Ever since Sandy devastated so much of the Mid-Atlantic Region, many of our Buyer Clients have asked this question – Is Lewes, Delaware in a flood zone? That is quickly followed by this question – Can I get flood insurance and what will it cost?

Delaware was very lucky and damage from Sandy was minor compared to our neighbors to the north in New Jersey and New York. We all need to think about our risk and protect ourselves against potential natural disasters. I found the information below on the Town of Lewes, Delaware, web site. It’s a good place to start.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), flooding in the United States causes more property damage than any other type of natural disaster. FEMA recommends, therefore, that EVERYONE HAVE FLOOD INSURANCE. WHY? There are several reasons: 90% of all natural disasters involve flooding and between 25% and 30% of flood insurance claims come from areas designated as low risk. Most homeowners insurance policies DO NOT cover losses resulting from flooding. Federal disaster assistance programs WILL NOT pay for flood damage UNLESS the President declares the affected area a Federal Disaster Area, and most floods are too small or local to qualify for Federal assistance. Some people have purchased flood insurance because the bank required it when they got a mortgage or home improvement loan. Usually these policies just cover the structure and not the contents. During the kind of flooding that typically occurs in Lewes, there is usually more damage to furniture and contents than there is to the structure. At last count, there were 758 flood insurance policies in Lewes. If you are covered, review your policy to be sure that you have contents coverage. If you do not have flood insurance, talk to your insurance agent. Even if prior flooding events did not affect your property or you have done some flood proofing, the next flood could be worse. Flood insurance covers all surface floods.

A “National Flood Insurance Program Brochure,” prepared by the City’s “Project Impact,” is available at the counter at Lewes City Hall. The brochure provides the Top 10 Facts Every Consumer Needs to Know About the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)” as well as information about purchasing flood insurance, including a listing of participating insurance companies in Delaware.

TOP 10 FACTS EVERY HOMEOWNER NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT FLOOD INSURANCE

1. Everyone lives in a flood zone – You don’t need to live near water to be flooded. Floods are caused by storms, melting snow, hurricanes, and water backup due to inadequate or overloaded drainage systems, dam or levee failure.

FULL ARTICLE

What happens when you price your home right? The phone rings. Agents schedule showing appointments. There is excitement and activity. A new listing in a nice community that is priced appropriately for the market will be noticed. You stand a very good chance of getting an offer.

What happens when your price is too high?

Price your home too high for the market and people will just disregard it. Sellers often ask “Why doesn’t someone just make an offer? We’re willing to negotiate.” The problem is – Buyers will not even make an offer on a home that they perceive as being over priced. A little high – Maybe. A lot high – No. There are other options and Buyers will move on.

First Impressions Count

You’ve heard it – you only get one chance to make a first impression. That is true in all the important aspects of real estate -

• Curb Appeal
• Staging
• Pricing

It all has to be spot on to achieve the desired result in today’s real estate market.

Everyone wants to know. As a REALTOR, when I go to a party or the grocery store or a local Happy Hour, everyone wants to know – How’s the real estate market? “Great”, I tell them, and then I explain further “remember, all real estate is local, and in Lewes the real estate market is very good!”

The National News talks about the averages and that includes a whole lot of locations without the appeal of Lewes, Delaware. Retiring Baby Boomers are flocking to Lewes and one of the communities in which they are buying homes is Bay Crossing. It’s just the right size with 256 homes on the East side of Route 1 and easy access into town.

34838 Capstan Lane

So, what’s selling? A lot and quickly. That includes both new, to-be-built homes and the few resale homes as they become available. As of May 4th, there were 10 homes Under Contract; 2 of them are existing homes and 8 of them are new homes being built. That’s a lot of activity that might surprise you if you only watch the National News. And the prices at which homes in Bay Crossing are selling far exceeds the averages even for Sussex County.

How about Prices?

There were only 3 existing homes for sale as of the 4th and they are very competitively priced when I compare them to comparable recent home sales as an Appraiser would do. You can keep your eye on current active listings here – For Sale at Bay Crossing – but pay close attention to the pricing. The new, to-be-built homes when listed are shown at the Base Model Price. Existing homes are listed at the actual asking price which includes all the upgrades and options added by the original homeowner. Buying an almost new home is just like buying a low mileage pre-owned car to me. Just think about all the other included features you will have to buy for a new home. Even blinds can really add up.

