This blog is famous for being positive about the real estate market for Delaware new homes.  The data that has come out this week about new home sales isn’t easy to spin in a positive way- unless you’re in the market for a new home.

If you’re looking to purchase a new Delaware beach home these days, then it’s hard not to imagine that this is a wonderful buying opportunity.  Prices are down, and better deals are to be had.

This BLOG POST talks about how today’s buyer is smarter and will be in better financial shape than the people who purchased new homes in the past.  These people will not be “house poor”- meaning that a Delaware new home buyer is going to be in a better financial position going forward.  That’s a good thing in the long run for the economy.

Capstone Homes offers great deals on our communities- we have single family homes in Cannery Village- a great coastal community with an indoor and outdoor pool for $199,900.  We have large, wooded lots in the gated community Pemberton from $239,900.  There are deals on the site built, energy star homes built by Capstone homes.  Come by the Capstone Homes Sales Center and see the value!

A look inside the Capstone Homes sales center on Route One.

Capstone Homes is happy to introduce a whole new way of shopping for a new home.  As Capstone Homes has grown from a small builder in a limited number of communities to one of the largest builders in the region, we have done something that is completely new to the new home sales process for Delaware New Homes.

In early 2008, Capstone Homes opened our current New Homes Sales Center, but we have no expanded into a new location.

The View From Route One

In April of 2010, Capstone Homes began to renovate a small building located at 18334 Coastal Highway, which is located on the main road (Route One) that takes anyone into the Delaware Beach area.  The building is an older ranch home, but Capstone Homes has given it an upscale look on the inside and an unmistakable look on the outside.  On the outside, no one will miss the blue and yellow.  On the inside, the space has been created for a great look at all the new Delaware Beach Homes built by Capstone Homes, and through the use of technology, it will give people a great look at what goes into a new Capstone Home and the wonderful new Capstone Communities.

This is our sales center concept- with more information.  It’s like the previous Sales Center, but this has more space on the inside and a more central location.

Capstone is in the process of expanding its footprint to New Home Communities from Millsboro, Lewes, and Milford, Delaware.  This New Sales Center gives Capstone Homes the opportunity to show the Capstone difference and the Capstone Communities.  That means lots of information for new home buyers, and all that information is in one location.

The New Route One Sales Center has been painted for high visibility!

Capstone is open on Route One 11am-5pm everyday, so stop in a see what Capstone has to offer!

Capstone Homes is proud to announce the June 2010 sales incentive for all Capstone Homes communities.

Capstone is offering a 50% discount on the first $20,000 in options in all Capstone new homes sold during the month of June 2010.

“I think this represents one of the better values in new Delaware Beach Homes.  This plan gives people a chance to put the features they desire into their home,” says Scott Dailey, Managing Member of Capstone Homes.

Capstone’s standard features already include Energy Star certification, 2×6 exterior walls, and nine foot ceilings on all single family models.  Capstone has popular communities where people want to live.

Capstone features one and two story plans that are available.  These homes feature numerous semi-custom options to create a distinctive home.  Capstone has structural options that can add a basement, bonus room or sunroom to may plans.  Capstone also features energy efficient options like geothermal heating and cooling, as well as some of the more traditional luxury upgrades.

“We offer a level of customization that people find surprising in our price range.  A Capstone home can have a custom kitchen, a custom bath, and literally thousands of flooring options,” says Dailey.

Capstone is one of the largest local builder of Delaware new homes, and Capstone is adding new communities in the coming months.  Capstone is proud to work with local real estate professionals.

Capstone builds in a number of desirable communities in the coastal Delaware region.  Holland Mills, a new home community at the Delaware beaches located between Milton, Delaware and Lewes, Delaware, features single family homes on lots that average one quarter acre.  Holland Mills features a tremendous amount of open space, federally protected wetlands, and wonderful natural views.  Holland Mills Holland Mills features a pool and clubhouse that are completed, and Holland Mills will feature 136 homesites when completed.  Capstone began building homes in March 2009.  Capstone builds seven different floorplans that start in the high $190’s.  Cannery Village in Milton is one of the most distinctive communities at the Delaware Beaches.  Cannery Village features a “Traditional Neighborhood Design” which features smaller lots and alley-loaded garages.  Cannery Village also features a dramatic new community center, which, upon completion, will feature an indoor pool, conference facilities, and an exercise center.  Capstone features twin homes that start in the mid-$160’s and single family homes that begin in the high $190’s.  Pemberton, located outside Milton, features estate sized, wooded lots that are all three quarters of an acre or larger.  Pemberton is a gated community with a dramatic entrance feature.  Capstone builds energy-star rated single family homes from the $230’s in Pemberton.  The Estates at Carriage Springs is a small enclave of large lots located between Milton and Georgetown.  Capstone has wooded lots as large as almost three acres in the Estates at Carriage Springs.  Lot home packages start in the $230’s from Capstone Homes in the Estates at Carriage Springs.

