I have finally read something that makes me feel as though there could be some turning in the real estate market.  This is from a blog that is a national real estate market blog.  Yes, I have said that there is no such thing as the “National Real Estate Market”, but this information is of value as one person’s experience.

Sellers Finally Get It About Price.

This encourages me as a home builder on two levels.  First, Sussex County and the Delaware Beaches are a destination market.  People want to live here because of the lifestyle and the location.  People like the small rural feel found in towns like Lewes, Milton, and Rehoboth Beach.  People like the location of the area because it is near the beach, but even more so because it is a reasonable drive from Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the New York/New Jersey Metro region.  We have a great number of people looking to retire here because of our reduced living expenses (Sussex County has not assessed property taxes since 1974), and they find that the Delaware Beaches are close enough to what and who they love who live where they used to live.  That lets them have a lifestyle here and visit the grandkids there- and also bribe their grown children with a free beach house in the summer.

All of that to say this- people can’t buy here until they sell the house they currently own.  Most people who have come into the Capstone Sales Center in the last year have been people who have a home to sell.  Those home sellers have come into our models as buyers- buyers who are very willing to negotiate a great deal on a home they want to purchase.  The catch is that they are sitting at the other side of the table back home.  As sellers, they aren’t willing to make the concessions required to sell their home.  It’s a catch-22- they want a low purchase price and a high sales price.  You can’t ever get both.

If a person is selling a home and then buying another one, the state of the market probably doesn’t matter too much (as long as the debt on the home being sold by such person isn’t too high).  For example, in a bad market, the person will get less for the home in Jersey, but also pay less for the home at the Delaware Beaches.  In a strong market, the person will get more for their home in Jersey, but also pay more for the home at the Delaware Beaches.  If you are sitting on both sides of the table (buyer and seller) within a short period of time, then the relative strengths of the market will balance either way.

So, I’m gratified that sellers are coming to grips with reality.  As a home builder, I am always the seller, and I have been taking a beating from buyers for three years.  I’m used to it, and my prices represent the state of the market.  I’m just glad that the folks who are sellers before they become my buyers are waking up to the reality of the current real estate market.

I’m also excited because I would like to see our real estate market stabilize.  The Lewes-Rehoboth-Milton are of the Delaware beaches is very dependent on tourism and real estate, and these are hard times for people in this market.  I’m sure the same could be said about many other places, but this is where I live (and therefore what I know).

As I have said before- there is no national real estate market.  I know of no community in Lewes, Milton or Rehoboth Beach, Delaware that has half-finished homes or lines or bank owned property.  99.33% of all homes in Delaware are NOT in foreclosure (so says RealtyTrac as of 12/31/08).  The Delaware Beaches are a great place to own a second home, and Lewes/Rehoboth/Milton are even better places to retire!

Enjoy the weekend.