Disjointed Story of Rehoboth Beach, DE ’s Thanksgiving (and Thursday)
For most Rehoboth Beach, DE residents, the account of the first Thanksgiving is the Plymouth Colony story rather than the French or Spanish versions (their giving thanks celebrations started a century earlier). But since the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving took place in September—and the second official U.S. Thanksgiving took place in February—you might wonder why this week’s Rehoboth Beach, DE Thanksgiving wound up being celebrated on this particular Thursday in November. Coming up with the answer is less than simple…
Starting with that first Plymouth Colony feast, for the 50% of the Pilgrims who survived the first winter below the creaking decks of the Mayflower, there certainly was ample reason to be grateful. By their second October in the New World, they had been able to erect shelter on dry land and raise sufficient food stores to confidently face the approaching winter. They’d even succeeded in negotiating a mutual defense treaty with the local Wampanoags. Once the colonists found themselves, as they wrote, “so far from want”— it was definitely party time!
That was in 1621, and for more than the following century, various Thanksgiving celebrations were observed in different regions of the country. These were often thought of as New World versions of European harvest festivals. Since those were offshoots of ancient Pagan rituals, they were often frowned upon by those favoring more religious observances.
This week’s Rehoboth Beach, DE Thanksgiving Day is a more direct offshoot of the uniform national holiday whose legal roots go back 240 years. In 1789, the new Union’s first Congress petitioned the President to declare a day “of public prayer and thanksgiving.” George Washington obliged, and on November 26, 1789, the first national holiday was observed. A quick Googling of that date verifies that, yes, it was the 4th Thursday in November. But that proclamation was only for that one-time observance—the next Thanksgiving wasn’t proclaimed until six years later, when Washington declared a day of thanksgiving be held on Thursday, February 19.
Nowadays, Rehoboth Beach, DE Thanksgivings are always celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November—a designation signed into law in 1940. Washington’s 1789 version had been ambiguous about Thursday: in 1789, it was both the 4th and last Thursday. Whenever there are five Thursdays in November, designating the last one results in a merchant-enraging shortening of the pre-Christmas shopping season. Proclaiming Thanksgiving on the 4th avoids that situation.
This year, despite that solution, the calendar makes for a somewhat brief holiday shopping season, anyway—hence the flurry of noticeably premature “Black Friday” sales. But before the Friday sales hubbub, here’s hoping your Rehoboth Beach, DE Thanksgiving features an abundance of good health, good food, and good cheer! 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
Where is Rehoboth Beach, DE Real Estate Headed? The 2020 Predictions
Now that we’re almost to Thanksgiving, we find ourselves at the traditional moment when real estate’s soothsayers dust off their crystal balls and get busy. In the coming weeks, they will go to press with their projections, informed guesses, and unbridled hunches about how real estate will fare in the coming year.
Everyone contemplating Rehoboth Beach, DE real estate transactions in 2020 will be affected to some degree by shifts in the national disposition, so it’s always worth keeping an ear open to the experts’ conversations—their projections do influence what actually comes to pass (even if they’re ultimately off-target).
Last Friday’s Forbes release led the pack this year with Senior Contributor Aly Yale’s roundup of six opinions from Forbes-selected mortgage, real estate, and housing experts. For Rehoboth Beach, DE readers hoping to gain fresh insights about the coming year, the consensus views were less than electrifying: if any big changes are hovering over the horizon, the experts are keeping them on the q.t.
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Housing. Throughout 2019, housing inventories have remained limited, in large part because people are choosing longer stays in their current homes. One study found that the average duration was 8 years in 2010—but is now 13 years. Says O. Kushi, chief economist for First American title insurer, “you can’t buy what’s not for sale;” hence, the cap on housing sales. The prediction for 2020? More of the same.
Real Estate: With interest rates low and incomes climbing, the share of younger buyers has been growing. Even so, it has still been an uphill battle due to higher prices and a dearth of starter homes. For 2020? Expect more price pressure. One prediction is an average price appreciation of 5.6% by next September (versus this year’s 3.5% rise).
