For readers tuned in to developments affecting Bethany Beach, DE real estate, the month began with an Associated Press dispatch announcing federal plans to increase the stock of 2,000,000 “affordable” U.S. homes. The ambitious goal was set “in response to the volcanic rise in housing prices” over the past year. Details described federal initiatives to both build and restore the end product: homes more attainable by consumers currently priced out of the market. For readers tuned in to developments affecting Bethany Beach, DE real estate, the month began with an Associated Press dispatch announcing federal plans to increase the stock of 2,000,000 “affordable” U.S. homes. The ambitious goal was set “in response to the volcanic rise in housing prices” over the past year. Details described federal initiatives to both build and restore the end product: homes more attainable by consumers currently priced out of the market.According to the AP, the plan’s details were posted on the White House Council of Economic Advisers’ blog last Wednesday. Citing Freddie Mac’s research that estimates a current U.S. shortfall of 3.8 million homes, the plan outlines a variety of measures aimed at answering the affordability problems caused when prices rise faster than incomes. Some of the action items that were described in the post:1. Increase mortgage availability for manufactured houses (and 2- to 4-unit buildings) through semi-governmental giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.2. Make it easier for owners and nonprofits to buy homes that didn’t sell in foreclosure auctions.3. Inaugurate outreach to local governments and nonprofits to buy homes now owned by the federal government.4. Create tax credits, loans, and grants that increase options for apartment buildings.5. Inaugurate a new tax credit for construction in “economically vulnerable neighborhoods” in addition to a low-income housing tax credit.Less definitive (and potentially controversial) was the inclusion of an initiative that would create “incentives to remove exclusionary zoning and land use policies by local and state governments” that currently curb new construction. Since local zoning is nothing if not “exclusionary,” it’s not hard to envision battle lines being drawn.Fortunately, today’s Bethany Beach, DE real estate affordability has been greatly enhanced by the current mortgage interest rate levels. Call me for a custom analysis on how they can propel your own residential selling and buying prospects!  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.
The news from around the nation gave Bethany Beach, DE real estate followers good reason to doubt a tendency in the national media. For most of the month, much of the reportage had seemed to project an undertone of vaguely inauspicious goings-on. “Buyer Frustration is Slowing Real Estate Demand,” said one. CNBC’s speculators talked of a price bubble (if the Fed continued “stoking” it). The news from around the nation gave Bethany Beach, DE real estate followers good reason to doubt a tendency in the national media. For most of the month, much of the reportage had seemed to project an undertone of vaguely inauspicious goings-on. “Buyer Frustration is Slowing Real Estate Demand,” said one. CNBC’s speculators talked of a price bubble (if the Fed continued “stoking” it).So it was oddly discordant to read last week’s actual news—all of it indicating a strong market with hints that its underpinnings were moderating. Briefly, the high points covered by the NAR’s® Newsroom release: Inventory. “We see inventory beginning to tick up…” according to NAR Chief Economist. July listings were up 7.3% from the previous month—a sign that pointed to a less constrained market.Sales Prices. Bethany Beach, DE sellers would hardly be surprised that the national sales price rise continued, with median existing-home sales prices rising year-over-year pace of +17.8%, reflecting strong but “modest” gains.Pace. Days on Market remained at June levels. Bethany Beach, DE sellers would be cheered at the U.S. averages: 89% of homes sold in the U.S. in July “were on the market for less than a month.”Affordability. The average 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 2.8% in July, which was actually even lower than June’s 2.98. 
Those results were anything but negative—and Bethany Beach, DE real estate followers would also have been pleased by the moderating takeaway by NAR President Charles Oppler. He prefaced his statement on “working to boost the supply of safe, affordable housing” with “we are beginning to see some normalcy to return” to U.S. markets.If you’d like a rundown on the latest Bethany Beach, DE real estate results, call me anytime! 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.

For a large number of prospective homebuyers, the feasibility of the transaction depends on the terms being offered by the home loan originators. Once you delve into the range of possible home loan offerings, you soon find that a large proportion of special benefits are being made available only to first-time homebuyers—who may also qualify for financial help through various government-sponsored programs.

Those advantages can be substantial. For instance, with certain caveats, the IRS allows penalty-free withdrawal of a limited amount of IRA funds without the usual penalties. That can make a difference when you are piecing together a down payment. As for that down payment, in its “Affordable Options” educational web pages, Fannie Mae describes its “3% Down Payment Mortgage for First-Time Homebuyers”—a program aimed at buyers who are “good at managing their credit” who also meet other requirements.

Given the reality of how today’s homebuyers can have a hard time juggling everyday expenses while saving for the down payment, it does make sense for the government and home loan providers to give special consideration to qualified first-timers. But that can be true for anyone—not just first-timers.

Enter a little-known detail about Bethany Beach, DE first-time homebuyers. (Drumroll, please):

They don’t really have to be buying for the first time.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a “first-time homeowner” can include anyone who hasn’t owned a residential property within the past three years. In other words, you can be a serial homeowner and a first-time homeowner as long as the three-year non-ownership minimum is satisfied. And if you are buying a home with another person, only one of you needs to fit the definition.

Investopedia.com lists other exceptions to the literal meaning of ‘first-time homeowner’—for instance, a “displaced homemaker who only owned property with their spouse,” or even someone whose property “wasn’t in compliance with and cannot be brought into compliance with local or state building codes without constructing a new permanent structure.”

This is the kind of significant (and easily overlooked) detail that illustrates how important it is for Bethany Beach, DE homebuyers to be able to bank on the experience and comprehensive resources of a veteran Bethany Beach, DE real estate professional. Do give me a call anytime!

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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When you read that for the second month in a row, U.S. properties are, on average, being sold in 17 days, Bethany Beach, DE readers would assume that the housing market is blazing ahead, full steam.

It looks like the Big Picture for residential real estate: it’s a seller’s market—and a pretty strong one at that! Among the measures that would lead anyone to agree with that conclusion:

The 17 Days on Market figure is a full nine days faster than was the case a year ago.

The median existing-home price of $350,300 in May was 23.6% higher than last May’s prices (and they weren’t exactly giveaways).

The rise in home prices was an all-time record. 

Even so, a few stray details are hinting that a leveling-off could be in the works:

The volume of sales slowed in May for the fourth month in a row.

Some of the latest burst of activity is, as is well known, due to the shortage of available homes. But preliminary numbers show that the pressure buildup from the widespread lack of inventory is beginning to moderate. Per last week’s Zillow.com roundup, “inventories have risen in each of the past three months.” Although that could be expected as part of the normal development of the traditional busy selling season, this year, as the nation emerges from the pandemic, nothing can be counted on to be very ‘normal.’

As existing home inventories are beginning to turn around, the same is true for new homes. Builders are now beginning to take advantage of a sharp fall in the price of lumber, where future prices had quintupled. As NPR put it, “Now those record wood prices are finally starting to crack, and more builders across the U.S. are able to reach for their toolboxes.”  

What does this mean for Bethany Beach, DE sellers? It may not mean an instant turnaround to longer average Days on Market, but the gradual easing of the inventory crunch should point in that direction. Meantime, buyers continue to be motivated to act while the home loan interest rates remain in historically lowly territory—especially if prices continue to rise, no matter how slowly.

For both sellers and buyers, strong reasons remain to consider how today’s prospects compare going forward. I hope you’ll call for a customized readout! 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.