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Capstone Homes builds wonderful homes in the Lewes, Rehoboth, Milton area of the Delaware Beaches.
Most of the homes we build are for second homes and people who are looking to retire. We don’t actually build in 55+ communities, but as I’ve said in previous posts, the vast majority of communities in this area are 55+ by default. I think that a non-age restricted community is actually better for people (and maybe resale value), but I’m not going to have that debate here.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a 55+ community in Delaware, the chances are that you are moving from somewhere else. That means you have a current home to sell. Buying a new home at the Delaware Beaches means you have to sell an existing home somewhere else.
From the perspective of Capstone- this means that we need home inventories to move in other markets before we see this market pick up. Today I am here to tell you that I think the other markets are beginning to stabilize, and that’s one of the steps on the road to recovery.
See this link here. This link compiles multiple list data from the Washington DC metro market. I’m sure it’s not completely accurate, but I think it is good enough to paint a broad stroke of the market.
Typically, this is one of the times of the year where inventory is at its highest- people get through the holidays and the winter, and then the house goes on the market. Inventory is down 18.7% year-over-year. Listing prices are down 11.8%. I think the media has pretty well covered the price drops, but the inventory number is what counts- fewer homes on the market this year than this time last year.
You can boil the entire real estate market problems down to two things: too many homes that are too expensive.
I’m not an economist; I build homes at the Delaware beaches. I don’t think I need a degree to figure out that prices and inventories are down, and it might be time for me to get excited about the summer. If you’re looking for a great new home in the Delaware Beach area- Lewes, Rehoboth, Milton- please check us out.
Capstone is blessed to have a high-visibilty sales center located on Route 9. One of the many benefits to that is the joy of having people stop in a tell us a thing or two about the housing market. Most of the time, it’s great to meet someone, hear their story, and maybe talk about a new home in Milton.
Some of the time, it makes me wish I was an American Idol judge- where I can just say “thank you” and the person has to leave the room.
From time-to-time, people come in and tell us that they are definitely in the market for a new home in the Lewes, Milton, Rehoboth area. These people may be first time homebuyers, or they may be looking to retire to the area. People love the Delaware Beaches. Then these people go on to tell us that they are waiting for the “bottom” of the market to buy a new home in Lewes, Milton or Rehoboth Beach.
It is then that I want to ask to see their crystal ball- the one that tells them when we reach the “bottom” or the market. I don’t ask, but I want to. Are prices going to drop in Lewes? Is the market still falling in Milton? If it keeps dropping- can I afford Rehoboth? It seems to me that if you can walk in off the street and time the real estate market, then I need to be working for you.
The economic mess this country is experiencing has given me the opportunity to reset some priorities in my life. Life is now less about money (which is not necessarily by choice) and more about quality of life. When I’m talking about quality of life, the most important asset in life is not money but TIME.
The catch with time is that none of us know how much of it we really have.
It would be unfortunate to time the housing market (for the sake of money) and lose the quality time of owning a new home at the Delaware Beaches. I would rather look back on the treasured memories that a second home, a first home, or a retirement home can create than I would at a few thousand extra dollars in the bank. Prices are low- the deals on new homes are amazing- don’t lose the time to gain a little more money. A new home is much more than dollars- it’s a lifestyle. Life- and time- are precious and finite. Don’t waste them for the sake of money. If you buy now, you might lost money in the short-term. I don’t think anyone knows where the economy is going. You will gain a quality of life that money cannot buy.
Here’s an interesting article from the Washington Post about people who have decided to buy. Click Here.
If I had to give someone who is buying a new home some advice, here’s what it would be:
Make sure you trust the builder.
I mean trust in the “we can get this done with a handshake” type of trust. That doesn’t mean you do ANYTHING with just a handshake- that’s what contacts are for (and they are a good thing)- but make sure you COULD trust your builder with a handshake if necessary.
If you are going to look at a new home at the Delaware Beaches, you’re going to spend a lot of time looking at the location. There are a great number of builders to choose from if you are looking in Rehoboth Beach. There are different builders if your looking in the Lewes area. Yet another set of a builders will have homes in Milton. Some of these homes are in 55+ communities, but just about all communities are “age-targeted”- meaning that the highest number of new residents are going to be of “active adult” age.
Once you get the location- you’re going to start looking at builders and price. I can tell you that you will be able to get one of the best deals on a new home in the Milton area from Capstone Homes, but any builder is going to give you an amazing price on a new home. The real estate market is soft and new home sales are worse, so builders are usually advertising amazing deals.
Once you get a deal- make sure you trust the builder. If you don’t trust the builder, then building a new home will be a miserable experience. It is in the best interest of your builder to make you happy, and you are going to give the builder a huge amount money to build you something in which you will spend a lot of time.
I recently went to a settlement where there was an established punch list that we would need to complete after settlement. Capstone would have completed the items prior to settlemen, but we needed to fit the schedule of our client. They needed to be in that house at a specific time. Anyway, their realtor decided to recommend that her clients create an escrow agreement to hold back money until these items were completed. This isn’t unusual in our business, but if you actually feel that your builder is going to take your money and run, then you chose your builder poorly.
