Delaware
February home sales in Delaware: Sussex leads the way in sales and highest median price
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Delaware home sales fell in February on a monthly and yearly basis, while the median price declined from January but rose from a year ago.
Sales of existing homes – not new construction – in February totaled 830, down 7.88% from 901 in January and slightly lower than 838 in February 2024, a decline of 0.95%, the Delaware Association of Realtors reported.
The median sales price of $377,000 fell less than 1%, down 0.62% from $379,333 in January, but higher than a year ago by 2.70% when it was $367,083.
Prices have pulled back since October’s all-time high median price of $397,650.
The inventory of homes for sale was 3,506, up from 3,289 in January and from 2,883 one year ago.
The pace of sales slowed, with homes staying on the market an average of 50.7 days, longer than 47 days in January and 45.7 days in February 2024.
“While inventory gains are a step in the right direction, affordability remains a pressing issue,” said Scott Farnan, president of the Delaware Association of Realtors, in a press release.
The association is advocating solutions like the “One Percent for Housing” campaign, which calls for the state to dedicate 1% of its budget to affordable housing solutions, Farnan said.
Sussex County leads state in sales and prices
Sussex County topped the other counties in home sales with 354, holding steady from 353 in January and higher than 330 in February 2024.
The median sold price was the highest in the state at $434,500, down from $465,000 in January, but up from $421,250 a year ago.
Inventory of homes for sale climbed to 2,109 from 1,888 in January and from 1,692 in February 2024.
But the average time a home was on the market dragged out to 70 days compared with 62 in January and 56 days a year ago.
New Castle County sales and prices
In New Castle County, sales totaled 324 in February, down from 403 in January and from 353 a year ago.
The median sold price was $364,000, rising from $350,000 in January and from $330,000 in February 2024.
Inventory of homes for sale was 838, climbing from 831 in January and from 713 a year ago.
The average time a home was on the market was 36 days, slightly longer than 34 days in January and longer than 28 days in February 2024.
Kent County real estate figures for February
Kent County sales totaled 152, up from 145 in January, but lower than 155 a year ago.
The median sales price of $332,500 rose from $323,000 in January but fell from $350,000 in February 2024.
Active inventory was 559, falling from 570 in January but higher than 478 a year ago.
The average time a home was on the market was 46 days, up from 45 days in January, but sales were faster than a year ago, when the average was 53 days.
National sales and prices climb
In the U.S. as a whole, existing home sales were better than Delaware on a monthly basis, increasing by 4.2% in February from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million, reported by the National Association of Realtors.
However, compared with last year, national sales slipped 1.2%, while in Delaware the decline was less than 1%.
The national median sales price rose to $398,400 in February, compared with $396,900 in January and $383,800 a year ago. That’s a 3.8% year-over-year increase vs. the 2.7% rise in Delaware.
The inventory of unsold existing homes climbed 5.1% from the prior month to 1.24 million at the end of February.
Properties remained on the market for an average of 42 days in February, up from 41 days in January and 38 days in February 2024.
“Home buyers are slowly entering the market,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. “Mortgage rates have not changed much, but more inventory and choices are releasing pent-up housing demand.”
Reporter Ben Mace covers real estate, development and business news. Reach him at rmace@gannett.com.
Community members lined the streets of Media on Saturday for the fourth annual Delco Pride Parade, celebrating visibility, community and support for LGBTQ+ residents across Delaware County.
Marchers carrying rainbow flags, signs and banners made their way through downtown Media before gathering at the Delaware County Courthouse for a Pride flag-raising ceremony.
For many attendees, the event represented more than a celebration.
“I think it’s so special…in a community where Pride isn’t a long-established tradition…to be able to have people be so out and proud, visible in the community,” said Abby Weissman, who marched alongside fellow members of the Hedgerow Theatre Company.
The message resonated with attendees of all ages.
“Everyone’s expressing themselves,” 11-year-old Madelyn Rothdeutsch Keckler said. “Not what people want them to be, just what they are,”
Others said the event reflected personal journeys toward acceptance.
