If You Are Retiring In Coastal Delaware in 2025… Watch This

Coastal Delaware has 42 age-restricted, meaning 55 plus communities. Most people think that more choices means better options, but actually it's all about knowing which ones truly deliver and which ones to select from. So today I'm gonna rank the top communities here in Coastal Delaware and share a breakdown with prices and perks you won't find online for that specific 55 and over buyer. Now, if you're retiring here soon or you're considering retirement, this is gonna be a must watch for you. Now let's get into it. Now, before we jump into the rankings, let me break down why so many people are choosing Coastal Delaware for retirement in 2025. Now, first off, it's probably not a surprise, but it's gonna be the financial benefit because they are huge. Now, Delaware is still one of the most tax-friendly states for retirees. You got no sales tax, no tax on social security and property taxes that'll likely make you do a double take if you're coming from someplace like New York or New Jersey where the taxes are significantly higher. Now, most of our clients save thousands of dollars every year just by moving here. And that's not just some pocket change. We're talking real money that lets you enjoy your retirement or stretch that nest egg a whole lot further, again, just by relocating to Delaware. Now, later in the video, I'm gonna touch on some of the hidden fees that can affect your budget. But even with those, we're still way more affordable than most of our neighboring states. Then there's the small town coastal lifestyle that's getting harder to find these days and we do still have it. Our beaches aren't nearly as packed like sardine cans as you'll find in Myrtle Beach or many of the Florida destinations. Places like Lewis, Rehoboth, and Bethany, these towns still have their own unique vibe all year round and they're not completely overrun, although Rehoboth certainly gets busy in the summertime. And when we get into our top tier communities, you'll see why location near these particular towns is worth every penny and certainly a premium. Now, you can actually walk into a restaurant during the shoulder seasons here and get a table without waiting forever. It's laid back, but there's still plenty to do. Whether you're into water activities or just exploring the cute downtown areas with all their shops and amazing restaurants, again, there are options for everybody. Now, healthcare used to be a lot more challenging than it is, but we're seeing a ton of growth in the space. BB Healthcare, for instance, keeps expanding with their main hospital in Lewis and specialty centers all over Sussex County. We've also got places like Christianic Care and Title Health with locations popping up all over. And Bay Health has recently opened a new emergency center to go along with their main hospital in Milford. For retirees, that can be a huge relief knowing that you've got facilities just a few minutes away instead of multiple hours away and a growing number of options as we age is always important. So the fact they keep expanding is a very big positive. Now, the 55 plus community scene has absolutely exploded here. Again, we've got 42 age-restricted communities across the entire state and more are popping up all the time. So you've got tons of options. And these aren't just these old school like retirement home communities that your parents or grandparents might've considered. We're talking resort style amenities, modern homes and social calendars that will likely keep you busier than when you were working. These communities are always competing for buyers. So they're constantly one upping each other with better facilities, amenities, perks, and so much more. But with so many choices, how do you figure out which one is actually the right fit for you? So that's exactly what we're gonna do today. We're gonna break these down into a list. That way you can figure out which one fits you. Now, I'm not just gonna throw out some generic tier rankings like C tier or B tier without explaining what that actually means and how we came to those conclusions. So let me break those down for you before we dive into it. Our C tier communities are what I call solid foundations. They're gonna be good communities with quality homes and basic amenities. They're perfect if you want a nice place to live without paying for all the fancy extras that can jack up your monthly costs because we certainly have those as well. Now, our B tier communities, those are gonna be your lifestyle enhancers. These places offer more amenities, better locations. Many offer special features that make retirement life just a little bit sweeter. They hit that sweet spot between cost and lifestyle benefit. Now, our A tier are my premium performers. These communities knock it out of the park in multiple areas. It could be amazing amenities plus a killer location or they're exceptional homes that really hold their value well. One community in this tier that we'll discuss later, it gives you that perfect blend of location and modern