That sign saying, "Starting in the Low $400's" can actually mean you will end up with a home at a much higher sales price.
Curious what kind of home $500k can get you in Coastal Delaware? Kathy Sperl-Bell of Active Adults Realty in Delaware explains how base pricing works in new home communities and what kind of homes are available in the $500k Range.
What can I buy for 500,000 in coastal Delaware? Hi. This is Kathy Sperl-Bell at Active Adults Realty in Delaware. 500,000 used to be called a half a million dollars, and didn't it sound like a whole lot more money phrased that way? But now, in many of the new home communities, that could be the low end or even the base model price of some of the new models. The actual sales price in new home communities has been creeping up, and it's not unusual for the range today to be from 500,000 all the way up to a million dollars.
Now, don't get me wrong. You can still find a wonderful home for 500,000, but not if the base model price says four fifty-nine nine. That home could end up costing you at least 600,000, so when you see signs saying from the high threes or starting in the low fours, what do you think you're going to pay for that home? It does depend on the builder and how their pricing model works, but with many of the builders, you could spend an additional 30%, an additional 50%, perhaps, by the time you make all of your final selections, and some production builders are offering a whole long list of choices.
What does 500,000 buy you today? Well, if you're buying in a community that has a lot home package, which is how most of them work, it still starts with the cost of the lot, and that lot price could be $250k. Even in some communities where the standard lot is 150, that's a lot that backs to another home, so if you want one of the special lots, one of the premium lots backing to a pond or perhaps the perimeter of the community, backing to trees, you could spend another fifty to a hundred thousand.
Let's talk about the community of Showfield as an example here in Lewes. The prices on lots today are from two ninety-nine nine to four ninety-nine nine, so what do we know? 500,000 buys you a really nice lot in the community of Showfield. Whatever your budget, it makes sense to explore all of the options available to you, and that's where a buyer's agent from Active Adults Realty can be really, really helpful. We know all of the builders and all of the new home communities and those that are coming soon. As we get to know more about you, about your taste and your wishlist, well, we can help you make really good selections.
If you were here a few years ago, just a couple years ago, and you kind of narrowed down to some homes and communities that were really appealing to you, you might be very surprised at the prices today. Incentives change according to the market, and guess what? The market right now is very strong. What are your options? If your budget is between 500,000 and 600,000, for example, and you're finding yourself perhaps priced out of some of your target communities, don't panic. There are still options. Resale homes can be a much better value in that same community or a same general area, and if we can find you a newer home that has almost everything on your list, it's worth considering.
We also can look at comparable locations and neighborhoods with other builders to see if we can find another match. Most important, remember, there's never just one builder or just one community. As one of our clients said recently, "The deal fell through, and we were so disappointed. We felt like we would never find another home that would fit our needs, but after starting our search again this year, we found an even better home that's a great fit." Regardless of your budget, we'll be with you from the very first meeting through the whole process up until settlement. So when you're ready to start, contact Active Adults Realty.