How do people know when the housing market is about to recover?

The truth- we don’t.  What we do know is a few things:

A.  The housing market will recover.  Population is growing, and people are changing their situations in life.  As those two things happen, people are going to buy and sell homes.

B. The current level of new construction is too low to support population growth and household formation.  What that means is that there aren’t enough new homes being built to support people who will need them.  Current new home sales figures are the LOWEST ever recorded.  That means that fewer homes are being sold now than in the mid-1960’s.  The catch is that there are, give or take, 100,000,000 people in this country that weren’t here in the mid-1960’s.  When (and if, so it seems) that this economy recovers, there will not be many new homes for people.  That won’t be true of condos in Miami or small homes in Fontana, California… but if you ask a Delaware Realtor if there is a good supply of Delaware New Homes at the Delaware Beach market- they will probably tell you “no”.  At Capstone Homes, we have sold all of our Capstone Quick Delivery Homes, and the crazy weather has made if difficult to keep inventory homes available.

C.  For Delaware Beach Homes, most people will need to sell their current home before buying in a Capstone community like Holland Mills, Bay Pointe, or Cannery Village.  An article in the Washington Post tells me that many people are now more able to sell their homes because the market in the Washington DC Metro Area has picked up from last year.  There are a number of people who would like to get into Capstone’s awesome Delaware Retirement Communities, and we’ve already seen the market pick up here at the low-tax Delaware Beaches.

The Delaware Beaches are the Place for Retirement!

The Delaware Beaches are rapidly becoming a smart destination for active people who are looking to retire from the high tax states of the northeast and mid-Atlantic.

“What someone on Long Island calls a tax payment is something a retiree at the Delaware Beaches calls a mortgage payment,” says Scott Dailey, Managing Partner of Capstone Homes, a Delaware New Home Builder.

We talk to people everyday who are looking to escape the high taxes of states like New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  Delaware is one of the most tax-friendly states for retirement.

“People in New Jersey talk about paying $10,000 or more for property taxes.  Maybe that made sense when kids were in the schools, but it sure doesn’t make sense for retirement,” says Dailey.

Retirement at the Delaware Beaches makes sense- from the cost of living, to the coastal lifestyle of the Delaware Beaches, to the proximity to friends and family who still live in the northeast.

People want to retire south- mostly to escape weather and taxes.  The Delaware Beaches give an escape from the weather for 9 months of the year, but the Delaware Beaches are also a comfortable car drive from most major cities in the Northeast.

Please come and visit the Delaware Beaches before you move south- contact Capstone and be our guest.

Capstone is a builder of fine new homes in some of the best Delaware Retirement Communities at the Delaware Beaches.  Capstone has single family homes that make great Delaware Beach Homes.  Capstone Homes has amazing quality and value in Delaware New Homes.  Capstone Homes is waiting to make your Delaware retirement dreams come true!

Capstone is a builder of fine Delaware Beach Homes

A Capstone Home in Cannery Village purchased by a First Time Homebuyer

The time is running out for people who are interested in claiming the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

The website established to answer questions about the tax credit says that anyone who wants to qualify for the credit must have a valid contract on a home by April 30th, 2010.  That home must go to settlement by June 30th, 2010.

For Capstone Homes, this is a little more complicated- since there is a good chance that your home hasn’t been built.  Capstone usually builds homes to suit- great Delaware new homes in communities like Holland Mills and Cannery Village.

What this means is that there are only a few weeks for someone to come in and purchase a new Capstone home and expect to have the home completed before the tax credit expires.

If you are interested in a new Delaware Beach Home, please contact Capstone Homes immediately to take advantage of this great government program.

A few details about the program from the government website:

What is the definition of a first-time homebuyer?

The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For married taxpayers, the law tests the homeownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse.

For example, if you have not owned a home in the past three years but your spouse has owned a principal residence, neither you nor your spouse qualifies for the first-time home buyer tax credit. However, IRS Notice 2009-12 allows unmarried joint purchasers to allocate the credit amount to any buyer who qualifies as a first-time buyer, such as may occur if a parent jointly purchases a home with a son or daughter. Ownership of a vacation home or rental property not used as a principal residence does not disqualify a buyer as a first-time home buyer.

