| Rehoboth Beach Delaware is called the Nation's | | | | Delaware and Pennsylvania. The bedrooms for those |
| Summer Capital because we are such a common | | | | who run our national capital reach out a hundred miles |
| second home and entertainment location for the | | | | from the center of town. CSW is not predicting the |
| powerful and influential people of Washington D.C. | | | | 20% annual real estate property value increases of |
| There are few people making over $75,000 a year in | | | | the last few years but they are predicting a 4.2 % |
| the DC professions who do not frequent this area | | | | annual increase for the DC related area now instead |
| when they need privacy, space, fresh ocean air and | | | | of the 3.8 % increase they predicted before the |
| relaxation. It's not just summer that draws them | | | | horrors and attacks of 9-11. They are predicting |
| anymore, they come year 'round. And it's not just | | | | downturns in values elsewhere and deeper downturns |
| Rehoboth Beach anymore, they populate Lewes, | | | | than before in all the other major markets.CSW |
| Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island and all | | | | acknowledges that tourism to DC will be hurt some by |
| the little towns near the Delaware Beaches.During the | | | | the attacks. Personally I know that Crystal City has |
| past several years all real estate, especially waterfront | | | | increased traffic of late by sightseers who have |
| real estate or beach real estate anywhere has been a | | | | recently come to DC and want to view the destruction |
| phenomenal investment. Rehoboth area increases | | | | of part of the Pentagon. Additionally, room rentals are |
| have been as much as 30-40% per year in the ocean | | | | only slightly hurt in the Washington D. C. area as |
| block for the last few years! Part of this surge was | | | | tourists normally in DC for the fall events have been |
| just a catch-up from nearly a decade of relatively flat | | | | partially replaced by consultants and visiting dignitaries. |
| appreciation rates.While Washington D.C., along with | | | | Along with the upgraded appreciation predictions for |
| numerous other cities has seen price increases in real | | | | the DC area real estate market CSW has farther |
| estate of 15-30% per year over the last few years. | | | | downgraded it's prediction for appreciation rates in |
| While the rest of the country has little if any | | | | Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, |
| appreciation in real estate values this year DC has | | | | Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, |
| remained hot, though not as hot as last year. Most | | | | Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San |
| areas of our country have had no appreciation in | | | | Francisco, and Seattle.Here are my personal |
| prices on average for this year - except for small | | | | predictions, based on over thirty years of selling |
| portions of some metropolitan areas.The entire | | | | property here in the Delaware resort areas. I also |
| economy has cooled way down. Globally, real estate | | | | maintain an almost daily connection to the goings on of |
| is not expected to do very well over the next few | | | | the DC real estate markets. Washington DC will |
| years. In addition to residential real estate being hard hit | | | | experience an influx of highly paid professionals for the |
| -- retail, commercial and industrial real estate has been | | | | defense and research industries as well as computer |
| mostly languishing, unsold even at lower prices and | | | | security, personal security and warfare related |
| even with commercial mortgage rates of half what | | | | services.There will also be a terrific increase in any and |
| they were a few years ago.This Delaware Resort | | | | all Internet related firms that service the staff of our |
| area and Washington D.C. are predictably different | | | | government and government contractors who will fight |
| from anywhere else. DC is where people flock when | | | | the new war. Much of this war will be fought with |
| any national emergency or military expansion is | | | | keyboard, mouse and joystick. These new hi-tech |
| underway. We are seeing unprecedented buildups in | | | | workers and the ones already involved will be under |
| military, government and private sectors as a result of | | | | increased stress and accepting increased pay over |
| our instant reaction to the attacks and the nearly | | | | the next few years as we fight a high-tech war |
| immediate national decision to mount a world wide | | | | against terrorism. These same factors and more will |
| high-tech war against the terrorists and their allies. This | | | | give increased reasons and funds for more people to |
| Delaware Beach area is a part time bedroom, escape, | | | | visit our beach areas. As always some of these |