In the end, there was no escrow done with Capstone- and we were at their home on the next business day working on the list. That same homeowner found some other issues with the home- such as a missing refrigerator ice maker (which wasn’t missing but was turned off)- and we took care of them all. We stand by our homes, and we aren’t going anywhere. We will be here. We don’t build perfect homes, but we will make it right.
Here’s the deal- if you’re going save a few thousand dollars but not be able to trust your builder- you’re not saving anything at all. There is a price for piece of mind. It’s worth it.
You can trust Capstone Homes- we stand by our new homes at the Delaware Beaches!
As blogged here the US Census Bureau is telling us that 2008 marked the first year since 1994 that the average size for a new home in the US has gotten smaller.
In case you don’t track that statistic too closely, the average size of a home in the US grew from 2,050 in 1994 to over 2,400 in 2007. It’s dropped a bit since then, and I think it will continue to trend for a few year.
This change in the market plays into the hands of Capstone Homes. We offer smaller homes- perfect for people who are downsizing in retirement or just getting realistic about how big the home needs to be. Someone woke up a few years ago and realized that energy costs are a part of home ownership- and big houses are energy hogs.
Capstone is committed to building smaller, energy efficient homes. We have homes in the Cape Region- Lewes, Milton, Rehoboth Beach. Our smaller floorplans also feature some of the highest quality materials for any homes built near Lewes, Milton, or Rehoboth Beach. Capstone is blessed to build in some wonderful communities- which are not age-restricted (or 55+), but they are generally age-targeted communities.
Think small, think Green, Think Capstone!
In a previous post, I argued that there was no “national” real estate market. To that end, I have found another blogger who confirms that there is no “national” foreclosure problem. Everything is local, and the post linked here will explain that foreclosures seem to be very decentralized.
Four States the Make up the National Forclosure Market
The bottom line is this: Capstone Homes builds homes in Milton- near Lewes and Rehoboth Beach. We offer quality homes and beach lifestyle for people looking for 55+ lifestyle without the 55+ restrictions. Our homes are priced to reflect the market- and we have many energy efficient features that let our Capstone Home offer years of value. Our Holland Mills community offers a site built, 3BR 2BA home for $189,900 with a Geothermal HVAC system. Who in their right minds thinks it’s not a good time to buy? Please.
Now if I can just convince the media that Delaware is not a suburb of Las Vegas.
This is a very informative article if you’re thinking about buying a new home this year. Check out Capstone Homes. We have the best new homes in the Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, and Milton Areas! Our communities aren’t active adult or retirement communities, but Sussex County, Delaware is a great place to retire. You’ll love the country lifestyle of the Delaware Beaches. Check out our communities of Holland Mills from the $180′s, Cannery Village from the $190′s. Capstone Homes- green value builder at the beach.
Read this:
For Capstone, the main competition we have at the Delaware beaches is from a national homebuilder. To be honest- it’s not that much fun going head-to-head with a company that sells more homes in two weeks (nationwide) than we do in a year. They have lots of smart people who have many different job descriptions. Capstone has me, Jon, and Shawn. We are sales, marketing, production, design, legal, service, warranty, settlement coordination, finance, and whatever else I can’t remember. (Okay- I need to recognize Kathy- our bookkeeper- she is amazing).
Here’s why it makes sense to buy from us:
First- I honestly think we have better value. For the same money or less, we do things that many national homebuilders don’t do. We use Energy Star windows. We use Energy Star heating and air conditioning. We put real trim around our windows. We use larger baseboard trim. These are things you pay for in the base price of the our homes. You have to pay more to get those things from a national builder.
Second- We help the local economy. 80% of our subcontractors live and work in Sussex County, Delaware. We have an Amish guy who puts in our foundations. (He and his five children live near Dover- and he doesn’t own a car or have a phone). Our plumber is from Dagsboro. We buy our building supplies in Milford. Our framer lives in Bridgeville. That means the dollar you spend to purchase a Capstone Home goes into the local community through one of our subcontractors. That dollar can then be spent in other local businesses an circulated around the region. When you purchase the home in the Lewes/Milton/Rehoboth Beach area, you become a local. The Delaware Beaches runs best when it has a growing local economy. A Capstone Home is a better choice because we are a local builder.
I will be honest- I didn’t used to think this way, but the change in the economy has completely changed my thinking. I think Capstone builds the best home for the price and in the best are of the world- who wouldn’t want to live at the beach?
Here’s something to think about. According to CNBC, the S&P 500 closed at 735.09 today. That’s about the same level it was in 1997, I think. Here’s a page that shows a rolling average of 10-year-returns for S&P stocks:
Rolling Ten Year Average for the S&P 500
What this tells you is that the S&P is 4.28% lower than it was a decade ago. That means that if you invested $100 in January 1999, you would have $95.72 today- and there is no need to adjust for inflation.
In case you can’t draw your own conclusions- that’s lousy. A bank CD would do much better than that. Your mattress would have done better than that.