The Income limits for the tax credit:

For sales occuring after November 6, 2009, the income limit for single taxpayers is $125,000; the limit is $225,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The tax credit amount is reduced for buyers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of more than $125,000 for single taxpayers and $225,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The phaseout range for the tax credit program is equal to $20,000. That is, the tax credit amount is reduced to zero for taxpayers with MAGI of more than $145,000 (single) or $245,000 (married) and is reduced proportionally for taxpayers with MAGIs between these amounts.

Good information, but don’t wait!!!

Builders love to talk about the house- all the time.  One builder is Energy Star, one builder has standard granite… the list goes on an on about what is in the house.

Do builders ever talk about where the house is?

Capstone Homes- we do.  We think the community is important.  We think it’s vital.

Capstone Homes blogged last week about another builder who was being sued by the State of Delaware for not installing promised amenities in a community.  Lots of new home builders will tell someone who is interested in purchasing a new home just about anything to get the sale.

At Capstone Homes, let’s say that you come into the Sales Center looking for a new home in our hot selling community- Holland Mills.  Like other builders, Capstone will make its case that we are the best builder of Delaware New Homes in the Lewes, Milton, Rehoboth Area.  We will talk about the great floorplans and standard features that you can find in a Capstone Home.  We will talk about all of the other residents that you can join in Capstone Homes’ Holland Mills community- we are building lots of new Delaware Beach Homes.

Once we show you our amazing floorplans- one and two story homes with first floor owner’s suites- custom flooring options, etc.. Most of our buyers will ask about the community- Holland Mills.

We won’t promise you a clubhouse- but we will promise to show you the clubhouse.  It’s done.  We will show you that Holland Mills is in a quiet spot- but it’s close to everything.  Come this summer and take a splash in the pool.  We won’t tell you when its going to be done- we’ll give you a tour.

Think about location when you are looking for a Delaware Beach Home.  Think about Capstone’s Holland Mills- great new homes near Milton,De.

Welcome Home?

Capstone Homes doesn't promise a club house. We give tours of a club house.

When this blog talks about the housing market- there is a mantra that you will hear over and over again-

There is NO national housing market…. over and over again.  If you are thinking about buying a new Delaware Beach Home, then you will have to check out the local market- if you want to see about whether or not NOW is a good time to purchase a Delaware new home- you can’t read CNBC.  You can’t even read Delawareonline.com.  If you live in the Lewes, Rehoboth, Milton area, then you know that local means not just the state of Delaware.  Local means Sussex County.

All that being said- Capstone Homes wants to provide you with some first-hand evidence that the Delaware Beach real estate market is turning into something better than it was:

In Cannery Village last week, Capstone Homes sold its last quick delivery home.  We have zero quick delivery homes available.  We are getting ready to start a bunch of quick delivery homes, but the weather has caused havoc on our construction schedule of late- and we have too many presold homes to start.  Quick Delivery homes need to wait- for now.

Last November, we had five quick delivery homes.  Now we have none.  This is a sign of something…

This was the last quick delivery home from Capstone Homes at the Delaware Beaches, but alas, it's gone.

If you’re currently buried in the snow…

We miss you at the beach.  Capstone Homes is completely sick of this record winter weather, and we look forward to visits from our friends in the Northeast this spring.  New homes in Lewes, Milton and Rehoboth Beach are just waiting for you, and Capstone Homes will be here when you plan to make your spring visit.  In the meantime, Capstone Homes is happy to send you a link to this week’s copy of Coastal Sussex Magazine- an online magazine about the Delaware Beach area.  Enjoy:

Coastal Sussex

Here at Capstone Homes- we are dedicated to providing an honest look at Delaware New Homes, Delaware Beach Homes, the real estate market in Delaware, and housing in general.

This blog has also frequently been a cheerleader for new home sales- and this blog has been preaching for the last year that the market is turning.

This time, the stats have me in a corner.  There is no way to spin the news that new home sales in January were miserable.  The statistics show that January 2010 was the WORST MONTH IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATISTIC- SINCE 1963 OR SOMETHING.

That’s horrible.  I don’t know how you say otherwise.  Look at the raw government data HERE, and it’s not pretty.