Mortgages: This year, Rehoboth Beach, DE home loan rates fooled most of the experts, falling in line with the national monthly average with a drop of about 1%. Next year, they’re expected to “stay low—or maybe go lower.” The Mortgage Bankers Association concurs, projecting average rates of 3.7% to 3.9%. Freddie Mace “actually predicts rates…even lower”—3.5%-3.6%.
As we’ve seen many times, you can’t take predictions about interest rates “to the bank,” but they do have some value as calmatives—particularly when they’re like these, projecting advantageous conditions to come. Another advantageous idea is to give me a call when Rehoboth Beach, DE real estate matters are in your own future! 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
October Maintenance Tip Rehoboth Beach, DE Saves Costly Fixes
Now that it’s late October, the usual spate of Fall Maintenance and Autumn Housekeeping advisories should be surfacing on the web, newspapers, and airwaves. These are the wakeup calls aimed at homeowners nationwide—annual cautions about how winter weather can inflict various categories of damage on Rehoboth Beach, DE properties that don’t heed the proffered advice.
But at least one October maintenance tip is often missing from the fall checklists. Not surprisingly, it’s also one that many Rehoboth Beach, DE homeowners forget to act upon. That’s probably because the targeted maintenance item is for an appliance that gets our attention in the summertime: central air conditioner units. Along with their increasingly popular alter egos—ductless AC “splits”— these appliances command less than front-burner attention as autumn weather lowers the temperature. But every HVAC professional will argue that now is the time to ensure a trouble-free AC revival when spring rolls around.
Since every Rehoboth Beach, DE household’s equipment differs, the exact winterizing procedures will differ. Yet, since the dust and dirt that are the core enemies of every AC system, especially as October winds cause autumnal debris to fill the air, it is a good time to clear the condenser fins and coils before preparing to cover up the units. Some sites recommend checking the coolant pressure at this point, but most others agree that a pro’s springtime maintenance checkup should suffice. Everyone recommends that annual preventive visit, though—lacking upkeep, most units lose roughly 5% efficiency per year.
Well-maintained air conditioning equipment lasts a lot longer than its neglected brethren, so Rehoboth Beach, DE homeowners who take the few minutes now can plan on a long-term benefit. And when the time to sell your home approaches, it’s one area that won’t need costly replacement. When that time comes, I hope you’ll give me a call! 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
Rehoboth Beach, DE Real Estate Investing Without Pop-Up Ads
Few Rehoboth Beach, DE residents who spend much time online have avoided the unnerving experience of having their screens populated with ads aimed at them, personally. Whether the culprit is Google or Facebook or one of the otherwise-useful apps, it’s close to impossible to avoid having your personal preferences noted and exploited by the omnipresent web snoops.
Among the annoying pop-up ads that result can be the ones that aim at real estate investors. Some feature piggy bank graphics, graying couples with anxious (or confident) expressions on their faces, or charts with upward-sloping trend lines. There is one that shows a toy house on top of a mountain of dollar bills—a variation on the ones perched atop stacks of coins.
But then there are the really aggressive pop-ups. Some of them actually pop up and without even asking start playing video movies about successful real estate investing. If the soundtracks are noisy, and particularly if they originate from a window buried behind other windows (so you have to stop what you’re doing to find them in order to shut them up), these can be really annoying.
Real estate investment pop-ups may promise Simple ways to invest, Hidden ways to invest, or even Secret ways to invest. The Secret ways are often free—contained in online books whose covers tend to look a lot like the other pop-up graphics (piggy banks, mounds of cash, etc.). It’s not hard to resist downloading them.
I have a not-so-hidden secret about Rehoboth Beach, DE real estate investing. Success takes some thoughtful groundwork, including identifying an investment goal, devising a strategy, and finding an energetic local real estate agent who knows Rehoboth Beach, DE and its current and emerging opportunities. When you give me a call, we can dispense with the piggy bank graphics and get right to work! 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
