That's one of the questions on everyone's mind these days and I hear it at the gym, at the Chamber of Commerce meetings and when we go out to dinner or a movie. "How's the market, Kathy?" I yell right back "Great! The real estate market is doing great!" And it really is. This time last year we weren't sure just how 2009 would turn out. Late spring we noticed things picking up and by September, we were crushed.
I just took a look at the overall numbers for all of 19958, the Lewes zip code, and here's what I found:
At least 234 single family homes were sold andsettled. It's possible that more were settled and just not available in the system yet. More may have gone under contract but not yet made it to the settlement table.
Homes sold in the historic district, in Lewes Beach and Cape Shores, in Pilottown Village and the many newer subdividions in and around town. The Lewes zip code goes halfway out Route 24 until you hit the Long Neck area; then it becomes a Millsboro address.
According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), at the high end of the market, 6 homes sold for over $1Million. Another 34 homes sold between $500,000 and $1 Million. Most of the sales activity was under $500,000, and the largest number of homes sold- 139 -sold below $350,000. In fact, the average sale price of all homes sold in Sussex County in 2009 was $341,639, down from $378,414 in 2008. Inventory is down however over 7%.
So, what does this mean? Prices have come down, sales are increasing and inventory (of homes for sale) is decreasing. Sounds like a good time to buy.