Delaware is a state with a lot of coastline. When you think of wind swept beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, you’re thinking of Delaware. The beach areas come in a variety of forms with sleepy little villages, laid back resorts and energized tourist areas. Much of the state is within a few hours of the major cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Wilmington is a mid-sized city, but the largest in Delaware. Not the most striking of cities, Wilmington is a bit schizophrenic. Parts of the town are dreary and industrial while others contain pleasant parks and walking areas. In the pleasant areas, you’ll find brick paved walkways with little cafés on streets lined with trees. Wilmington is, however, a good launching spot for most of Delaware, which makes for good weekend getaways.

Delaware real estate prices fall all over the board and are primarily dependent on how close the location is to the popular beaches. Homes in Wilmington will run $370,000 on average, while locations in other inland areas are much less. Homes in the beach areas like Rehoboth can be much more, but depend on the quality of the home. On average, the appreciation rate for Delaware real estate was over 16 percent for 2005.