Rehoboth Beach Real Estate News

Past events can be a good indicator of what the future may have in store.

Our MLS is slightly flawed and please take these numbers with a grain of salt. According to the Sussex County MLS only 12 Short Sales have made it to settlement this year in all of Sussex County. (Jan 1 - Aug 7 2010)

The Sussex County MLS is  showing 130 current Active/Available Short Sales.

What do we see when we compare Short Sale List Price to Short Sale Sales Price?
We find that the banks are more stingy than private home sellers.

The average private party seller is selling for about 9% below asking price, the banks on average are only taking a little more than 2% off the asking price. Add to that the fact that nearly half of the short sales were at 100% of the asking price and you will see there is significantly more bargaining room when dealing with a private seller.

Sussex County Delaware SOLD Short Sales Jan 1 2010 - Aug 7 2010

Here’s a quick update on this years “In-Town” Rehoboth Beach Condo Sales.

From January 1 - August 7 2010 there have been a total of 20 In Town “Walk to the Beach” condos sold.

Lowest sale price $225,000  1BR/1BA in The Ark six blocks to the beach.
Highest sale price $900,000 2BR/2BA 527 North Boardwalk in the Henlopen Hotel with Ocean views.

Average List price = $582,636  Average Sales Price $533,497

Average List to Sell Percentage 91.57%

The lowest list to sell percentage was 78.27%  Which means a buyer got more than 20% off the list price.
The highest was 100% which means the seller did not back down on their list price.

Please do not come to Rehoboth Beach expecting 50% off on your condo purchase because the market is atrocious in Florida. Your average buyer here is getting just over 8% off list price on their condo purchase.

Rehoboth Beach In Town Condo Sales 2010

Data for this chart was pulled from the Sussex County MLS.

This analysis does not include anything but SOLD condos placed in the “IN TOWN” Rehoboth Beach category by Sussex County REALTORS. The number of TOTAL condos sold in Rehoboth Beach Delaware is significantly higher.

So, what has sold (closed) in the last 30 days in Rehoboth Beach Delaware?

April 26 - May 26 2010.  38 total closed deals.

• Eight land lease mobile homes.
• Five modest ranch homes.
• Three low cost condos.
• Four new construction entry level priced single family homes.
• Six pre-owned single family homes in upscale neighborhoods.
• Three single family homes in South Rehoboth
• Ten in-town properties priced over a million.

Closed deals were typically written up a minimum of a month prior to settlement and many as long as three months ago. Homes currently under contract gives a better picture of current market activity and for the same time period (April 26 - May 26 2010.) there were 102 pending deals written.

Of the pending deals……

• 14 Mobile Homes on leased ground.
• 28 Condos.
• 60 Single Family Homes.

The March 2010 issue of Money Magazine claims that Zillow.com’s “Zestimates” are a “Waste of Time”

“Don’t think that Zillow.com tells you what your house is really worth. The “Zestimates” on this popular real estate site are based heavily on sales prices of comparable homes. So unless there’s been lots of activity in your ‘hood lately-unlikely these days-the value may not be very accurate. Instead call an appraiser to size up your property in person”

I have also found that Zillow does not seem to take into account the distance to the beach or bay when determining it’s zestimates. In the real world every block closer to the beach a property is can equal hundreds of thousands of dollars of price difference.

While it’s true that the real estate market is a real mess right now the best deals are moving like hotcakes.  I lost two deals this week to clients who did not pull the trigger quickly enough and were beaten to the settlement table by well prepared snipers. If you think a particular house is a spectacular deal there is a good chance that someone else is thinking the same thing. The sales I lost out on were both on the market less than two weeks.

Sales data from January 1 2009 - September 20 2009

Rehoboth Beach Real Estate Stats

These stats are very general in nature. They do not take into account the number of bedrooms, baths, square footage, waterviews or even the fact that there may be a lease expiring on the property in the near future as is common in Dewey Beach properties owned by “Rehoboth by the Sea”. If you enjoy crunching real estate related numbers give me a call for more in-depth data.

2009 January 1 - August 12
92 single family home sales
Highest Sale Price: $4,500,000
Lowest Sales Price: $160,000
Median Sales Price: $492,500
Average Sales Price: $664,974
Average Days on the Market (for those that sold): 217
Hottest Selling Community:  Rehoboth Beach Yacht and Country Club with 15 total sales.

2008 January 1 - August 12
104 single family home sales
Highest Sale Price: $2,700,000
Lowest Sales Price: $99,999
Median Sales Price: $549,950
Average Sales Price: $773,708
Average Days on the Market (for those that sold): 181
Hottest Selling Community: Summercrest with 12 sales closely followed by RBYCC with 11 total sales.

While I’m at it I might as well throw in 2007

2007 January 1 - August 12
146 single family home sales
Highest Sale Price: $3,995,000
Lowest Sales Price: $209,900
Median Sales Price: $599,555
Average Sales Price: $829,539
Average Days on the Market (for those that sold): 185
Hottest Selling Community: Rehoboth Beach Yacht and Country Club with 24 sales.

What can be learned from this? Prices are down significantly and homes in Rehoboth Beach Country Club are always in Demand.  For more in-depth stats corresponding to any local town or community in the area feel free to contact me at mike@bwbeach.com

Average sales price of single family homes in Rehoboth Beach from 2006 - 2008

This chart shows the number of single family homes sold in Rehoboth Beach Delaware by month for 2006, 2007 and 2008.