Cheapest Homes in Delaware
The cheapest homes in Delaware tend to be in communities just outside Dover, the second largest city in the state. I noticed in my study of the housing prices that the price tended to rise the further you went north in the state, moving away from Dover and into the Wilmington Area. The reason for this rise in the real estate prices is no doubt proximity to the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Because of the need for housing in the Wilmington-Camden-Philadelphia region, though, you'll find a lot of stratification of prices and thus some cheap residences to purchase.
Delaware has only three counties: New Castle County (Wilmington), Kent County (Dover), and Sussex County (Georgetown and the southernmost towns). You'll find the housing market is weak, despite Delaware being centrally located on the eastern seaboard while having access to all sorts of beautiful coastal areas, yet still being tucked away. But the demand for housing in Delaware remains weak, which is good news for any potential home buyer who can afford the purchase (or get a mortgage loan).
Delaware Court of Chancery
You might think Delaware is a nondescript state in the east somewhere, but Delaware has a thriving business community. In fact, Delaware has a reputation as a corporate haven. It has a history as arguably the most business-friendly state in the United States. Over the generations, the State of Delaware has built up the most detailed civil court system in the world--no exaggeration. This court system not only draws in American business disputes, but often serves as a court for international business disputes. Corporations notice these things.
To underscore my point, more than one-half of the publicly traded companies in the United States are incorporated in Delaware, while sixty percent of the Fortune 500 companies choose to incorporate in the state. When corporations get involved in major civil litigation, you can expect the corporate types and their lawyers to head to a court somewhere in Delaware. Yet despite the draw on business, a survey of the Delaware real estate market shows prices slashed, sometimes to scandalous levels.
Cheapest Homes in Dover
Dover is the capital of Delaware, yet it's a city with a population of only 30,000 people, the government offices are found there. For reasons that will become apparent later, many of the civil courts, specifically the Delaware Court of Chancery, are located in Wilmington. With such a small city for a capital, you won't find nearly the number of cheap homes in Dover, but the ones you do find are going to be quite inexpensive.
A foreclosure home on Phoenix Drive in Dover is selling for $4,300 right now. This house contains 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, but the owner isn't showing a picture at the moment. Since it was recently listed, that might be a simple oversight or it could mean something. Ask your realtor about homes on Phoenix Drive if you want to take a look.
Also, the dreamy Stardust Drive is site of a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom manufacture home selling for $43,000. Many of the other houses in the Dover area have prices over $100,000, so you're going to have to be aggressive and reactive when you do find a house in your price range.
Inexpensive Homes in Magnolia, Harrington, Laurel
Because of the wave of foreclosures, you'll find cheap homes across the State of Delaware. A quick glimpse shows a 3 bed, 2 bath residence in Magnolia, just south of Dover, which is selling for $13,500. Look some more and you'll see Harrington, a little further south, has a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom selling for $19,000 on Commerce Street. Keep searching and you'll find a $28,000 2 bed, 1 bath foreclosed home in Laurel, which is in the far southwest corner of the state near Maryland.
Cheapest Homes in Wilmington
Wilmington is the largest city in Delaware. Wilmington is in the same metropolitan area as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey, so people living in Wilmington have access to a job market of around 5.8 million people. You can find relatively inexpensive homes in Wilmington, too. Let me give a few examples.
East 22nd Street has a single family home with 2 bedrooms and a bathrooms selling for $9,400, while a number of the houses are in the $25,000 to $35,000 price range. North Broom Street has a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment selling for $27,000. If you don't like condominiums, you can buy a 3 bed, 1 bath house on West 30th Street for $32,000. Meanwhile, Columbia Avenue has a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom townhouse selling for $35,000.
Cheap Housing in Newark and Middletown
You can find affordable homes in Newark and Middleton, nearby Wilmington in New Castle County. Most of the homes I found remain in the $70,000 to $85,000 range, but these remains amazing bargains in what's obviously a buyers market. The cheapest home I found in Newark (Delaware, not New Jersey) was a $72,000 price for a 3 bed, 1 bath residence at Whitburn Place. This is a nice looking home with a steep reduction in price. Meanwhile, I found a 2 bed, 1.5 bath home on Cole Boulevard in Middletown with an asking price of $76,000. This house is going on auction, so ask the broker about bidding on the place.
Cheapest Delaware Homes
Delaware is the 45th ranked state in terms of population with just over 800,000, so anyone just moving to the state is going to find fewer housing options than most states. Because of the small size of Delaware, you shouldn't be afraid to check the next town over. Commuting isn't for everybody, but only Rhode Island is smaller than Delaware among U.S. states, so keep that in mind when relocating to the First State (so-called because it was the first state to ratify the Constitution, thus being the first state technically in the Union).