carolina public building permit records, data through October 28, 2026. Refreshed nightly. Counts include every permit type a jurisdiction files — trade permits (electrical, plumbing, mechanical) as well as building permits — so one project can appear more than once. Values are what the applicant declared, where the jurisdiction records one. We keep improving how we collect each office's permits, so a count that steps up suddenly usually means more complete records, not more construction.