features that many of our clients absolutely fall in love with. And then we've got the S tier. These are gonna be our best in class options, the cream of the crop that excel across the board with location, amenities, home quality, value, and overall lifestyle. These are usually the communities where our clients walk in and they often say, this is the one. And I can't wait to show you our top communities. They are a completely different approach to retirement living that gives you incredible peace of mind with an ample amount of things to do. Now, I've also looked at things like monthly HOA costs because nobody likes surprise fees, how old the community is and what shape it's in, how close you are to the beaches and hospitals and medical care, and what kind of social scene each one of these different communities has. Remember though, the best community is ultimately the one that feels right for you and your specific situation. These rankings just help to point you in the right direction to help you give an idea of what the options are that are out there, but ultimately your situation may be different than somebody else's. So without further ado, let's dive into the rankings and start with our solid foundations or our C tier. We are kicking it off with Sussex West in Lewis. Home in Sussex West start around $230,000, which is still much lower than many other retirement communities in the area. However, they do have a monthly land lease fee that runs about a thousand to $1,100 per month, which includes your water, sewer, trash removal, lawn care, and your amenities, but that is a little bit steeper than most others. And let me tell you, even with the monthly fee though, you are often spending less overall than in comparable ownership communities. If budget is your primary concern, but you don't want to compromise on location, then Sussex West is certainly your spot. Plus the community has a nice clubhouse, outdoor pool, fitness center, and some activity rooms for varying interests. And it's located just a few minutes from downtown Lewis and about 15 to 20 minutes from Rehoboth Beach. So location is really great. Now for retirees watching their budget who still want to be close to everything that Coastal Delaware has to offer, Sussex West definitely offers an incredible value. Next we have Cedar Bay in Oceanview. This is a 55 plus condominium community. That's perfect if you want that totally maintenance-free lifestyle. If you're looking to ditch the yard work and exterior maintenance completely, then Cedar Bay may just be the jam for you. The community has modern, spacious condos with open floor plans and high-end finishes. Amenities include a community pool, clubhouse with fitness center and walking paths. And it's got a cheer center right there on site. And get this, you're also just a short drive from Bethany Beach, which is what a lot of people consider to be the more relaxed and family-friendly beach in our area, which is often great for people looking for a little more quiet lifestyle. Now prices in Cedar Bay typically start in the mid 300s with monthly HOA fees around 300 to 350 per month that cover pretty much all of your exterior maintenance, your roof siding, landscaping, snow removal, basically you name it, you can just lock up and leave. Now for retirees who plan to travel a lot or maybe keep another home elsewhere, this worry-free setup is certainly appealing. Again, that lock and leave mentality without stressing about who's mowing your lawn is appealing to a lot of people. Now let's move on up to our B-tier communities, or as I like to call them, our lifestyle enhancers. So most of these are gonna be in our Millsboro area. So Millsboro has become super popular for retirees because it gives you great bang for your buck while still being just a short drive to the beaches. Communities like Plantation Lakes, the Peninsula, and Baywood Greens all call Millsboro home. Now these aren't exclusively 55-plus communities, but they do attract tons of retirees because of the amenity packages that they offer. Now perhaps the best 55-plus community in the Millsboro area is gonna be Independence. Independence was built by Shell Brothers and has an incredible 20,000 square foot clubhouse complete with indoor pool and a workout facility that rivals some commercial gyms. They also have an outdoor pool, some tennis courts, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, walking and biking paths, and so much more. I mean, it's impressive what they have there. Now Independence is known for its amenities and its proximity to a lot of area amenities without being right in the mix of the tourist traffic in the summer months. Within close proximity to Rehoboth, Lewis, and Bethany, it is a popular choice for those looking for a location without the beach congestion. Prices in Independence can range from the upper 400s to the upper 700s, depending on the size and location within the community. They have some premium home sites that back to ponds and trees that obviously you'll pay a little more for. The HOA is about $1,300 per