Dewey Market Watch 11/5/2020 thru 1/9/21

Happy New Year!!! 2021 is going to be a very exciting year!

      I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. 2020 was a year like nobody has ever witnessed in our lifetime. As the economy rebounds from the pandemic rumors have it that the interest rates are going to remain low for 2021 and possibly beyond. What did that do for the Dewey and the entire resort market? The 2.5% for a 30 year fixed and 2.875% for a jumbo has buyers snatching up new listings only days after they’re listed. Look at this edition of my Market Watch! This report contains all of the transactions right through the holiday season. I haven’t seen this kind of activity since the mid 2000’s during the boom and even then the market slowed from Thanksgiving until Valentines Day. I worked throughout the holiday and have just began to slow a little mainly because I’m totally out of listings. I think that this is the first time in 20 years that this has happened. ALL of my new listings are sold within the number of days that it takes to close a deal, 1-2 days maybe a week. I’ve never seen the inventory this low. Presently there are only seven fee simple single family homes and two homes on leased land in Dewey. There are only ten condos for sale and that’s it! There’s only one home for sale in Dodds Addition and one for sale in Silver Lake Manor. Buyers don’t have a lot to choose from. Appreciation has gone through the roof which is a direct result of the low industry.

      Change was coming!! The low interest rates surely are driving the market BUT there are other factors to figure in. Society was already transforming working from home. Computers and new technology has allowed people to work efficiently from home thus lowering the costs of overhead… There are many lawyers that have been doing this for years in Dewey. They go to the office (surrounding states) and work for two days and then work three days from their office at their beach home. Throw in the recent violence this past summer and people are fleeing to the beach resorts. Transition is taking place from what used to be 2nd homes/retirement is adding to the mix with every day year round people. This was coming regardless of the pandemic and the mayhem. The bottom line is that our area is now becoming a more of a full time, year round area to live in. 

    Hopefully 2021 will be a little more normal than 2020:) The market is and should continue to be strong. I’m fresh out of listings! Thinking of selling or just wondering what the value of your home is, give me a call and we’ll schedule an appointment to meet. Welcome 2021:) Bring on springtime!!!

Just look at the appreciation! Look at the 1st two homes that are on Rehoboth By The Sea leased land. Those prices of $1,250,000 and $845K were for fee simple (you own the land) only a couple of years ago. You can’t find fee simple property for under a million anymore. I believe that’s a thing of the past. 1500 Bayard is a double home on leased land located on the corner of Bayard Ave. and Ocean Hwy. The two homes sit on a double lot and have an affordable 40 year lease @ $12,748. year. 114 Carolina is a quaint 3bd/2ba, 1,500 sq’ home from yesteryear. The home has a lease @ $18,648 year. It’s all about the views at 131 Chesapeake. The five bedroom, 2000 sq’ home sits directly waterfront on Lake Comegy’s and only 1.5 blocks from the ocean. This is a great location and I don’t expect this one to last very long. 1 Beach, the address says it all. Step out onto the sands of the Atlantic in this highly coveted oceanfront lot. This home is just completing an extensive remodel that will make the new owner a very happy person:)

Here’s where all of the recent inventory ended up. These nine sales throughout the holiday has to be a record. The homes were located throughout the town. Five of the homes were fee simple homes and three of the homes were Rehoboth By The Sea leased land properties. There was also one sale in Indian Beach.

Eleven closings! That’s incredible! Typically condos outsell the single family homes but this report neck to neck. Take a look down the closing prices. It’s astonishing how the prices have risen. The four closings on Rehoboth By The Sea leased lands ranged from $800K to $950K. Who ever thought that you’d see the day where leased land properties near a million dollars? Take a look at the pricing of the fee simple properties. The minimum closing price started at $1,035,000 and covered every price range up to $3,200,000. There are buyers in the market in every price range.

101 Rodney is an entry level priced condo that shows very nicely. 1904 Coastal Hwy is a 3bd/3ba ocean block unit located in the Surfrider. Great rental potential. 2 McKinley is a 2bd/1.5ba  ocean front unit. The interior shows great and the exterior of the building has just been totally renovated. 20930 Coastal Hwy # 6 Poynters Square is a very large 6bd/4.5ba, 3,800 sq’ unit. Plenty of room to stretch out in this spacious condo just a few streets north of Dewey. There’s only 10 condos presently listed and I’m out of listings. Please call me for a free no pressure market analysis to determine your value in today’s very active market.

Here’s where a quarter of the inventory ended up, as someone Christmas present!!! Condos are much more affordable than the single family homes. Although there has been considerable appreciation in the condo market it’s still possible to get a nice sized AFFORDABLE condo at the beach. The Lighthouse Cove new construction has dwindled down to a couple listings then add in the resales, it’s only 10 units that make up the entire market. It’s a great time to list when the inventory’s this low!

The price reduction on my listing at 100 Anchor Way did the job! The unit sold about one week later and is now pending.

It was a wonderful selling season for condos in the autumn season. These closings are a direct result of all of that activity. There were 12 closings in total. Ten of the closings were resales and two were new construction in Lighthouse Cove. The activity in the Autumn and the pending contracts that took place over the holidays has reduced our present inventory to the meek 10 units. It was just the opposite for the last several years. The new construction at the Lighthouse Cove dominated the inventory and sales. The role has changed now and resales are now dominating the market.