ResortQuest Real Estate has announced settlements in Sea Colony tennis resort in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Congratulations to the new owners!

For more information on these settlements, contact the agents listed below: 

• 55092 Lakewood Circle, Sea Colony – listed by Despina Kaneles and Nicole Peterdozzi and sold by Bill Hand for $555,000
• 22002 Timberview Court, Sea Colony – listed by Jeff Wolfenbarger and sold by Bill Hand for $300,000
• 6603 Woodland Court, Sea Colony – listed by Tammy Hadder and Anna Meiklejohn and sold for $205,000
• 802 Georgetowne House, Sea Colony – sold by Steve Alexander for $450,000

ResortQuest has been the Sea Colony real estate specialist and Sea Colony vacation rental leader since the early 1970s. Contact us to find your Sea Colony destination today!

ResortQuest Real Estate is pleased to announced the settlement of 33411 Lakeside Circle, Unit 12007, located in the tennis resort of Sea Colony for $270.000!

Congratulations to the new owner!

For more information on this Bethany Beach real estate settlement, contact  listing agent  Bill Hand and selling agent Bob Maxwell.

ResortQuest has been the Sea Colony real estate specialist and Sea Colony vacation rental leader since the early 1970s. Contact us to find your Sea Colony destination today!

Published by: Delaware Wave

In spite of the holiday season starting up sooner than ever this year, somehow Christmas managed to slip up on me. Maybe it was the warmer than usual weather we had recently. Whatever the reason, no presents have been purchased yet around my house.

Actually this year, we have been talking about just doing stockings. That requires that everything has to be able to fit into an oversize stocking, which theoretically means that we keep the costs down to just a few dollars per gift. It sounds so practical and economical. We always say we’re going to do that, but then at the last minute I usually run out to get “just a couple of small things” and lose my resolve to keep it simple for yet another year.

But this year, I think we’re going to stick with our plan. College is the Christmas Grinch this year. With two of my kids flying back and forth to California it has pretty much decimated our discretionary income column. But just because we do the stocking thing it doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun or meaningful. I can think of a few things I wouldn’t mind seeing in my stocking this year. First off, I could really use some cold water wax. The last couple of weeks I’ve been using some left over summer base wax I found in the back of my car and it’s almost as bad as using nothing at all. Just make sure it says cold water on it, it doesn’t smell like bubble gum, and preferably Sex Wax or Sticky Bumps. At a buck fifty per bar, you can stuff three or four in there and still have room and the budget for a lot more stuff.

If your favorite surfer is like me and carrying a few extra pounds from a few too many stops at Dunkin’ Donuts on the way to check the waves, then maybe another idea for a stocking stuffer would be a gift card from one of the local gyms. For instance, Sea Colony offers a great deal on their drop in cards during the off-season, which allows you to take part in a variety of exercise classes, use the fitness equipment or swim in the pool. Most of us surfers could benefit from a few laps in the pool, and would appreciate the subtle hint to get back into shape again. You can buy the cards according to anticipated visits. I think the smallest denomination is for five visits, so it goes easy on the gift budget.

Surf magazines are another thing that will fit into the budget and the stocking as well. Magazines are getting thinner and thinner in a losing battle with the Internet. But most of us still like to look at all those glossy photos of perfect waves. And the smaller size is perfect for those bathroom breaks. Just big enough to keep you occupied during the most important session of the day.

Still have some room in the stocking? Well, how about a beanie hat. It’s the required uniform for surfers these days. They are even wearing them year-round. Get one of those extra long ones that look like they belong on one of the Seven Dwarfs. They’re cool … if you’re under 30.

A surf leash will fit in there as well and it says you care. Not that it will really save your life perhaps, but it keeps you from having to swim in icy cold water. And if you care about skin cancer, then a SPF sunblock face stick is a good thing to pick up as well. It may or may not help with the cancer part, but it may help with the infamous neck tan that surfers get during the winter time from wearing a wetsuit. Headhunters or Sun Bum make some good ones.

A visit to your local surf shop will provide a bunch of other spiffy ideas for the surfer in your life. This is an important holiday for us fun seekers. Despite the economic chill, you can still warm a surfer’s heart with a few well-thoughtout gifts.