Treed lots in active adult communities are difficult to find in Delaware. Why? Our 55+ communities are all very new. Before there were houses and pools and tennis courts, there were corn fields and winter wheat or fields of soy beans. The only trees were on the periphery of the farm if there were any at all.

Independence

One popular active adult community with a beautiful tree line is the current phase at Independence. I wish I had snapped a photo last week before the big rain and wind. The colors were incredible! I asked John to email a photo – see it to the right. This was before the fall colors but it does show you the density of the tree line.

Once these lots are gone, there won’t be more on a tree line for at least a year or more.

Where else can you find treed lots in an Active Adult community? (more…)

In the Delaware beach resort town of Lewes, Kathy Sperl-Bell, CRS, of RE/MAX Associates, says activity among baby boomers started picking up again earlier this year after a three-year slowdown. In much of the country, Realtors are feeling the pain of boomers’ inability or unwillingness to invest in another home while the economy remains stuck in a rut.

Since the interview conducted early this summer, Sperl-Bell has seen a dramatic increase in home sales to boomers getting ready for retirement in the Lewes, Delaware, area. “There is a lot of new construction in the communities in and around Lewes that have specific appeal to those 55+, and my clients can tell the difference.”

Read More in New View? in The Residential Specialist, by Daniel Rome Levine

This past weekend, I went to my 45th high school reunion in Wayne, New Jersey. It was great to see old friends and take the tour of our old haunts, but WOW, how things have changed. The traffic was the most obvious and also the most talked about among my classmates who still live in the area. Traffic affects every aspect of life, especially in Northern New Jersey. Next, of course, is the taxes. Even the most financially successful talked about how much they pay in taxes and all of them knew that Delaware taxes are much lower. One classmate owns Antoinette’s a guest house in Cape May, New Jersey, the other end of the Lewes Ferry!

It’s always difficult to move away from family and friends, but Lewes, Delaware is really not that far. It’s certainly closer than Florida or the Carolinas! If you’d like to come down and see if you like it here, give us a call. We know what it’s like to move from New Jersey to Delaware!

That’s one of the questions on everyone’s mind these days and I hear it at the gym, at the Chamber of Commerce meetings and when we go out to dinner or a movie. “How’s the market, Kathy?” I yell right back “Great! The real estate market is doing great!” And it really is. This time last year we weren’t sure just how 2009 would turn out. Late spring we noticed things picking up and by September, we were crushed.

I just took a look at the overall numbers for all of 19958, the Lewes zip code, and here’s what I found:

At least 234 single family homes were sold and settled. It’s possible that more were settled and just not available in the system yet. More may have gone under contract but not yet made it to the settlement table.

Homes sold in the historic district, in Lewes Beach and Cape Shores, in Pilottown Village and the many newer subdividions in and around town. The Lewes zip code goes halfway out Route 24 until you hit the Long Neck area; then it becomes a Millsboro address.

According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), at the high end of the market, 6 homes sold for over $1Million. Another 34 homes sold between $500,000 and $1 Million. Most of the sales activity was under $500,000, and the largest number of homes sold - 139 - sold below $350,000. In fact, the average sale price of all homes sold in Sussex County in 2009 was $341,639, down from $378,414 in 2008. Inventory is down however over 7%.

So, what does this mean? Prices have come down, sales are increasing and inventory (of homes for sale) is decreasing. Sounds like a good time to buy.

Homeowners, Guests, Realtors – over 200 of us – had a great evening with funny money at Nassau Grove Saturday, March 14th. Several clients of mine who have bought homes at Nassau Grove recently were right in the thick of the crowd at the blackjack table. You can see the back of my head there at the crab table. I’m so glad it wasn’t real money or I would be at the Soup Kitchen today!

Ask  me if Nassau Grove might be the right community for your future life here in Lewes, Delaware.

The new Phase now under construction by Blenheim Homes at Bay Crossing is moving along and there are three models open. Nestled against a dense tree line in the back of the community, the new homes with full basements are very appealing to many of our clients. Each home is available as either a single level or a two story home. This is a very popular active adult community with a Lewes address in a great location East of Route One. The clubhouse, pool and tennis court are already open and bustling with activity every time I visit with my buyer clients.