Francis Palmarino, who marched with members of his church community, said finding a welcoming congregation helped him embrace his identity as a bisexual man.
“It’s not something to be scared of,” Palmarino said. “The idea of Pride is to celebrate togetherness.”
Parents and allies also turned out to show support for LGBTQ+ loved ones.
“It’s important for parents like me to be visible in this parade because then they know that no matter what, they are always loved,” said Nikki Brake-Silla, who attended in support of her daughter.
Volunteers with the organization Free Mom Hugs offered encouragement to attendees whose families may not be as supportive.
“Even if someone’s birth family is not accepting of them, we like to let them know there’s a place for them,” said Bonnie Kaplan.
Following the parade, eventgoers gathered outside the Delaware County Courthouse as the Pride flag was raised and members of the Transcendent Choir performed.
A.K. Hazel, a nonbinary advocate for transgender youth, said the ceremony was moving.
“I got very emotional because getting to raise the Pride flag here at all means so much, knowing that my community believes in me and the people that I love,” Hazel said.
The Delco Pride Festival is scheduled for June 13 in Upper Darby.
Meet the calves at Knutsen Farms in Harrington
The family dairy farm recently won a conservation award.
June means blueberry season is here, and Delaware has several farms offering u-pick fruit.
Whether you’re looking for farm-fresh produce to munch on or local ingredients for your summer baking, here’s where you can pick your own blueberries in Delaware this year.
Fifer Orchards, Camden
Recognized as a Delaware century family farm after opening in 1919, Fifer Orchards in Camden typically offers blueberry picking Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (exit by 5 p.m.) for the U-Pick experience.
For even more fun, U-Play admission features yard games, photo opportunities, food and picnic tables and restrooms for public use. The farm also has Saturdays Extras events with even more to do.
You also can stop by the Farm Store to purchase local goodies and a selection of the orchard’s fresh fruits and vegetables.
If you find yourself getting hungry after picking blueberries, the Farm Kitchen building sells a variety of lunch and dessert items.
The farm uses its Facebook page to keep guests updated on daily picking conditions and orchard offerings.
1919 Allabands Mill Road, Camden, (302) 697-2141; fiferorchards.com/
Bennett Orchards, Frankford
Bennett Orchards is another location offering u-pick blueberries. This Frankford farm has several varieties of blueberries and sells produce at various farmers markets throughout the beach towns if you can’t fit in a day of picking.
The farm provides wagons free of charge to help with the picking experience, and Bennett Orchards’ picking containers can be used on return visits for a discount.
Keep tabs on their website for updates on u-pick offerings this summer.
31442 Peach Tree Lane, Frankford,(302) 732-3358; bennettorchards.com/.
Kingsley Orchards, Frankford
Kingsley Orchards in Frankford is well-known for several types of u-pick berries.
If you’re new to the orchard or have never picked your own fruit before, find one of their farmers for a quick lesson on all things u-pick!
Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates on u-pick hours and availability.
24349 Blueberry Lane, Frankford,(302) 238-0105;www.kingsleyorchards.com/index.html.
Parsons Farms Produce, Dagsboro
Parsons Farms Produce in Dagsboro has u-pick blueberries and other fruits available during the spring and summer months.
To make the u-pick outing complete, they also have fresh beef for sale, a country store filled with fresh produce, ice cream, events and farm animals available for feeding and petting.
The farm’s Facebook page will provide u-pick updates as the crops become available.
30391 Armory Road, Dagsboro, (302) 732-3336; parsonsfarmsproduce.com/.
Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys’tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.
300 years later, Shad welcomed back to Brandywine
Dam removal begins in the Brandywine as the Shad and other fish are welcomed back to historic breeding grounds. The project is the first of many on the waterway and one of a series in the Delaware River watershed.
William Bretzger, The News Journal
The Delaware history column features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
20 years ago, The News Journal, June 7, 2006
100-year-old Stone Balloon demolished for condominiums
There was no ceremony or parting words. Just the sound of the orange high-reach excavator machine as it began clawing into the wall of the Stone Balloon tavern on East Main Street in Newark.