| business-meeting and bar community for the | | | | visitors will decide to purchase here. The visitors and |
| Washingtonian influential and powerful elite. Here they | | | | new buyers bring others with them and more of these |
| can get away and plan in private for what must be | | | | visits are business related now.Washington DC firms |
| done!The Wall Street Journal posted an interesting | | | | and companies that are financially related to these |
| article "Where Housing is Headed in Wake of Attacks" | | | | firms will rapidly be adding highly paid staff and |
| on 09/21/2001 by June Fletcher and Danielle Reed | | | | subcontractors. This will require a huge increase in |
| regarding the future of real estate -after the attacks. | | | | every kind of service industry as well as all the |
| Before the attacks Real Estate sales were the major | | | | hospitality industry relatives. The more highly paid and |
| factor keeping the rest of the economy from | | | | more highly stressed war related workers will |
| plummeting more terribly than it has. The attacks have | | | | predictably seek vacation time, relaxation time and |
| badly shocked the world real estate market. The | | | | close by meeting sites in Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, |
| residential, commercial, industrial and even the | | | | Fenwick and Lewes just as they always have. More |
| government acquisition of property in the major cities | | | | and more of these highly paid folks will also need to |
| has lagged or stopped almost everywhere. No one | | | | visit us more often, for longer periods, and increasingly |
| knows how long this will last of course.Since the New | | | | throughout the year for myriad reasons. Many of them |
| York, D. C. Pentagon, and Pennsylvania attacks on the | | | | will move here and begin to work here from phones, |
| World Trade Center, The Pentagon and the attempts | | | | fax, laptops and home computers. We are seeing it |
| on The White House; we have reason to review | | | | happen already. We, as a result, will need to have |
| many things. General real estate markets world wide | | | | more and more of our resort infrastructure and more |
| have been drastically affected since the war began -- | | | | of our businesses open, year 'round. We will need to |
| and the war may last a long time. Part if not most of | | | | employ more and better trained people in every area |
| the instant real estate market change was due to the | | | | here and they too will need housing and services. We |
| banking industry which was one of the most severely | | | | are growing!We will see an every increasing growth |
| affected of all US business. Many of the offices in | | | | rate for those who telecommute from here at the |
| New York that were destroyed were central banking | | | | beach - part or full time. Already I see a large |
| centers from around the world. We are beginning to | | | | percentage of our prospective customers and buyers |
| recover from the banking difficulties now. In fact our | | | | that are now or soon will be working from home. |
| in-house mortgage broker Prosperity Mortgage which | | | | Those who spend long weekends here in the beach |
| uses Wells Fargo funding is up and running full speed, | | | | area with a laptop and cell phone to handle |
| no problems. We have the lowest residential mortgage | | | | professional responsibilities are an ever increasing |
| rates in 40 years right now. But full technical recovery | | | | group. Kate and I work from home most of the time. |
| of the banking industry will take a while.The real estate | | | | Our waterfront neighbor is a mortgage broker and is |
| market of Washington DC, our feeder community, | | | | often on her balcony with her laptop and phones doing |
| remains strongest in the nation. According to Case, | | | | business. Kate often does a full day's work out at the |
| Shiller and Weiss known as CSW; and claimed by the | | | | end of our pier. We are home workers and every |
| New York Times to be the leading residential real | | | | month more of our customers are as well. Several of |
| estate analysts in the world; we are heading deeper | | | | our recent purchasers work at home full or part |
| into a declining real estate market for this country and | | | | time.As a result of all these property appreciating |
| others, the exception being Washington D.C. CSW is | | | | factors; I wonder if our Delaware Beach Area and |
| predicting DC to appreciate and to increase in | | | | Rehoboth Beach real estate will actually outstrip the |
| appreciation more than previously predicted. This | | | | appreciation of DC real estate once again.By |
| prediction, of course, includes the residential areas | | | | Copyright September 22, 2001Jody Hudson is a |
| around Metropolitan Washington D.C. such as Northern | | | | Realtor with 35 years experience in American and |
| Virginia, Maryland and to a lesser degree parts of | | | | Delaware Real Estate. |