quarter, but that includes all the amenities, your lawn care, meaning you can spend more time enjoying what coastal Delaware has to offer and less time taking care of your landscaping. Now, looking back at the others that we mentioned, Plantation Lakes and the Peninsula that we mentioned earlier, both have championship golf courses, which is a huge draw for many of our clients looking in the area. The Peninsula's golf course is a Jack Nicklaus signature design, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I mean, like, seriously, it's picture perfect. It's one of my favorite golf courses in the area. Now, both of these communities also feature multiple pools, fitness centers, restaurants, and so much more. The Peninsula even sits right on the Indian River Bay, so you get those beautiful water views and plenty of things to do on the water. The community really is fantastic. Price-wise, homes in these Millsboro communities can typically start in about the low to mid $400s for those townhomes, and they can go well over $1 million and up for those luxury detached homes on premium lots. Now, HOA fees range from about $300 to $500 a month, depending on which specific community you choose and what amenities are included. The value here is pretty awesome. You're getting resort-style amenities at a much lower price point than similar communities that are closer to the beaches. Now, the downside for a lot of people to the Peninsula is that they do require a separate membership fee for the golf course and the amenities, and that is required as part of living there. They do offer some different levels of membership at different fee points, depending on how much access you want to golf. But it is important to note that these would be in addition to your home purchase, and it's just one of the things that our clients often bring up. All right, rounding out our B-tier is gonna be Heritage Shores in Bridgeville, one of the largest 55-plus communities in Delaware, with about 2,000 homes planned when it's all said and done and completed. And what's really cool is that it's built around an 18-hole Arthur Hills championship golf course, and the amenities here are impressive. We're talking a 28,000-square-foot clubhouse with a restaurant, a fitness center, pools, tennis, some pickleball, and plus plenty of clubs and activities to keep you absolutely busy and jam-packed schedule year-round. The social calendar here is always full, making it easy to meet people, make new friends. If you're that social butterfly, this is the absolute spot for you. Now, when it comes to the homes in Heritage Shores, they start in the upper 300s for villas, and they go up to the 600s for those larger detached homes. Monthly HOA fees are right about $300, which is actually quite reasonable given all the amenities that you get and have access to. The trade-off here is the location. Bridgeville is gonna be about 30 to 45 minutes from the beaches. This community works better for folks who don't need to have their toes in the sand every single day, but you still wanna be within a short driving distance. The other downside that we hear from clients is that due to being annexed into Bridgeville, you actually pay higher property taxes in Heritage Shores in comparison to some of our other areas, with many paying between $3,000 to $4,000 per year, which may still seem like a bargain depending on where you're moving from, but for Sussex County, Delaware, that is a little bit on the higher side. Now, if being close to the beach is your absolute top priority, you might wanna skip ahead to our A-tier options or our premium performers, which we'll get to in just a second. But first, if we haven't met yet, I'm Matt London, a local real estate agent here in coastal Delaware, and I spend over 60 hours a week in this market between showing homes, digging into the data, and closing deals. I share everything I learn right here in these videos, so if you are serious about coastal Delaware real estate, make sure you hit that subscribe button down below just to stay in the loop each week when we go live with new content. Now, let's dive into our A-tier. Let's start kicking it up a notch. Starting things off with Truett Homestead in Rehoboth Beach, this community is actually a pretty impressive option given its location. It was built by Shell Brothers, and the homes are modern with open layouts and energy-efficient features, and most of them have first-floor primary bedrooms, which, trust me, becomes super important as you get older because stairs can become challenging. As I briefly touched on in the opener, the location here is the true highlight. You're literally minutes from downtown Rehoboth Beach with all its restaurants and shops, and of course, the iconic boardwalk and everything there is to do there. And get this, the community itself also has a nice clubhouse. It's got a fitness center with outdoor pool, community garden, and they host regular social events, but I gotta be honest, the amenity package here is not necessarily as extensive as some of the other communities on