At the same time, I have always told people that there is no “national” real estate market.  The new homes in Milton- Capstone’s communities like Cannery Village, Holland Mills, Pemberton, Bay Pointe and Estates at Carriage Springs- those communities are selling very well.  We had a good month in January- not a great month, but January isn’t always a great month for new Delaware beach homes.

If you’re waiting to purchase a new home- I don’t know why.  Interest rates have nowhere to go except UP.  There is all kinds of federal tax credit money available for first time homebuyers and people who are selling an existing home.  Prices are down- and the total new home inventory in the US is 234,000 homes built but not sold.  Last January it was 340,000.  The historical average of new home sales in a year is 686,000* from 1963-2009.  That means- when the market does recover, there will not be enough new homes in existence.  That STILL makes today a buying opportunity.

There are certainly some people who are saying that the sky is still falling- and I think that is true in certain areas of the nation.  The sky isn’t falling in Delaware. Capstone Homes in Delaware is looking to grow- and we think the recovery is going to be a great thing for Sussex County and the Delaware Beaches in general.

*based on the average of annualized rates from 1963-2009 as provided by http://www.census.gov/const/www/newressalesindex_excel.html

The math was done locally.

Capstone Homes is happy to be able to display some long-overdue renderings of the Taylor model home in Cannery Village.

Cannery Village in Milton, Delaware is a great Milton new home community near the Delaware beaches.

Cannery Village is located in the heart of Historic Milton, Delaware, and is just minutes from the great attractions of the Delaware Beaches.  Capstone Homes builds single family and twin Delaware New Homes in Cannery Village.  Cannery Village features the best of all that is available in new home communities- Energy Star construction, modern floorplans, a community center with an indoor pool… while the small lots and small town feel are preserved.  Capstone Homes in Cannery Village is everything you want, and Capstone Homes has an amazing value in new Delaware Beach homes.  Cannery Village makes a great Delaware retirement community- and Delaware is an amazing low-tax retirement destination.

Take a look at some of the renderings of the Taylor in Cannery Village below.  The Taylor is a 1768 sq. ft. home that features 3 BR and 2.5BA.  The Taylor features a first floor owner’s suite and seventeen foot ceilings in the great room.  The Taylor is a great home waiting for you in Cannery Village…

Capstone Homes in Cannery Village, Taylor Elevation A

Capstone Homes in Cannery Village, Milton- Taylor Elevation B

Capstone Homes in Cannery Village, Milton, Taylor Elevation C

Capstone Homes in Cannery Village, Milton- Taylor Elevation D

Capstone Homes in Cannery Village, Milton, Taylor Elevation E

Stop reading about Capstone Homes-

Start watching and listening- a fresh video from the Delaware Beach Homes

Check the YOU TUBE VIDEO HERE.

Enjoy.

The Delaware Beaches aren’t the best kept secret any more-

CNBC has just published materials about Rehoboth Beach, Delaware- as one of the top retirement destinations in the United States.

The Delaware Beaches have many great Delaware retirement communities.  The low-taxes and lower cost of living make a Delaware beach home a great choice for people who are looking to escape the higher taxes of other mid-Atlantic and northeast states.  Rather than Arizona or Florida- Delaware keeps to you close to the ones you love.

Capstone is a builder of fine energy-star, semi-custom homes.  We are a local based builder who focuses on building a quality home in great communities.

If you’re looking at Rehoboth Beach as a retirement destination, but you find that you’re on a budget that doesn’t let you own that close to the ocean- think about Milton, Delaware.  Milton is just minutes from the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach area- and it is a great town with a wonderful coastal history.  Milton offers the small-town charm of a rural town with some coastal flavor.  You’ll love a new home in Milton- in a great community like Cannery Village.  Cannery Village is the best of the old and new- small lots, great community, modern homes and modern amenities.  Cannery Village is like no other community at the Delaware Beaches.

If you would like to be a bit closer to the beach- but still able to find great prices- think about Holland Mills.  Larger lots- walking trails, a community clubhouse and pool- Holland Mills is a great place for someone who is looking for a Delaware new home at an amazing price.  Holland Mills makes a great Delaware retirement community or a great Delaware beach home.

Check out Milton and Capstone Homes today!

Capstone Homes builds new homes in Coastal Milton, Delaware