One of my absolute favorite expressions is Plus ca change, plus cest la meme chose, loosely translated to mean
The more things change, the more they stay the same, in Delaware real estate!
Although the real estate market has been in full recovery mode in Delaware for 2 years now, change is still rearranging the landscape. But then, the only thing you can really count on in real estate is that it will change.
Strange Bedfellows
The process of creating and building a new home community where once there was corn or soybeans takes many years. Property can change hands multiple times in between the growing season and the sculpting of a new neighborhood where transplants from surrounding states will make a new home in Delaware.
In the beginning, there was a Developer and that Developer brought on a Builder/partner. They may have worked together many times and had a good working relationship. Then the crash came and some did not survive. Some Developers didnt make it and some builders also failed. Banks ended up owning some of these communities and they often sold to the highest bidder. Banks do not like owning things. Some of these new partnerships thrived and some did not. Sometimes, the new owner of the land is also a builder who will take over building in the community.
Under all is the land
Or, as I like to paraphrase, he who owns the land rules. If the owner is also a builder, can another builder compete in that community? Not really. Lot cost forms the basis for all pricing in a new home community and often the only difference between a home in this community vs. that community is the cost of the land.
Doesnt the builder own the land?
Sometimes, but rarely these days in Delaware. It presents a challenge because most builders including some of the biggest National builders, dont own anything.
They have an arrangement where they agree to build homes and pay the developer for the lot when they sell the home. Thats why there has been so much rearranging of the deck chairs since the crash and it is not quite over yet.
Why you need an Agent when you are buying new construction
A lot of our clients buy new construction and we make it our business to know the good, the bad and the ugly as well as all the good reasons to buy a new or a resale home. Its complicated and thats the kind of challenge we embrace at Active Adults Realty.