Entire North Carolina home moved away from oceanfront

Moving is a headache. But imagine moving your entire house. No packed boxes. I’m talking the floor, the ceiling, the walls and the sofa all at the same time.

Well, that’s what this Buxton, North Carolina homeowner did. 

Neighboring properties have crumbled into the ocean after facing strong winds and large waves.  These owners acted to save their property before it might be too late. 

After three weeks of efforts, the 264,500-pound oceanfront home is now in a new, hopefully safer spot.

“The house was lifted and the pilings cut using wood cribbing and a unified jacking system. Then lowered back down on hydraulic dollies. An excavator pulled the house with a chain to the new preset pilings. The house was then lifted with the unified jacking system and rolled onto the pilings using yellow rollers,” Jenni Koontz of Epic Shutter Photography said. “All the furniture stays in place during the move.”

The homeowner paid out of pocket for the new lot, the cost of the move and the rebuild costs, according to Koontz.

“The landscape surely looks different with five more houses gone since yesterday,” Koontz said after an eventful day last October. “Unbelievable, the amount of erosion and loss of property in just two months. Debris all down the beach and in the ocean. Snapped pilings, furniture, appliances, household items.”

According to local news outlet Island Free Press, 27 oceanfront homes had collapsed on Hatteras Island since 2020, as of October 2025. And just since September 2025, a total of 20 oceanfront homes have collapsed along the Outer Banks, as of April this year.

“Hopefully, with the upcoming beach nourishment project this summer in Buxton and the rebuild of the first jetty, this house will be safe from the ocean for many years to come,” Koontz added.

Content writer Ada Wood enjoys exploring the stories that science and climate teach us about our natural world and how it influences the way we live in it.