For more information about Delaware Beach Homes by Capstone Homes, please visit www.capstone-homes.com

Welcome home to this?  Take a look:

This Could Be Yours- If You Buy Today! (Yikes?)

Homebuilders like Capstone Homes always want to talk about the homes we build.  Luxury, Green Building, blah, blah, blah… And in today’s challenging market, it makes sense that a builder focus on what makes their product superior to others in the market.  At Capstone Homes, we have a lot to talk about when it comes to quality and value.  We believe in our homes, and we think they are some of the best built homes for the money that you will be able to find anywhere.

At the same time, if you are looking at buying a new Delaware beach home, then the location needs to be considered as well.  The community in which you choose to build your new home is equally important as the home you select.  Capstone is one of a number of builders that features communities in the Milton, Delaware area, but Capstone argues that not all new home sales communities near Milton are created equally.

The above photo is a community that is located near Capstone‘s Holland Mills.  This community has been built since mid-2008, and there is one of Capstone‘s competitors who is marketing homes in the community.  The photo above is the entrance- what you see when you drive in the main entrance.  There is nothing.  Many builders will tell you that these entrances (and other community amenities) will be built, but how do you really know?  The state of the community in which you choose to build is very important.  If something is promised, then you want written assurances that what is promised will be installed.  More than likely, that assurance needs to be from the developer, who is not necessarily the builder.

Here is a photo of the location of the clubhouse of that same community:

I'm sure it's coming soon.

Capstone implores everyone to ask lots of questions when purchasing in a community where the amenities are not completed.  Above is a photo of a community where you could buy today.  The price may be great- but does that mean it’s a good value?  Value is also about lifestyle- people come to Sussex County, Delaware for low-tax, coastal retirement living.  The photos above aren’t in any of my dreams… what about yours?

In contrast- here is Capstone‘s new home community Holland Mills.  This community is also under construction, so there are some areas that need attention.  The entrance and the community clubhouse, however, are built.  Regardless of the future of Holland Mills or Capstone Homes- Holland Mills‘ promises have been delivered and fulfilled.  What’s the value in that?  Still think it’s just about price?

The Entrance to Holland Mills is largely complete.

The entrance to Holland Mills is still a little rough around the edges, but I think it looks a lot better than the first community shown in the photos.

Here is the Holland Mills clubhouse photo from the entrance:

It's done- finished, installed. Come and see!

Holland Mills doesn’t have a pool on paper.  Holland Mills has one in the ground.  Think about the community when you purchase a new home- where your home is can be just as important as what your home is.

Capstone homes is pleased to announce our incentives for the month of October 2009.  Capstone Homes is including a free sunroom for all new home sales in the month of October.  This incentive applies to all new Capstone Homes in Holland Mills, Cannery Village, Estates at Carriage Springs, and Pemberton.  Capstone’s sunroom for most of it’s new homes is 144 square feet and creates an entirely new living space in all Capstone Homes.

For more information about new Capstone homes in Holland Mills, Cannery Village, Pemberton or Estates at Carriage Springs, please contact Capstone Homes HERE.

Read This First

The article is talking about Goldman Sachs’ analysis that new home sales could rise 30% in 2010.  That’s a large jump.

If you are thinking of buying a new Capstone Home, you will wish you had selected your lot in Cannery Village, Pemberton, Estates at Carriage Springs, or Holland Mills this fall.

When demand picks up- so will prices.  We’ll be honest- Capstone Homes doesn’t forecast price increases (of course we didn’t forecast a 40% drop in the market either), but here’s what changes with new home builders like Capstone Homes- the incentives.

In the homebuilding industry, the asking price of the home isn’t really what you are paying for a home.  There are always incentives- things the builder like Capstone is going to “give” you in order to help make the decision about purchasing a home less difficult.

The truth is that the actual cost of the house is lower when you factor in the incentive.  Right now Capstone is giving an $8,000 Incentive on all new home purchases.

These incentives will vanish as the market improves- so the price of the home will not increase in the sales material, but the actual cost will go up.  Homebuilders like Capstone Homes will do this because we build homes to make a profit.  Capstone doesn’t apologize for trying to make money.  Anyway, this is a great time to purchase a home- low interest rates and low new home prices.  Think about it.

Goldman Sachs- they are ahead of everything on the economy.  They have access to information that no one else has.  It’s creepy how they know this stuff, but Capstone Homes listens when they talk (at least about housing).

This year has been a difficult year for new home sales, and I guess some builders will do anything to complete for a sale.