A large crowd gathered Tuesday to watch the 100-year-old building come down. As the familiar walls crumbled, they snapped photos on their digital cameras and cell phones.
Owner Jim Baeurle will replace the tavern with a 54-unit project called the Washington House Condominium, as well as retail and office space. Demolition could take several days. Construction is set to start in July.
“To me, the emotional part was on Dec. 17, saying goodbye to the staff and customers,” Baeurie said before the demolition. “But now we turn the page and bring to Main Street what I tried to do for two years. The excitement outweighs the sadness.”
University of Delaware students, residents and business owners had mixed emotions.
Travis Duke, 22, a UD senior from Wilmington, went to the Balloon every Thursday night for two years. His dad went there in the 1970s to watch George Thorogood perform.
“I’m upset,” Duke said. “You can’t really replace the Stone Balloon with condos. It was a one-of-a-kind type of place.”…
The Stone Balloon was opened by Bill Stevenson in 1972.
“I don’t think people will ever realize how much fun we had at this building,” Stevenson said.
50 years ago, The Morning News, June 9, 1976
Governor vetoes bill to merge 3 vo-tech schools
Fearing more problems with budget deficits and desegregation, Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt yesterday announced his veto of a bill to put three New Castle County vocational schools under the control of a single school board. ….
The bill would have given the New Castle County Vocational Technical Board of Education control over Wilmington’s Howard Career Center which opened last year and Newark’s Hodgson Vocational-Technical School, due to open this fall. …
Before making the decision, Tribbitt talked with Albert H. Jones Jr., president of the State Board of Education. He also met with vo-tech officials and school superintendents from Wilmington and Newark which would have lost control of their vocational schools through the bill….
While vetoing the merger bill, Tribbitt let stand the two companion measures. Those bills increase the vo-tech property tax from 3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 4 cents in Sussex County, 4 cents this year and 5 cents next year in Kent County, and 8 cents in New Castle County. The revenues raised in New Castle County will be split, based on enrollment, among the Wilmington, Newark and vo-tech districts.
Tribbitt said the cost of consolidating the three vocational schools under one board would be greater than the increased taxes would raise. The problem, he said, is “leveling up,” which state law requires when districts are consolidated. By putting three schools under one district’s control, the district would have to pay all staff according to a pay scale equal to the highest now existing at any of them. That, Tribbitt said, would have created at least a $300,000 deficit next year.
Desegregation was mentioned indirectly in the veto message, but Jones elaborated on it. In consolidating, Jones said, the district’s three schools would have to meet U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare standards. Those standards require that the district couldn’t have one school with mostly white students while another was mostly black or have a similar racial imbalance between teachers at different schools.
Meeting those guidelines, Tribbitt said, could have meant “significant shifts” in students, teachers, administrators and programs. “It could have meant busing,” a Tribbitt aide noted.
100 years ago, The Evening Journal, June 12, 1926
Wilmington to join in nation’s 150th birthday celebration
Wilmington Mayor Forrest, at 11:11 a.m. on June 28, simultaneously with the ringing of the Liberty Bell by Mayor Kendrick in Philadelphia, will ring a bell in this city, as an echo of the tolling of the symbol of liberty.
The ringing of the bell will be a signal for the commencement of American Independence Week.
President Coolidge in Washington is expected to perform a similar service, and each of the state governors are expected at that time to toll a bell in the state capitols.
The week has been set aside by a special act of Congress for the celebration of the 150th birthday of the Declaration of Independence and commemorating the Centennial of the death of its author, Thomas Jefferson.
Claude G. Bowers, executive secretary of the national commission, yesterday wired Mayor Forrest about the celebration and received an immediate return telegram from the mayor assuring the commission of his fullest cooperation. …
The tentative program follows: “Patriot’s Pledge of Faith Day” on Monday, “Universal Education Day” Tuesday, “Founders Day” Wednesday, “Great American Day” Thursday, “Signers Day” Friday, “Monticello Day” Saturday, “Jefferson Centennial Day” Sunday and “Sesqui-Centennial Independence Day” on Monday.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
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