Published by: The News Journal

A more realistic view of the market by both buyers and sellers boosted home sales across the state this summer, even as prices continued to show the impact of foreclosures and other short sales, real estate professionals said Tuesday.

September sales totals were well above last year’s numbers in all three counties, rising 32 percent in New Castle County, 8 percent in Kent and 18 percent in Sussex. At the same time, year-over-year prices continued to slip, falling 13 percent in New Castle, 9 percent in Kent and 16 percent in Sussex.

Those prices are largely the result of foreclosed and other “distressed” properties working their way through the market, Realtors said. Next week, for example, there are 130 sheriff sales scheduled in Sussex. Last year at the same time there were 60, said Sandy Greene, a Realtor with ResortQuest Real Estate in Bethany Beach and president of the Sussex County Association of Realtors.

“It is clearing inventory,” she said of distressed sales. “It’s unfortunate, because it’s people who are living and working here who are losing their homes.” She and other Realtors believe that once distressed sales begin to fade, the market will be much closer to finding stability, and even growth.

The average home sold for $306,900 last month in Sussex, $168,800 in Kent and $205,100 in New Castle County, according to data provided by Trend MLS and the Sussex County Association of Realtors.

In neighborhoods where competition among sellers is more acute, there’s a tendency for prices to come down to a point where buyers will step in, Greene said. In other neighborhoods, there is resistance to recognizing that values have dropped.

“Those neighborhoods aren’t moving,” she said. “Some neighborhoods started early [recognizing new realities], and some neighborhoods have resisted.”

Buyers are still enjoying record-low interest rates, but lenders’ demand for a 20 percent down payment is keeping some people — especially first-time buyers — out of the market, Realtors said. With rates so low for so long, and with the government signaling they will remain there, the bump in sales shows a broader dynamic at work, agents said.

“I don’t think the interest rates are doing it,” said Gina McCollum-Crowder, president of the New Castle County Board of Realtors and a RE/MAX Associates Realtor. “I think they’re more comfortable with the marketplace, and that it’s not all doom and gloom.”

The demand is out there when the conditions are right, she believes.

“If a house is priced right and staged properly, it’s selling within the proper time frame,” she said. “If a house is not priced properly and does not show well, then the house is sitting on the market.”

In the same way, the agents who are doing good business nowadays seem to be making their own luck.

“If you hustle, it’s actually out here,” McCollum-Crowder said. “Business doesn’t come to you, you have to do the proper things to procreate the business.”

Vacation Rentals Company to Host Volunteers, Officials and the Wish Family, in Addition to Offering 20 Percent Off Lodging for Participants in the 28th Annual Triathlon

Bethany Beach, DE – ResortQuest Real Estate recently announced July’s top producers for its southeast Sussex County Delaware locations.

Dayna Feher of the Bethany Beach office received top honors for listing volume for the month of July.

Top listing volume awards for individual agents by office are: Feher for the Bethany Beach office;  Bill Hand for the Marketplace at Sea Colony office; Despina Kaneles for the Edgewater/Sea Colony office; Anne Powell and Jen Hughes for the Bayside office; and Marc Grimes for the Bear Trap Dunes office.

“All ResortQuest agents should be highly commended,” said Ann K. Baker, Broker of Record for the firm, “with their hard work and dedication, ResortQuest consistently retains a strong position in our marketplace.”

Hand received top honors for sales volume for the month of July.

Top sales volume awards for individual agents by office are: Hand for the Marketplace at Sea Colony office;  Powell and Hughes for the Bayside office; Feher for the Bethany Beach office; Gail Phelan for the Edgewater/Sea Colony office; and Grimes for the Bear Trap Dunes office.

Since the 1970s, ResortQuest Real Estate consistently has been the real estate leader in southeast Sussex County. ResortQuest provides comprehensive real estate services from listing and selling resort, residential, and commercial properties to renting vacation, seasonal and long-term rentals plus managing numerous homeowner associations. 

For up-to-the minute information on real estate in the resort and inland areas of Sussex County, visit ResortQuestDE.com, or follow ResortQuest Delaware & Maryland on Facebook or Twitter (@RQDEMD). Download ResortQuest’s free mobile real estate search application by texting QUEST to 87778.

