A homeowner in Buxton, North Carolina, hauled an entire oceanfront beach house, all 264,500 pounds of it, onto a new lot last week. This was done as a precaution before the Atlantic Ocean could swallow it the way it’s swallowed several of the houses around it. The furniture stayed inside the home during the move, but it had to be done.
According to coverage by The Cool Down and The Weather Channel, the move took place on Hatteras Island, where ongoing erosion has caused dozens of oceanfront homes to collapse into the Atlantic in recent years. The home in question had been at increasing risk as strong winds, surf, and erosion had been affecting the coastline. Rather than wait for what had happened to neighboring properties, the homeowner simply opted to move.
Jenni Koontz, a Buxton photographer with Epic Shutter Photography, documented the move every step of the way. He described the process in detail, noting that the house was first lifted from its foundation using wood cribbing and a unified jacking system. The pilings were cut, and then the structure was lowered back down onto hydraulic dollies.
An excavator then pulled the home with a chain to a new set of preset pilings on a different lot, where the structure was rolled into place, according to Koontz. The entire move was paid for out of pocket by the homeowner, who also covered the cost of the new lot and the rebuilding work required to put the house back onto its new foundation. The result is one of the rare beach houses on Hatteras Island that has chosen to retreat rather than disappear.
Why the Move Was Needed
The move was carried out as Hatteras Island’s coastline continues to lose ground to the Atlantic. As previously mentioned, oceanfront homes on the island have been collapsing into the sea at a steady rate. Island Free Press reported in October 2025 that 27 oceanfront homes on Hatteras Island had already collapsed before action was taken to preserve this one.
FOX Weather coverage of a February 2026 historic bomb cyclone nor’easter put the running total at 31 home collapses since 2020 after a separate cluster of three homes fell on the Outer Banks in the days after that storm. The Buxton homeowner’s relocation was expensive but necessary for any oceanfront property owner, especially one whose home is still standing far enough from the new shoreline to be salvageable.
It might be odd to see homes “disappearing” from the area, but unfortunately, with inhospitable ground like this, it’s a necessity if homeowners want to keep their property. There is a special project, however, underway in Buxton that will see a jetty rebuilt that can keep houses safe from the elements.