Everyone always wants to know “How’s the market?” Well, here in Coastal Delaware it’s doing very well thank you.

2009 was not a stellar year in the real estate industry, but it was a lot better here than in many parts of the country. Ask your friends that retired to Florida or to Arizona how well homes are selling in their communities and you’re likely to hear a long sad story. At Heritage Shores, in Bridgeville, Delaware, it appears that at least 11 homes were sold that made it to the settlement table in 2009. The last settlement reported was in November, so it is possible that there were a few more sales that were not yet captured by the tax system and perhaps others that have yet to settle.

Of the 11 reported sales, the selling prices ranged from a low of $222,000 up to a high of just under $375,000, quite a range! Qualified buyers were in a strong position throughout the past two years and many of the truly great deals are now SOLD! Prices have come down, however, and they will not immediately return to the prices at which homes sold in 2005/2006.

Heritage Shores remains very popular with some of our buyer clients and it may be right for you. We’ll make sure you see comparable communities, both age restricted and multi-generational, BEFORE you make a purchase decision.

The rumor can now be confirmed by my camera this morning. I was at Heritage Shores meeting up with a cleaning crew for one of my client’s homes and noticed these new signs near the model home park -

Will this be a good thing for current homeowners at Heritage Shores? How about for future buyers for this popular active adult community?

Stay tuned as we report the developing story.

Trying to decide where to move when you retire or whether to move at all is a daunting decision. I always recommend making several trips, working with a knowledgeable real estate agent that primarily works with people just like you and will help you do your research.

Let’s face it, most of us have spent our lives working, taking care of families and educating our children. When we get to a point in our lives that we can actually think about retirement and what we would like to do for the rest of our lives it’s a big deal. It’s not a decision you should make without professional assistance and even then you need to take your time.

Another great way to try on this new lifestyle is to rent for a few months or a year and see if it feels right for you.  Have you wondered if you would like living in an active adult community? Do you like the idea of a clubhouse with lots of activities, a fitness center, tennis, indoor and outdoor pools and a golf course all in one place? If you’ve never had the time before, do you wonder if you would really use all those amenities? Renting a home for a year is a perfect way to experience it first hand. You may not be ready to retire quite yet but you can get away on weekends and use it for family vacations. Then, if you do decide to buy in this community or another one in the general area, you can use the rental while you are selling your current home and looking for the right home to buy.

At Heritage Shores right now, we have two great homes that are available for rent. The home on Amanda’s Teal is available immediately for $1200/month and the one on White Pellican is available in April or May for $1500/month.

For an application and more information, please contact Kathy at 302-947-0860.

If you are interested in buying a new home where absolutely everything has been upgraded, elegantly designed and professionally decorated with custom paint, wallpaper and window treatments then this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Why does everyone love to look at model homes? Because they’re gorgeous and we can get ideas for our own homes. Well, this is even better than that. Buy the model, get builder assistance with the closing costs and maybe even lease it back to the builder for a period of time. That would give you time to sell your house or wait til you reach retirement before you relocate.

If your idea of the perfect retirement home includes golf, socializing in a beautiful clubhouse, swimming year round, tennis, compatible neighbors and lots to do, this is the right time to take a look at Heritage Shores. I have been bringing buyers to this community since 2005 and many of my clients have become happy homeowners and just love living in Delaware’s premier active adult community.

Today, your choice of model homes for sale, inventory homes ready for immediate occupancy and better-than-new resale homes at terrific prices make this Buyer’s Market one for the ages. I know Heritage Shores and I will help you evaluate all your options and make the choice that is best for you.

Don’t delay. Call me to schedule an appointment before these homes are gone.

At a recent Lewes Chamber meeting, I had a chance to talk with Alex Pires, the owner of Highway One. For those of you who are not yet familiar with Coastal Delaware, Alex is Chairman of the Board and one of the founders of Community Bank. He is also the owner of Jimmy’s Grille in Bridgeville and owns the large parcel of land across the street from Heritage Shores. Locals got to know Alex Pires first as the owner of Ruddertowne in Dewey Beach. When he began investing in real estate and businesses in the Bridgeville area, I saw that as a great vote of confidence in the town and communities like Heritage Shores.

He told me that a new traffic light for the entrance to Heritage Shores on Route 13 has been approved. With the tremendous growth along the Route 13 corridor and the number of homes being sold in Heritage Shores, a traffic light will certainly make it much easier for residents to enter the highway whether they are traveling north or south. I don’t have any information about the expected date of implementation, but I will stay on top of it and report more.

I am also pleased to report that Alex’s impression of Heritage Shores is extremely positive. He commented on how impressed he is with the clubhouse and other amenities and the number of homes being built and sold every time he happens to drive through the community.

Low Interest Rates plus Inventory = Buyer Opportunity

The good news for buyers keeps getting better. Today we learn that the interest rate could drop even further for home buyers. The rate being discussed, as low as 4.5%, would only apply to home purchases, not refinancing an existing home. We don’t know much more than that, but we do know that the support for buyers has never been stronger.

Be prepared to take advantage of these low rates by starting the process now. Have you decided that Heritage Shores is where you want to retire? Have you zeroed in on the particular house? The next step would be to obtain mortgage pre-qualification, get together with your Buyer Agent and make an offer. Once you have a contract in place that both you and the seller are happy with, your agent and your loan officer can help you decide when to lock in an interest rate. We find that most buyers in the 55+ market are well qualified and generally obtain the best mortgage rates in any market. That rate could be somewhere between 4.5% and 5.5%, depending on your particular situation.

If you’re not sure what is currently for sale at Heritage Shores, click here for the most current information.

This has been a slow year for sales at Heritage Shores. Of course, it has been a slow year for sales everywhere when compared to 2005 when the first homes were sold and occupied in this community. Even compared to 2007, when there were 77 homes sold at Heritage Shores, 2008 has provided a great opportunity for buyers.

When times get tough, builders get creative. In good times, premium lots can command a big premium. In lean times, those premiums disappear and upgrades can be negotiated. Because of that, many buyers believe they can get a better deal by negotiating with the builder rather than by looking at resale homes in the same community. In a new community a resale is only a couple of years old and may be in a prime location that is not available with new construction in the current phase.

Looking at the actual year-to-date sales at Heritage Shores, I found the following statistics:

• Four (4) new attached homes sold at an average sales price of $293,754
• One (1) attached resale was sold at $229,900
• Fourteen (14) new single family homes sold at an average sales price of $368,336
• Four (4) single family resale homes have sold at an average sales price of $328,750

What do these numbers indicate? You might be able to find the best opportunity in a resale home. To find out which is best for you, have your Buyer Agent show you resale homes as well as new homes in any community you’re considering.

Last year the wood working shop opened at the Heritage Shores Club. I’m told it has every imaginable tool so we should expect to see some wonderful pieces on display at residents’ homes. To help hone their skills, Del Tech is offering a wood carving class at the clubhouse for Heritage Shore’s residents only.

There is a Geneaology group that meets monthly and an active walking group; both combine field trips with lunch at their destinations. And then there are the Ladies who lunch at a different restaurant each month, traveling to towns all around Delmarva.

For the holidays, a digital storybook class is helping residents create holiday gifts and in January, there will be a Fiber Arts Exhibit of the handwork made by members of that group. This exhibit is open to the public, so mark your calendar to visit the Clubhouse between January 6 and 8, 2009.