Dianne Deming

Between Rehoboth Ave. and Silver Lake, Scarborough Ave. and the Atlantic Ocean, is nestled a gem of a neighborhood known as South Rehoboth. Here Old Rehoboth cottages blend with new homes to create a charming place to Be at the Beach. No house in South Rehoboth is further than a 3 block walk to the Boardwalk (www.rehobothboardwalk.com), sand and surf, making it a very popular community for renters and seasonal residents as well as the year-round folks who call South Rehoboth home. Gracious, old trees provide shade appreciated by people trying to get a bit of exercise, whether it be walking, biking, jogging or pedaling a surrey. My friend, Sally, remembers when Laurel Street, where her grandfather owned a home and she spent many happy summer hours, was made of sand. Today the sand is replaced with cement sidewalks and asphalt streets. (Sally, however, still longs for the sand streets of her childhood sometimes.)

Housing prices in South Rehoboth reflect the convenience of its location to the beach and downtown amenities and services. There are currently eighteen condos/townhouses for sale in South Rehoboth, ranging in list price from $259,000 for a small studio in the ocean block to $1,399,000 for a 4 bedroom/4 bath, ~2,400 sq. ft. townhouse. Twenty-seven single family homes range from $795,000 for a 1 bedroom/1 bath log cabin, 980 square feet and built in 1929 (!!), to $4,875,000 for a 5,231 sq. ft. oceanfront home built in 2005. As you can see, there are a wide range of housing styles from which to choose in South Rehoboth.

If you are interested in a highly rentable investment property, or a delightful place of your own at the beach, consider South Rehoboth! To see all of the listings available in this community and all of Coastal Delaware, log onto www.debbiereed.com and click on "Real Estate Search." And if you'd like the help of a real estate professional who knows the Rehoboth market inside and out and is dedicated to Above the Crowd customer service, call The Debbie Reed Team (302-227-3818), and one of our agents will be happy to help you.

Country Club Estates is a triangular-shaped neighborhood nestled between Scarborough St., State St. and Silver Lake in the seaside resort town of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. This clean, well-kept neighborhood has a Tot Lot playground on its south side, as well as a foot bridge leading across Silver Lake to Rehoboth Elementary School. A favorite activity for children and grandparents alike is to stop half-way across the bridge to feed the ducks, geese and water turtles which make the lake their home.

The name, Country Club Estates,derives from the land's previous life as a golf course. In the early 1970's, the country club was subdivided into 328, 50'x100' lots and the parcel where the Scarborough Village townhouses now stand. This newer neighborhood provides some of the best property values this close to the beach. At 3-6 blocks from the ocean, it is still within walking distance of the award-winning Rehoboth boardwalk (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/beach2003/2003-10-08-best-boardwalks_x.htm), and downtown Rehoboth Beach (http://www.rehoboth.com/). Because of its favorable location East of Rt. 1 and more reasonable prices, Country Club Estates is experiencing a renaissance of its own as people buy the original modular or stick-built homes (often 3 bedroom/2 bath) and renovate or rebuild.

Currently (as of July 27, 2009), there are 7 homes for sale in Country Club Estates, ranging from a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse in Scarborough Village priced at $425,000, to a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath Southern Plantation style home yet to be built, listed at $1,249,000.

So, if you are looking for a great value within walking distance of the beach in the low-tax state of Delaware, Country Club Estates should be on your list of areas to consider. If you are not curently working with an agent, please call The Debbie Reed Team (302-227-3818), and one of our buyers' agents will be happy to assist you, or log onto our website (www.debbiereed.com) to see the great homes available in Country Club Estates or anywhere in Coastal Delaware.

As of last night and through Saturday night, August 1, the Delaware State Fair is ON!! Some of the highlights for me included the HUGE (and I mean major coleslaw huge), cabbage, the Wall of Hay, the baby goats butting heads (too cuuute!), baby cows (always had a soft spot for baby cows), quilt display (of course), photography exhibit, birdhouse beach house, energy and lights of the Midway, yummy chicken dinner served by the Grange ladies and, most of all, the rodeo!

It's not too late to get in on the fun. The fair is held at the state grounds in Harrington. Look up the schedule of events at the fair website, www.delawarestatefair.com. Let me know how you like it!

Whopping Big Cabbage Wall of Hay (& you thought I was joking) Birdhouse Beach House

Baby Cow (I know, Calf) Bright Colors of the Midway Rodeo Announcer

Yesterday was a glorious day (finally), and I was fortunate enough to get to spend it doing some of my favorite things with one of my most favorite people! We spent 3 hours (count 'em, 3), picking blueberries at Blueberry Lane Farm and Market in Frankford, Delaware.

Blueberry Lane Farm was established in the early 1950's as Ryan's Berry Farm. It has grown through the decades and now boasts 80 acres of blueberries, blackberries and siberian kiwi. Learn more at www.blueberrylanefarm.com. Although one can buy berries already picked, fresh or frozen, the most economical and fun way to achieve berriness is to pick them onesself. My friend and I each picked over 13 pounds! That's a lotta muffins!! I must admit, however, that our picking rate was not very good. It wasn't until we were driving away from the field that we noticed a section with bushes absolutely loaded to the gills (do blueberry bushes have gills?--don't think so), with berries. A return visit on this REALTOR's next day off is in the early planning stages even as I type.

But wait...there's more! After settling up with the blueberry lady and checking for ticks, we were off to our next stop...Serendipity Quilt Shop in Dagsboro. Serendipity just celebrated its one year anniversary (Congrats!) in June, and showcases over 2,000 bolts of fabric at its Main Street location. I didn't buy anything (this time), but it is against the Quilter's Code to be within 30 miles of a quilt shop and not stop to at least look. You can take a virtual tour at www.serendipityquiltshop.com.

Finally, it was time to eat something more than blueberries. We had crab quesadillas at El Dorado on Rt. 24--delicious!! It gave great renewed energy so we could go home and wash, dry, freeze and eat more blueberries! Now I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work, helping my Buyers find, negotiate and purchase their dream home at the beach.