If you have opened your own business or been a part of a new venture, you know that it is exciting and scary all at the same time. As the Broker-Owner, the buck now stops with me!

So, here are my personal resolutions

• Stay Focused and continue to work with the people we know and understand – Boomers and Beyond or what the real estate world calls “Active Adults”. I firmly believe it is not possible to be all things to all people.

• Hire only agents who are Active Adults themselves that have been through many of the same challenges and understand our clients’ concerns.
• Keep it simple. Provide my agents and staff with the tools they need to get their job done and have fun working together. No long meetings and wasted time.

I could keep going but I think if we can accomplish these three things, we will have a great year in 2012. While I was writing this and watching the Today Show, Barbara Corcoran talked about the good news and opportunities in real estate for the New Year.

Barbara Corcoran said:

• 1 in 3 towns have hit bottom and are now on the way back up
• Interest rates will stay low
• 2012 will be know in retrospect for “missed opportunities” by those who waited too long to make a purchase decision

Financing remains the biggest obstacle to housing sales. But, if you have a 720 credit score or better and don’t need to borrow more than 80% of the appraised value of the home you want to purchase, you are golden and your New Year’s Resolution should be to buy that future retirement home in 2012.

Happy New Year from the Agents and Staff at Active Adults Realty!

The Laws are different

The laws governing real estate are so different in each state. For example, Delaware is an Attorney State which means that real estate settlements are handled by an Attorney. States like Maryland and Virginia are Title States and settlements are handled by a Title Company. One thing I am learning is that Title Companies come and go and tracking down misfiled documents years later can be a challenge. Most law firms stay in business over a long period of time. A REALTOR from Virginia is in my class and based on her questions, I can tell how different it is in Virginia. In fact, I bought several homes in Virginia and in Maryland while I was in the computer industry in the 1980s and 1990s and it was different. I also remember that I didn’t really understand the legal and contractual details of those transactions. I was in the computer business, not the real estate business. I thought I was pretty smart, but I was dependent on the REALTOR who represented me to make sure that I made a good purchase decision and then helped with all the little details before settlement.

Moving is a Big Deal!

Not only are the laws different when you move from one state to another, but it’s a big deal when you are making a decision now. Making a move to a new state for purely personal reasons is much different than relocating due to a big promotion or a great new job. There’s no Relocation Department providing packing and moving; no temporary housing while you take your time to find a new home. No help buying your current home if it doesn’t sell before your scheduled move. It’s all on you, but it doesn’t have to be!
Whether you’re now living in New Jersey, New York or even as far away as Washington State, we know what you’re going through and we’ll make the process not just easier but FUN! So give us a call or drop us an Email and let’s get started.

In 2011:

• 31% of our Buyers bought a home in a 55+ Active Adult Community
• 69% of our Buyers bought homes in a community with no age restriction

In both 2009 and 2010:

• 25% bought in a 55+ community
• 75% bought in all ages communities or in town

It’s not that we don’t know what we want, but there are so many more options. We make sure that our clients get the chance to consider all their options before making that big decision:

• Active Adult Community or All Ages Planned Community
• New Construction or Resale Home
• Build now or Buy a Lot and Build Later
• Live in town or at the beach
• Be among the first in a new community or find one that is nearly complete

There is something for everyone and everyone is different. That’s what makes working with our Buyer clients such FUN!

As one of those Baby Boomers who is now in her 60s, I do not consider myself old! Look for my quote based on my experience working every day with retiring Baby Boomers who are extremely active adults

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If you only see the New Jersey Turnpike when you’re driving through the state, you don’t really know New Jersey, the Garden State. I grew up in New Jersey and loved the Jersey Shore. We couldn’t wait for the first warm weekend to pile into the car and head to the Shore. When we were old enough to get summer jobs, the lucky ones spent the summer in Wildwood. On the day after the Prom, we spent the day at Long Beach Island. Today my most successful friends have a house on the beach or on the ocean block. But for most of us, the Jersey Shore is out of reach. The high taxes are driving people away from New Jersey but not all the good times we had.

Other than the low taxes, my New Jersey clients love the fact that you can go to the beach in Delaware without buying a badge for each person. You can just walk onto the beach in Rehoboth or in Lewes. Buy an annual pass for your car and you can park at any of the state parks all year long. You can fill the car with all the grandkids when they visit and pay nothing extra. If you’re over the age of 60, that annual pass only costs $12! Parks include the Cape Henlopen State Park and the Delaware Seashore Park, some of the nicest beaches in the whole state.

And, even on our worst day, the traffic in Coastal Delaware is nothing compared to the traffic on the Garden State Parkway on any summer Saturday. You can live anywhere in Sussex County and get to the beach in less than an hour.

I never knew much about Delaware when I was growing up in Pompton Plains, but now that I live here I see more people from my home state than I have since high school. Relocating is always stressful, but it is also a time of discovery and excitement. So, come check out South South Jersey. I think you’re going to like it here.