A few days back I was forwarded an email from a Realtor whose client had signed a contract with Capstone Homes to purchase a Capstone home in one of our communities.  About two weeks after the contract was done, a sales rep from another builder decided to email our customer and talk about how poor our quality was and how “outdated” our products were.

We at Capstone Homes don’t think this is a good way to do business.  This isn’t good for anyone involved (the company that misrepresented facts about Capstone Homes didn’t get the sale) either.  Right now, the buyers that we encounter in the Capstone Sales center are not buyers who have a ton of trust in the homebuilding industry.  I like to think that the lack of trust is really a lack of confidence, and the lack of confidence has more to do with the economy than anything else.

Either way- it undermines the entire homebuilding industry when we trash each other.  When you say that someone else is being dishonest- it makes a customer wonder if ANYONE is being honest.  How is that a better thing for the buyer or the business of new home sales?

At Capstone Homes- we don’t think we need to say negative things about other builders in our market.  We honestly feel that we are able to show people that there is more value in a Capstone home built near the Delaware Beaches- and our value allows our customers to reach their own conclusions about our competition.  We win some- we lose some- but we do it in a way that allows me (as the owner of the company) to go home and hug my kids knowing that my integrity is in tact.  I’m not willing to lose my character to sell a home.

I wish some of Capstone’s competitors felt the same way.

The answer to that question is “yes, probably”.  If you have good credit, and you want to purchase a high-value home like a Capstone Home, then Capstone Homes can probably find a home for you with a mortgage that you can afford.

If you are retiring- our homes appraise very well because of the quality of our Capstone Homes and the desirability of our communities like Cannery Village, Holland Mills, Estates at Carriage Springs, and Pemberton.  You will need a deposit of 3.5% of the total sales price of your Capstone Home to get a mortgage.  It is almost impossible to price a Capstone home in a place where you get into the “jumbo” loan programs that are so challenging.

If you are not a first-time homebuyer, there is no such thing as 100% financing.  Maybe that’s a good thing.  There is also nothing like the second mortgage “80-10-10″ programs that once were.  If you want to purchase a new home- you need to have some money in the bank.  Capstone is a local company that lacks rigid guidelines for contract purchases- Capstone will work with you on your down payment.

If you are a first time homebuyer, there are great programs for you – IF YOU ACT VERY SOON.  More on that in the next blog post.

Things at Capstone Homes have been a little nuts of late- May 2009 was the best month ever in sales for Holland Mills.

Holland Mills is a brand new residential community located between Lewes and Milton, Delaware.  Holland Mills features quarter acre sites with a community that provides a huge amount of open space.

Last month, Capstone sold four homes in Holland Mills.  We are building site built homes that are Energy Star qualified close to the Delaware beaches.  Capstone is one of the leaders in new home sales and new home construction in Delaware.

At Capstone, we are looking to continually increase the value and quality of our homes.  I think this is the bottom of the real estate market, and we are glad to have so many new people recognize the value in our new Capstone Homes.

On Friday we announced that Capstone Homes has gone to certifying all new homes we sell as Energy Star rated homes.

This means that every home we build in Cannery Village, Holland Mills, The Estates at Carriage Springs and Pemberton will be individually tested and certified as meeting the Energy Star standards.

So what does that mean?  Let’s say you’re thinking about buying a home in Holland Mills or Cannery Village, but you don’t want to read the regulations on what Energy Star means.  So here’s the deal:

First- let’s clear up something about Cannery Village- all of the Capstone Homes in that community have been built to Energy Star specs, but we didn’t not go through the certification process for Capstone homes in Cannery Village.  Now, we will complete the last step of that process.

For everyone else who is looking at a new Capstone home in the Milton area, it means that you will get a certificate saying your new Capstone home is Energy Star certified.

On a more practical note, it means this- your home will have better, more efficient HVAC equipment than a non-Energy Star rated home.  For Capstone homes, that means you will get a 95% efficient, two-speed, propane system that has a 10-year parts and labor warranty.  The two-speed system means that a computer controls how fast the system needs to run.  If you think about it as a car- a single speed system floors the accelerator everytime it runs.  That wouldn’t make much sense when you drive, and it is not as efficient.  We have a system that has a lower speed when your home doesn’t need that much heating or cooling.

It also means that you get a better air seal in your Capstone home.  That keeps cold air out (or in) in the Capstone Home- which means that your home in Cannery Village or Holland Mills near Milton will cost less to own.

We already use Energy Star windows.  You’ll also get an Energy Star rated dishwasher.

It’s a great deal- now when the home is new, and the cost of ownership for a Capstone homeowner is going to be lower.  That’s more value for our Capstone buyers.

With sales starting to pick up, it’s a good time to look at a Capstone Home- Holland Mills, Cannery Village, Estates at Carriage Springs, Pemberton.

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