The Inner Banks is a neologism without historical precedent used by developers and tourism promoters to describe the inland coastal region of eastern North Carolina. The term "Inner Banks" is a recent construct on the part of developers and the tourism industry to rebrand the mostly agrarian coastal plain as a more attractive region for visitors and retirees. The term is rarely used colloquially. Many long-time residents are resisting the adoption of the term to describe the area since it is perceived as a marketing tool with a scant history behind it. Its construction plays on the historical area known as the Outer Banks, a string of barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina that are a popular tourist attraction. The demand for waterfront property in eastern North Carolina as a site for second homes for the relatively wealthy has resulted in a tremendous disparity of prices. Frequently otherwise equivalent lots on opposite sides of a road will have broadly divergent tax and appraisal values. For example, on Rock Creek Road in Jones County, riverfront lots on the Trent River have a tax value of $201,286 per acre; lots immediately across the road have a tax value of $33,634 per acre, according to the Jones County GIS maps. Strictly speaking, only the actual waterfront lots should be considered "Inner Banks", but designating non-waterfront lots as "Inner Banks" creates an artificial desirability in the eyes of prospective buyers from afar.