View of the Indian River

The lot pictured above is one of two lots on River Road with a view across the street of the Indian River. Each lot is over an acre, with public water and sewer available. The List Price is $179,900 per lot.

If you  have never had a home built in the past, this may seem like a daunting task. Today, there are different categories of builders that will build on your lot:

• Custom builders – this is the traditional option that allows you to select a custom builder and work together to design the home of your dreams from scratch.

• Semi-Custom builder – typically this is a local or regional builder that can build a variety of standard floor plans which you can customize.

• Production builder – even some of the local builders that have concentrated on building within their own communities are now expanding to off-site construction.

Locally, builders like Schell  Brothers and Insight Homes occupy a new category which is somewhere in between the production and semi-custom category. They have both established divisions that are able to build one of their model homes on your own lot, as long as the lot is suitable to the particular home you like. We are very familiar with the process and will help you evaluate the total cost and help coordinate all the details between selecting your lot and the completion of your new home. Even if you don’t plan to build for several years, now is the time to lock in the lot and the location of your dream. In fact, it can be the best way to secure your new home in Coastal Delaware without the pressure of selling your current home if your market is still slow.

It dawned on me that this is a great resource for my clients who will eventually have grandchildren that they hope will visit often. Isn’t that one of the reasons my clients relocate to Coastal Delaware? Here we sit in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic Region, surrounded by the major population centers like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC. When the family comes to visit, wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly where to go for some great ideas and fun events?

Mel and I are co-hosting a TweetUp on April 8th, from 5 – 7 pm at Bethany Blues BBQ in Lewes, DE. What’s a TweetUp you ask? It’s a gathering of a diverse group of people that met each other on Twitter or Facebook. This is a chance to meet IRL (in real life) and discover other things we have in common. I liken it to a Chamber of Commerce Mixer in the new Internet age. If you follow me on Twitter (@KathySperlBell) follow the hashtag #SoDelTweetUp and join in the fun. You can register for the Southern Delaware TweetUp and come meet Mel (@boxofchocolates) and my other Tweeps. Hope to see you there!

So, what is an Active Adult community? Hard to say again because they’re not all the same. In Delaware, for example, there are 3 currently that have both an indoor and an outdoor pool. Only one has a golf course. Some cut your grass and others do not. Most have one tennis court; one has several courts but I have never seen anyone playing tennis. In some communities, the clubhouse is owned by the Homeowners Association but in others a separate entity owns the amenities.

Are all active adult communities age-restricted? By definition yes, but there are some communities that primarily appeal to the 55+ population but allow all ages. Many of these new communities offer the same type of clubhouse and other amenities, so how do you choose?

We feature both age-restricted and all ages communities, both new and existing on ActiveAdultsDelaware.com. In our files, we maintain information on the fees charged and the services offered. The chart has become quite cumbersome but we keep it handy when working with our clients to help them make an informed decision. Check back regularly because we are adding more communities and new information on a weekly basis.

How did 2010 compare to 2007?

For transactions in which we have represented the buyer or the seller, the average sales price has risen every year from 2007 through 2010. In 2007, the average sales price was $255,000; in 2010, the average price was up to $295,000! During that same time period, the average sales price of all homes in Sussex County went down from $366,000 in 2007 to $306,000 in 2010. I’m not sure how to interpret this but I’ll guess that overall there were fewer high end vacation home buyers and more retirement home buyers. When we talk averages, we run the gamut from manufactured homes to oceanfront properties.

Did all of our buyer clients buy homes in 55+ communities?

You might think so since that is how many Boomers begin their search. In fact only 12% of our buyer clients bought homes in an age restricted community in 2010. In 2009, the number was 15% and looking ahead to contracts already executed for 2011, our forecast is 10% buying in a 55+ community vs. 90% buying in all-ages communities, in town or in the county.

What about new construction vs. resale homes?

Another good question. Through 2009 our ratio seemed to hold pretty steady around 50/50 with about half of all clients buying new construction and the rest buying a resale home. In 2010, over 60% of our buyer clients purchased a new home and looking ahead to 2011, 87% of the contracts already executed are for new construction. I’m curious to see how the rest of the year will affect that percentage.

Energy efficiency mattered in 2010

In 2010 we noticed a major trend toward more energy efficient homes. In past years I would encourage buyers to spend first on more insulation or upgraded HVAC before buying granite counters and bonus rooms. This past year, they actually did! I think the builders are also paying attention. Today’s buyers are better educated and they are paying attention to quality of windows and HVAC systems. They are asking for more insulation and whether the builder is using 2 x 6 construction and conditioned crawl spaces. You can always replace a counter top later but the best time to add energy efficiency is when a home is being built.

I hope you enjoyed this snapshot of how we see the market in Coastal Delaware from the perspective of a Baby Boomer. What trends are you noticing and what do you think is most important for the next decade? Share your thoughts!