Yes, You Can
The Real Estate Bargain Bonanza

In a market of already-low housing prices, some areas are still better bargains than others. Whether you're a first-time buyer, stepping up, stepping out, or buying as an investment, these are the places you need to see.

Growing Families:Middletown

Laura Betters is expecting her fifth child. She and her husband Dan, associate pastor at The Glasgow Reformed Presbyterian Church, are also adopting a baby from India. "We need lots of room," she says.

The Betters moved from Odessa to Middletown last year, settling in the Estates at Back Creek, an Anderson Homes community named after the renowned golf course. The Betters' Cheltenham-style home sits on a one-third acre lot. The family enjoys breakfast in the morning room, and the kids play in the spacious backyard. Mom and dad love the open floor plan, a relatively common feature in most new Middletown developments. Nine-foot ceilings and upgraded cabinets and countertops add to the luxurious experience.

Estates at Back Creek prices start at $469,900, so homeowners get a lot of house for their money. "The other perk is that we're so close to U.S. 13 and I-95," Betters says, "though with the addition of all the new stores in Middletown, we don't have to travel as far to get the things we need."

Middletown is the fastest growing area in southern New Castle County. Its real estate values are appreciating. Attribute that success to the superior Appoquinimink School District and subdivisions filled with spacious family homes.

"What we really love is the sense of community," Betters says, a community that will be enhanced with the completion of Middletown Levels Road Park this year. The sprawling paradise offers a dog park, walking trail, 6-acre pond and picnic pavilions.

Middletown is the fastest growing area in southern New Castle County. Its real estate values are appreciating thanks to the success of the local school district and subdivisions filled with spacious family homes.

New retail consistently sprouts in the area, including a Kohl's, Wal-Mart and several grocers. The cost of fuel is the one negative that has threatened an otherwise cheery picture. "Thankfully gas prices have gone down," says Realtor L. Stephen Cleary of Prudential Fox & Roach, "so a lot of families are more optimistic about settling in Middletown."

Photograph: This house in Parkside was built by Middletown-based Anderson Homes. Photograph by John Lewis. Models are Kathy Pomponi and Paul Akins of MMA Agency. Hair by Paul G. Van Liew and makeup by irene stuckey, both of Pagave.