For Some, Buying a Home in Dewey Beach, DE Rates a Second Look
If you find yourself suddenly revisiting the idea of buying a home in Dewey Beach, DE, it won’t surprise you that you’re not alone. Lately, it’s seemed as if the stars are continuing to align to draw more and more people—first timers as well as those who are already Dewey Beach, DE homeowners—to make that decision. Last week ended with yet another inducement to point people in that direction.
The impetus didn’t arise from any local Dewey Beach, DE real estate event—although the traditional residential real estate busy season always helps spur activity. It came with an unexpected stock market rally that was universally attributed to an increase in the odds that the Federal Reserve was all but certain not just to hold interest rates steady—but to actually lower them further. The reason for the relative certainty came from a multiplicity of other market factors that pointed at a slightly negative market outlook. In the reverse tides of the financial world, that bad news is good when it’s likely to force the Fed to ease the cost of borrowing. As MarketWatch celebrated, “Get out the scissors—Barclays forecasts a half-point rate cut in July.”
Of all the factors that make buying a home in Dewey Beach, DE a tempting proposition, the back-of-the-envelope arithmetic that yields a monthly mortgage number that fits House A or House B inside the household budget is the most persuasive. When last week ended with all hands indicating that mortgage interest rates are poised to do just that, it provided a new reason to revisit this season’s Dewey Beach, DE listings. Some homes that had seemed beyond reach might soon be doable—it certainly seems worth another look. For Dewey Beach, DE home sellers, too, when more buyers are newly able to afford a given price point, the effect can be electric for the market.
If you are among those who have noted the new possibilities, giving me a call will be a simple way to do the new reality check. You’ll find that this season’s offerings are well worth taking a look! 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
Consumer Outlook News Buoys Prospects for Selling a Home
Wikipedia defines “consumer confidence” as “the economic indicator that measures the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall state of the economy...” Dewey Beach, DE homeowners who are contemplating selling their Dewey Beach, DE homes may not base their decisions on polls measuring public confidence levels—but when the climate is promising, it sure doesn’t hurt!
Wikipedia completes its “consumer confidence” definition with “….and their personal financial situation.” In fact, it’s well known that people answer pollsters’ questions largely based on their own situations. That’s why businesspeople of all stripes track the monthly University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index like hawks.
So – wow! Last week ended with news that upended what had seemed to be a less than sunny financial outlook. Strong job and sales numbers had seemed to be being overridden by worries about world trade troubles. The tariff back-and-forth between the U.S. and China had dominated business news for weeks. The stock market had registered a couple of days of headline-grabbing declines (although they’d been followed by less well-publicized rebounds). And gasoline prices were rising...
For those on the fence about whether now is the right time to make a major financial commitment like buying or selling a Dewey Beach, DE home, the economic atmospherics could have seemed to weigh on the side of waiting for a more favorable outlook.
Apparently, that isn’t how consumers view things. On Friday, the benchmark consumer confidence index registered not just an uptick, but an outright surge.
The Consumer Sentiment Index registered the highest score since 2004!
Many of the most-heeded commentators were taken by surprise. Reuters had predicted a nearly unchanged reading of 97.5—but the actual result jumped to 102.4. Similarly, the MarketWatch poll of economists was on the record as having forecast 97.1. The chief economist for the Surveys of Consumers summed up with “Consumers viewed prospects for the overall economy much more favorably…for both near and longer terms.”
When people feel that times are good, it’s a shot in the arm for all kinds of business ventures—and another reason why anyone thinking about buying or selling a home should take a serious look at this Dewey Beach, DE market. I hope you’ll 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
Dewey Beach, DE Buyer’s Agent Decision Establishes Ground Rules
If this May will find you looking for a home to call your own, you won’t be alone—it’s prime season for Dewey Beach, DE house-hunting. In case it’s been a while since your last go-round (or if this will be your first), it’s relevant to review some of the basics. That includes one of the most basic basics: if and/or when to enlist the services of one of Dewey Beach, DE’s buyer’s agents.
You might think that, with home prices having risen steadily for some time, prospective Dewey Beach, DE home buyers might prefer to go it alone as a cost-cutting maneuver. After all, the homes for sale are all right there online, aren’t they?
But that’s not the people’s choice. The latest (2018) statistics tell us that 87% of those who bought a home did so through a real estate agent or broker. The cost factor winds up tilting in the agent’s favor because, except in extremely rare cases, buyers do not pay a commission at all! It’s part of the Multiple Listing Service agreement that mandates fees and commissions be paid from the seller's proceeds.
For what amounts to a free service, house-hunters who work with a buyer’s agent gain the professional insights of a licensed veteran in the Dewey Beach, DE market. Signing up with a buyer’s agent legally obligates the agent to work toward getting the client the best deal possible. When buyers go it alone, relying on the homeowner’s agent to handle the details, they are entrusting an agent who is obligated to work for the best interests of the other party—hardly an ideal situation.
Once you are represented by a buyer’s agent, you are immediately relieved of the tricky business of discussing financial matters with a seller or the seller’s agent. That’s not just the professional way to proceed—it’s also the likeliest path to getting the home you want on the terms you want.
Finding an experienced Dewey Beach, DE buyer’s agent–one you feel comfortable working with– is well worth the effort. But it doesn’t have to take much of that, either: just 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
Dewey Beach, DE House Size Question Raises Questions & Answers
A few years ago, the Realtor® website weighed in with some ideas addressing a question that Dewey Beach, DE house hunters face all the time: what house size should they be aiming for?
I have one approach, but the Realtor.com team took another tack—posing five questions buyers should ask themselves. Here they are:
1. How long do you intend to live in the new house—and what will your family size be during that period?
2. Ask yourself, “do you really want to clean a large house?”
3. How expensive will it be to furnish?
4. Will maintenance costs strain your budget?
5. How important are your personal preferences? For instance, your desire for “coziness” may trump your wish for extra rooms to accommodate guests.
The five questions are all relevant—but there is a more concrete approach to dealing with your ideal Dewey Beach, DE house size:
Step 1: Measure your current living quarters. Get out the tape measure, list each room and measure it, wall to wall. Don’t bother with the hallways. Now, next to each room, mark a “+” for rooms that you’ve found to be unnecessarily large, “-” for those that have proved to be uncomfortably small, and “=” for those that have proved to be about right.
Step 2: If you have experienced the need for an additional room or rooms, note them at the bottom of your list. If you currently have superfluous rooms, “X” beside them.
Step 3: You have probably already figured out what Part 3 is going to be—use all that information to make a mental checklist for your ideal Dewey Beach, DE house size. Note that I haven’t recommended adding them all up to get a single “square footage” number to match with the listings’ single figure. What will be more meaningful are the individual room sizes and the number of bedrooms and baths. Listings’ single “sq ft” number often includes less essential spaces. That number is more useful as a ballpark to compare listing-to-listing.
Even if it turns out that your room calculations point you toward unaffordably large properties, knowing what your own experience suggests will provide reference points that can’t help but make your house hunting efforts more productive.
There’s also another way guaranteed to yield productive house hunting: 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.- Details
- Written by Jimmie Bachand
