Wall Street Smiles on House Flipper Efforts
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
‘Best’ and ‘Worse’ Breed Lists Mark U.S. Pet Obsession Rehoboth Beach, DE Real Estate— and Recent Pet Lists
Some of the leading ‘best apartment dogs’ are definitely debatable. Take this one, whose named Top 5 Great Dog Breeds for Apartment Living are Boston Terriers, Bichon Frises, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Great Danes (not recommended for efficiency studio apartments, you have to hope), and—unaccountably—Greyhounds. (About the greyhounds, which do“surprisingly well living in apartments,” was a cautionary caveat—they tend to hunt small animals “like cats”).
Likewise, ‘Worst Apartment Dogs’ lists tend to go with the obvious apartment terrors: big dogs. Thus, St. Bernards, Mastiffs (English, Spanish, Tibetan, Neapolitan, etc.), Briards, and the like usually head those lists. The new Netflix series, which revives the movie hit, ‘Turner and Hooch,’ is set to reintroduce the all-time slobbering champ, the Dogue de Bordeaux (the beloved hero, Hooch, is one of those).
Among the leading reasons ascribed to the dissed breeds, in addition to pure mass, are ‘shedding,’ ‘chews when bored,’ and ‘loud.’ Yorkshire terriers and chihuahuas are dinged with ‘loud,’ as well as ‘obedience can be challenging”—this despite their prominence as two of the most popular U.S. apartment dwellers. “Don’t let its small, cuddly frame fool you,” cautions one top list’s Yorkie, reasoning that they tend to retaliate by violating house training niceties. This can happen if their owners try to “curb their natural instinct to bark” (at everything).
The long and the short of the pet-apartment phenomenon is that as the current popularity of four-footed tenants continues to grow, so do the number of landlords who have created ways to accommodate animals. Future tenants should be aware, though, that there are different levels of pet acceptance. It’s important to distinguish between ‘pet-tolerant apartments and ‘pet-friendly ones. The pet-tolerant ones simply allow Fido and kitty, whereas pet-friendly ones can offer amenities aimed at the animals’ comfort (pleasing their owners’ experience, as well).
Keeping abreast of today’s trends is important for area home sellers, too. In all your Rehoboth Beach, DE real estate dealings, I hope you’ll call me! Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
Is There Really a ‘New Normal’ for Rehoboth Beach, DE Homebuying?
As Rehoboth Beach, DE residents strive to resume life and career in anything like their pre-pandemic forms, one phrase that used to appear a lot less frequently keeps popping up: “the new normal.”
The American Enterprise Institute just invoked that phrase in a report that has implications for area house hunters and home sellers alike. The report from the AEI Housing Center takes a unique look at a home finance statistic they believe is a valid indicator for the direction of residential real estate activity as a whole: rate lock data.
Since mortgage interest rates can rise and fall from day to day, future Rehoboth Beach, DE home buyers often secure “rate locks” from home loan providers. Locks guarantee that, when a mortgage is issued, its interest rate won’t exceed a guaranteed amount. When rates are low—as has definitely been the case recently—a lock assures the buyer that a favorable monthly payment amount won’t have risen by the time their purchase is finalized at the signing table.
How rate lock activity might affect Rehoboth Beach, DE home buyers and sellers comes through its connection with the tenor of the current market. For anyone who monitors the popular media, late-July reports largely focused on a purported loss of momentum. Typical was Friday’s lead CNBC story, “Pending home sales drop in June—more evidence of a housing turnaround.”
Although house hunters may be primarily focused on seeking a property that fits their needs, nonetheless, stories like CNBC’s can affect their expectations (and bargaining flexibility, if and when negotiations proceed). Those expectations might waver if they read AEI’s report, “Housing Finance: Insights on the New Normal,” which draws a contrary conclusion after analyzing the July 17 – July 23 data. Although they do acknowledge housing purchase volume was 21% below 2020 levels, the purchase rate lock volume “portrays a different story”—especially considering that the 2020 purchase results reflect pandemic distortions. AEI points out that a more meaningful comparison is with 2019—which put home purchases at 19% below this year’s. Furthermore, the purchase lock volume numbers portray an even more positive “different story.” They show a volume increase of 32% over 2019—and even a 16% increase above 2020.
The AEI authors contend that, ever since the pandemic began undermining the reliability of home purchase predictions, rate lock numbers have shown themselves to be better indicators of future sales. For Rehoboth Beach, DE home sellers who might have been deterred by forecasts of rising prices and discouraged buyers, the prediction of steady home purchase growth paints a distinctly brighter picture.
No matter what the future state of affairs turns out to be, it’s reasonable to say that your own personal “new normal” would best be based on what is available in the here-and-now. Call me when it’s time to get started on your next Rehoboth Beach, DE real estate initiative. Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
Virtual Real Estate: Curiouser and Curiouser…
Down through the ages, land ownership has been synonymous with permanence, stability, and substance. Buying a piece of property also carried a measure of “belonging” since owners are automatically deemed to be members of the community (their tax bills prove that)!
The feeling of substantiality that goes with owning a parcel of Rehoboth Beach, DE land is part of its appeal—hence, the real that is part of our expression for land and buildings: “real estate.”
Land ownership is about as real as anything can get, all right—except that now, that may be another thing that’s changing.
The exception that has emerged is a kind of real estate that’s the opposite of real.
It’s virtual.
The New York Times recently explored the phenomenon in an article titled “The Curious World of NFT Real Estate and Design.” To appreciate what could be called “unreal real estate,” just realize that in 2021, one company—Superworld—has sold thousands of virtual properties, racking up average sales of around $2,000 each.
Superworld’s not-so-real estate offerings consist of 64 billion equal-sized plots that correspond to the surface of the actual Earth. Virtual visitors to its augmented reality globe can use their computer screens to roam the planet to visit and buy these “properties.” The Times reports that the first buyer to claim it could own “virtual land encompassing the Eiffel Tower…or prime commercial property in Lower Manhattan.”
On the Superworld site, users “can buy and sell virtual real estate on the platform.” For the price-conscious, Superworld globe-trotters will find that prices are, at this early juncture, available at bargain prices—at least compared with corresponding parcels on the real Earth,
If this all seems completely unreal, there are real-world examples that demonstrate the opposite. You can investigate the “metaverse” and the world of “NFTs” (NonFungible Tokens) to find examples. This year, for instance, virtual artwork by Beeple (Mike Winkelman) sold for $3.5 million at an online auction held by Christie’s. With plots of unowned property in SuperWorld “listed” at 0.1 ETH (one-tenth of an Etherium bitcoin, currently worth about $170), the fact “that it doesn’t really exist” (the Times’ description) doesn’t seem to faze some buyers.
When it comes to Rehoboth Beach, DE real estate, though, if your own inclination is more traditionally earthbound for unabashedly reality-based services, I hope you’ll call me! Call/Text me Russell Stucki at (302) 228-7871, email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit more listings at www.beachrealestatemarket.com.
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- Written by Jimmie Bachand