the list, which is really the only reason why it did not make that best-in-class category. Now, home prices are generally between the mid $700s and the low $900s, which for Rehoboth Beach is actually pretty competitive given the current market. HOA fees are about $250 a month covering your outdoor maintenance and access to those amenities. For someone who wants to be close to Rehoboth without overspending for their amenities, this place really offers a solid value. You're trading off some of the more extensive amenities for the awesome location just about a mile and a half from downtown. All right, next is Salt Pond in Bethany Beach. This established community has been around longer than many of the others on our list, and that maturity really shows in its beautiful landscaping and well-developed amenities. Perhaps one of the best amenities is Salt Pond features an 18-hole executive-length public golf course. It's got an outdoor pool, tennis and pickleball courts, and a community center with various activities, which is pretty cool. The golf course is fun to play. When it comes to location, you're just about a mile or so from Bethany Beach, and the community even provides a private shuttle to the beach during the summer months, so that way you don't have to fight for parking and everything else. That, to me, is pretty awesome. Salt Pond offers beach access without the insane price tag of oceanfront communities. It's a major plus. And while you won't get the extensive amenity package of another community that we'll cover later, you do get that beach proximity that many of the other communities just can't match, and many of our clients are often looking for. Now, homes in Salt Pond do range from about the mid $500s for townhomes to the $700s and even up to the $1 million range for those detached homes, and monthly HOA fees run about $400 a month covering common area maintenance and amenity access. Really a great package. And something that's really cool is the community has a mix of original homes and some newer construction, giving you various options depending on what you're looking for and what your budget allows. Again, really a plethora of options within Salt Pond. Rounding out our A-tier is gonna be Bay Crossing in Lewis. This 55 plus community has gotten super popular because it offers modern homes in a fantastic location. Bay Crossing is just minutes from both Lewis and Rehoboth, so you get easy access to two of our most popular coastal towns. The community features a beautiful clubhouse with a fitness center, outdoor pool, pickleball courts, walking trails, and the social scene is also very active with regular events and lots of clubs for all sorts of different kinds of interests. And let me tell you, many of our clients are drawn to Bay Crossing because it really hits that sweet spot between having plenty to do socially, but still maintaining your privacy when you want it. Home prices in Bay Crossing can start in the upper 500s and can go well over 800,000 for those larger models with premium lots. While it's certainly not cheap, it's still about 15 to 20% less than some of the similar homes in some of the surrounding communities around it. Monthly HOA fees are around 250 bucks, which is pretty reasonable for the amenities that you get. The community is now fully built out so buyers can choose from existing resale homes. There are no new construction left in there. All right, let's talk about our S-tier communities, or as I like to call them, the best in class. These are the top 55-plus spots in coastal Delaware, offering the best of the best in terms of location and amenities. At the top of our list, we've got two Four Seasons communities, with the first one being the Four Seasons at Belterre in Lewis. Now, this 55-plus active adult community really sets the standard for luxury retirement living around here, and it's only matched by another Four Seasons community. Now, the Four Seasons at Belterre has resort-style amenities that honestly rival some fancy vacation resorts. There's a 6,000-square-foot clubhouse with a state-of-the-art fitness center, outdoor pool, tennis, and pickleball, bocce courts, walking trails. I mean, there's really enough amenities for everybody. And the community also runs countless clubs and activities, everything from wine tasting to woodworking to water aerobics. You could literally try something new every day of the week if you wanted to. There are that many options. Now, the homes were all built by K-Hobnadian Homes, who's known for quality construction and thoughtful designs. A lot of their floor plans feature open concepts, first floor primary suites, and high-end finishes throughout. Prices in Belterre typically start in the mid-500s and can exceed 800,000 for those larger models that are on premium lots and may feature a lot of upgrades. Now, monthly HOA fees do run about $300 per month, which, given everything you get, is actually a pretty good deal in comparison to some of the others on our list. The location here is also fantastic. You are split right between Lewis and downtown