For information on starting a career in real estate, contact Ann K. Baker at 302-541-5970, e-mail her at abaker@resortquest.com or visit www.ResortQuestDE.com.

ResortQuest Real Estate has announced that 20006 Twin Lakes Court, located in Sea Colony tennis resort community, is now under contract. For more information on this pending transaction, contact selling agent Bill Hand.

Sea Colony Amenities & Features: Sea Colony – The Premier Family Beach & Tennis Resort Community – features a half mile of private beach, 12 pools (2 indoor), world class tennis, fitness centers, activities for all ages, community shuttle and year-round security. Sea Colony is ranked among Tennis Magazine‘s Best U.S. Resorts and by Tennis Resorts Online as one of the finest in the world. Sea Colony’s oceanfront features five oceanfront pools, plus one indoor and three kiddie pools. The Beach Community also offers exercise facilities, saunas and more!

ResortQuest has been the Sea Colony real estate specialist and Sea Colony vacation rental leader since the early 1970′s. Contact us to find your Sea Colony destination today!

 
ResortQuest Real Estate has settled two properties within the Sea Colony tennis resort community. For more information on these settlements, contact the listing and/or selling agents below.

• 51004 Southwinds, Sea Colony – listed by Despina Kaneles and Nicole Peterdozzi and sold for $285,000
• 23006 Tall Timber Court, Sea Colony – listed by Bill Hand and sold for $275,000

ResortQuest has been the Sea Colony real estate specialist and Sea Colony vacation rental leader since the early 1970′s. Contact us to find your Sea Colony destination today!

Top seed Maria-Fernanda Alves (BRA) advances to the second round of the inaugural ResortQuest Pro Women's Open at Sea Colony in Bethany Beach, Delaware.

 The first day of competition in the main draw of the inaugural ResortQuest Pro Women’s Open at Sea Colony is in the books. The main draw for singles and doubles continues tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. on the Har-Tru clay courts at Sea Colony.

The complete results from Tuesday’s 1st round singles matches:

• Alexa Guarachi (USA) def #7 Nicole Robinson (USA) 6-1, 6-0
• #6 Chanelle Van Nguyen (USA) def. Martha Blakely (USA) 6-4, 6-1
• Kelsey Laurente (USA) def. Joanne Schickerling (USA) 6-0, 7-5
• Gaia Sanesi (ITA) def. Alexandra Hirsch (USA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
• Molly O’Koniewski (USA) def. Vanja Galijasevic (AUS) 6-2, 6-0
• #3 Angelina Gabueva (RUS) def. Joelle Kissell (USA) 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-2
• Denise Starr (USA) def. Svetlana Krivencheva (BUL) 7-5, 6-0
• #1 Maria-Fernanda Alves (BRA) def. Jessica Lawrence (USA) 6-3, 6-2

The complete results from Tuesday’s 1st round doubles matches:

• Dianne Hollands (NZL) / Simone Kalhorn (USA) def. Eva Raszkiewicz (USA) / Katrine Isabel Steffensen (USA) 3-6, 6-1, 10-8
• #2 Alexandra Hirsch (USA) / Lena Litvak (USA) def. Katie Ruckert (USA) / Joanne Schickerling (RSA) 6-3, 6-2
• Kelsey Laurente (USA) / Nicole Robinson (USA) def. #3 Emily Harman (USA) / Madeleine Kobelt (USA) 6-1, 4-6, 10-6
• #4 Kyle McPhillips (USA) / Chanelle Van Nguyen (USA) def. Nika Kukharchuk (RUS) / Xin Wen (CHN) 6-2, 6-4

For Day 1 of the main draw results, Day 2′s main draw matchups and up-to-date scoring, as well as the latest tournament information, are available on SeaColonyTennis.net (the official online home of Sea Colony tennis)  or pro-classic.seacolonytennis.net (the official tournament Web site). 

Follow the tournament (or join the conversation) on Twitter at #ProSC

Published by: Coastal Point

Sales data released recently by the Sussex County Association of Realtors (SCAOR) reveals a clear and continuing improvement in southern Delaware’s real estate markets, further proof that the rebound from the recession, which gripped the region, and the country, is gaining momentum.