The median home price for a single family house in the United States is about $175,000. In 1999, the price was $161,000. That means that there is a good chance that if you purchased real estate in 1999, it would be worth more today than you paid for it 10 years ago.
I guess real estate isn’t so bad after all.
Look at it this way- the Case/Shiller/S&P says that home prices have returned to early 2004 levels. In May 2004, the S&P was around 1050. Don’t you wish the stock market had ONLY crashed as bad as real estate?
Case Shiller back to 2004 Residential Prices
The bottom line is this- over the long term, Real Estate makes sense as an investment. Purchasing a new home at the Delaware Beaches is a much safer place to put money than the stock market…
Interesting, huh?
Buying a home at the Delaware beaches is about lifestyle.
People want to live in this area because it allows people to live a certain way. People move to Lewes, Rehoboth, and Milton because they want the beauty and recreation of coastal living. It’s fun to live near the beach. The beach brings all kinds of fun things with it- fishing, golf, etc. People live here because it allows them to do what they want with their lives.
People choose the Rehoboth beach area (which locales call the Cape Region) because, unlike other beach areas, we have some small town country charm. It makes the area feel less seasonal. Ocean City, MD, which is directly to the south of the Cape Region, is a much larger destination beach resort. It has miles of high-rise condos and all the shops that goes with them. It has a huge boardwark that is made of concrete.
The catch with Ocean City is that it is a ghost town in the off-season. Some people like the Jersey shore, but New Jersey is an expensive place when you are on a retirement budget. Going south is an option- Myrtle Beach, Florida, but those places might not be that close to the ones you love.
That leaves the Cape Region. Living at the beach is awesome- even when the tourists are here. People live here because it allows someone to retire or own a second home at a price that is reasonable.
Did I mention taxes? Sussex County, Delware has some of the lowest property taxes in the mid-Atlantic. That’s a great thing. Some people can move here (from northeastern states) and reduce their property taxes by 90%. Just a word or warning when you get here- don’t expect services like you may have had before you moved. Property taxes are low which means that government is small. We don’t have a Park and Rec department. We don’t have county parks at all. There are a number of things we don’t have. The good news is that we do have the Rehoboth Bay, the Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. If those don’t make for good parks for you, then don’t come here.
Oh, yeah, one last thing- come here for Punkin’ Chunkin’. The weekend after Halloween, you can drive to a field near Bridgeville and watch a bunch of people throw pumpkins for distance. You can also watch a bunch of drunk rednecks. It’s awesome. When I say throw a pumpkin, I mean some of the machines will throw them over 4,000 feet. 60,000 watch this thing over a weekend.
Reason enough to move in my book.
Okay- let’s be honest: How can building a new home possibly be “green”? As a builder- I am going to take a piece of ground that has nothing on it, and I am going to place a new structure. How can that be good for the environment? It can’t.
Take cars as an example- I would say that the Toyota Prius is arguably the ultimate symbol of a “Green” car in America. How can you seriously say that a car is green? If you take the totality of the impact of a car on the environment- instead of just emissions and fuel efficiency- the Toyota Prius has a huge impact on the environment (when the energy consumed to produce the car and the impact on the environment when the car is disposed of are taken into account) that is as bad as any other car on the road. Driving a Prius just makes someone feel better, I guess.
Being responsible to the environment is about finding the balance between conservation and consumption. Human beings have to consume natural resources to live, but I think we are required to do so in a way that is mindful that we are also required to conserve resources of the earth. Balance. I don’t believe that limitless consumption is justified (even if someone can afford it), and I don’t really want to be lectured by a former vice president who flies a private jet all over the world collecting checks and crying wolf about the end of the world. Balance is the key.
The problem is that as the population grows, humans are going to have to live somehwere. That means new homes. To Capstone, building “Green” at the Delaware beaches has more to do with the energy consumption of the home itself.
Capstone is committed to building homes in the Lewes/Milton/Rehoboth Beach are smaller that other homes. A smaller home that makes better use of space will use less energy over time. There is no better way to conserve energy in a new home than to build a smaller new home.
The second is energy efficiency- and Capstone Homes puts the two most important things into its new homes at the Delaware Beaches. Windows- the single greatest source of energy loss in a home are through the windows. People can argue about walls and foundations and ceilings all day long, but most of the heat (or cooling) that escapes from a house is going to leave through the windows. Capstone Homes installs windows with Low-E glass in all of its homes- 100% of the time. These windows lose 30% less energy than a regular window. That’s real savings and real energy conservation. That makes a difference in a new home at the Delaware beaches.
The second most important thing is the HVAC system. Capstone only installs energy star rated HVAC systems in its homes in the Lewes/Rehoboth Beach/Milton area. For 2009, that means a 95+% efficient propane heat and 14 seer AC. Those are the new standards for HVAC in 2009, and Capstone Homes puts those in our standard package.
Green Building is possible, and Capstone is committed to building homes that use less energy. Less energy over the life of the home is better for everyone (especially the people paying the utility bills).
More to come on Green Building…
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