WICOMICO CO., Md.- Delmarva's home sales are trending higher than the nationwide average, yet housing experts say the shortage of listings is the boom's downfall.
Jonathan Cumming and his wife Jenny moved to the lower shore in July.
"I drove down 13 and I was like.. 'I'm home,'" said Cumming.
Despite the pandemic -- Jonathan had one thing in mind.
"I was only looking for jobs that were near the ocean," he said.
Buyers like Cumming aren't alone.
The Coastal Association of Realtors report home prices on Delmarva are up 9% over the past year.
They credit low interest rates for the surge.
"So a lot of buyers can buy and they can buy more house now than they could before. But lending is still very tight and stringent and they're not just giving away mortgages to anybody. You still have to be well-qualified which is where I think a lot of the mistakes came into play back in 2008," said Joni Martin Williamson, president of Coastal Association of Realtors.
Williamson says closings are up 17% for the Wicomico-Worcester-Somerset region.
They're up 29% in Ocean City alone.
While those numbers may sound promising -- finance experts like Dr. Leonard Arvi of Salisbury University say Delmarva may be just evening out.
He also says the supply of so-called starter-homes is low.
"I wouldn't say it's technically a boom because the market has been repressed for a long time. So what you're seeing is the supply trying to fulfill what the market demand is. And there's plenty of need for entry-level homes, because the entry-level homes is where the supply is much more restrictive," Dr. Leonard Arvi, Associate Professor of Finance, Salisbury University.
Experts around the country warn the risk of a bust is imminent -- as income levels aren't keeping up with home prices.