Rehoboth with all of their charming shops and restaurants and great facilities and everything else that the area has to offer. Rounding out the list, we have another Four Seasons community, the Four Seasons at Scenic Harbor, which is a new home community from K-Hobnadian Homes that shares a lot of similarities with Belterre. Even the locations are very close to one another. Now, Scenic Harbor homes range in pricing from about the upper 500s to the mid-800s for those with bigger homes on bigger lots. The HOA fee in Scenic Harbor is about $275 per month. Once they're all completed, the amenities in Scenic Harbor are going to be incredible. They're going to feature a 7,000-square-foot resort-style clubhouse, outdoor pool, fitness center, pickleball courts, fire pits, and there are plenty of options to meet neighbors in there, and they are more activities than you could ever reasonably keep up with. Being just a mile away or so from Belterre, the location is perfectly positioned between Lewis and downtown Rehoboth for quick access to both depending on what you are looking to do. All right, now I want to keep it real with you guys and talk about some challenges you should know about when considering retiring in coastal Delaware. Obviously, it's not all sunshine and rainbows all the time, and it's better to know this stuff upfront than it is after you've purchased and moved in. First off, while our property taxes are low, and that's awesome, many communities have extra fees beyond the regular HOA dues that you should be aware of. Some have additional annual fees or special assessments that kick in that pay for infrastructure improvements or amenities. These can add, you know, $1,000 to $2,000 to your annual costs, and certainly something you want to ask about. And heads up, most HOA communities in the area have a capital contribution fee that you pay when you purchase. It's basically an initiation fee that can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, depending on the community, that helps bolster the reserves for the community. Now, remember those tax benefits that we discussed earlier? They're still great, but these additional fees can certainly eat into your savings if you're not prepared for them, and always ask about those additional costs when you're checking out the different options and make sure you understand what you're buying into. Now, summer traffic is also definitely a very real thing here. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, our population absolutely explodes with tourists and summer residents, and the roadways in the main beach areas, like Route 1 or Coastal Highway, as it's often called, can get pretty congested, especially on weekends and those peak travel times. But don't worry too much. Most year-round residents quickly learn that we've got all these back roads and secret shortcuts, and we adjust our schedules to avoid the worst times. You don't go grocery shopping at two o'clock on a Saturday. It's just part of the deal when you live somewhere this beautiful that so many people enjoy vacationing. Now, weather-wise, it's generally pretty moderate here, but we do get all four seasons still. Winters are typically milder than they are up north, but we do still get the occasional snow and cold snap, and hurricane season can bring the potential for some coastal storms and some flooding in the low-lying areas. Now, healthcare, while good and getting better all the time, is not quite as extensive as you would find in some major cities. You know, for super specialized care, some residents find themselves traveling up to Philadelphia or to Baltimore or to other big medical centers for those items. And lastly, with some of these being new 55-plus communities, development is still going on. That could mean living with ongoing development and dealing with construction noise and dust and temporary inconveniences as the community continues to be built out. Now, this is just something to consider when some of the newer communities in the area, you get the benefit of brand new construction, but potentially with some construction disruption for a little while. You know, the upside is you get a brand new home with awesome amenities, but it's something to think about when choosing between established communities and newer ones. Some people just can't handle the noise and the dust that new construction does happen to make. That's gonna do it for our list of the best 55-plus spots in coastal Delaware. If you have specific questions about your own situation or you wanna schedule a time to meet with our team to see how we can help you find your own piece of the Delaware beaches, all of our contact information is gonna be down below in the description below. Please don't hesitate to reach out. And if this video has helped you, please hit the subscribe button down below and then hit that notification bell next to it so you don't miss any upcoming Coastal Delaware videos. Plus it lets us know that we are doing a good job on the content. Thanks for watching and we hope to see you on the next one. Peace.