Lists & Rankings
Escape the City: Where to Buy Your Ideal Beach Home
Bethany Beach by David & Tracy at Flickr
This week, as Washingtonians escape the drab confines of their grayscale offices for the warm and colorful environs of nearby beaches, UrbanTurf will take a break from its city focus to look at beach communities near the nation’s capital.
Today, we introduce you to five of these communities that vary in terms of the types of properties that are for sale and the demographic they attract in the summer. If you dream of one day buying a home on the beach, hopefully this article can help you narrow down the places that you might want to buy.
Rehoboth Beach, DelawareBilled as “The Nation’s Summer Capital,“ Rehoboth is a beach town in every sense of the term. Off of Route 1 in Delaware (see map here), Rehoboth is a place where the boardwalk is filled with the sounds of old-school amusement park games and Bruce Springsteen classics, and the smell of greasy french fries is constant from April to September.
Rehoboth is not a community where large beachfront estates line the beach. Condos and smaller single-family vacation homes have been the preferred investment property for the past twenty years. This is evidenced by the average listing price which is high, but not nearly as high as a place like Bethany Beach (see below). The community has developed a reputation in recent years as a destination for the gay and lesbian set, as well as being home to some of the best restaurants in the area.
| Average Listing Price | $785,311 |
|---|---|
| Price Range for Three-Bedroom Rental (Weekly) | $1,500 to $5,000 |
| Highest Price for Beachfront Property on the Market | $7.9 million |
Boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach by Arbitrary.Marks at Flickr
Watered down liquor shots, loud cover bands and more single men and women per square foot than any other town in Delaware are trademarks of Dewey Beach. Called “Spring Break for Adults” by Washingtonian magazine, Dewey is located between Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach (see map here), but that is where the similarities end. In Dewey, the partying goes until the wee hours most summer nights, making it not the best place for families or for those looking to spend a quiet week reading on the beach. Despite the fact that the town banned drinking on the beach in 1986, beer kegs still make their way to the sand, particularly around graduation week. Most vacationers that have made Dewey a mainstay opt to invest in a condo or small cottage in close proximity to the beach…and the bar.
| Average Listing Price | $943,082 |
|---|---|
| Price Range for Three-Bedroom Rental (Weekly) | $1,300 to $4,000 |
| Highest Price for Beachfront Property on the Market | $4.2 million |
For those in the DC area in search of peace and quiet, there is no better place than Bethany Beach. Bethany (see map here) is a much slower-paced scene than the party atmosphere of Dewey and the crowded environs of Rehoboth. While the beach attracts more families than either of its neighbors to the north during the summer months, that doesn’t necessarily translate into big crowds. The boardwalk simmers with activity most nights, but is silent by around 11pm. Bethany is known for the private communities just outside the town that are filled with large beach estates. The prices are high, but the communities have access to beautiful stretches of beach that only get crowded on the holiday weekends.
| Average Listing Price | $1.1 million |
|---|---|
| Price Range for Three-Bedroom Rental (Weekly) | $1,500 to $4,500 |
| Highest Price for Beachfront Property | $8.6 million |
Homes in Duck, NC by MDG26 at Flickr
Ocean City is the only community on this list that rivals Rehoboth in terms of “Americana” beach life. About three hours from DC, the activities in this Maryland beach getaway (see map here) center around the boardwalk. The legendary caramel popcorn at Fisher’s Popcorn is a thorn in the side of parents trying to contain their hyper children and the lines are usually very long at Dolle’s Salt Water Taffy and Thrasher’s French Fries. There are also two amusement parks on the boardwalk, Trimpers Rides and The Pier. Downtown Ocean City still has a number of the Victorian-style homes for which it became famous, but many of the older buildings have been torn down to build high-rise condos and hotels that now seem to dominate much of the beachfront real estate.
| Average Listing Price | $514,620 |
|---|---|
| Price Range for Three-Bedroom Rental (Weekly) | $1,100 to $4,600 |
| Highest Price for Beachfront Property | $5.9 million |
While it is the farthest drive from DC on this list (five hours), Duck is of a different ilk compared to our other featured getaways. Located in the Outer Banks, a group of barrier islands off the North Carolina coast, Duck is home to wide open beaches, little commercial development and some amazing lighthouses. The properties in Duck are large, fitting for families that might choose to go on vacation with other families each summer (it is not uncommon for a home in Duck to have more than five bedrooms). Such size comes with comparable listing prices, which are the highest on this list.
| Average Listing Price | $1.2 million |
|---|---|
| Price Range for Three-Bedroom Rental (Weekly) | $1,300 to $5,000 |
| Highest Price for Beachfront Property | $8.5 million |
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