Cheapest Cities to Buy a House in Delaware (2026)
The 4 cheapest Delaware cities by median closed price, from $224,900 in Wilmington to $380,000 in Newark, with what houses cost per square foot, what resales did, and how fast listings go.
Ranked cheapest first by median closed price, this list covers Delaware cities with at least 100 tracked closings inside the city line. A low entry price only means something next to the per-square-foot figure, the realized appreciation and the time to contract, so those sit in the same table.
The ranking
| # | City | Median closed price | Houses $/sqft | Realized appreciation | Days to contract | Closings | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilmington | $224,900 | $139 | 4.59%/yr | 22 | 586 | six months |
| 2 | Dover | $298,750 | $168 | 5.08%/yr | 21 | 276 | six months |
| 3 | Millsboro | $330,000 | $194 | 5.22%/yr | 55 | 283 | 12 months |
| 4 | Newark | $380,000 | $216 | 4.46%/yr | 18 | 281 | 12 months |
1. Wilmington, $224,900
Wilmington's median closed price over the last six months was $224,900, around 58 percent of what the typical Delaware sale closed at. 586 closings sit behind that figure, about 98 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $139 per square foot across 199 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 4.59 percent a year between those sales, on 4,634 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. Listed homes went under contract in a median of 22 days, which is fast for the state and leaves little time to deliberate. About 9.9 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Wilmington market page.
2. Dover, $298,750
Homes in Dover closed at a median of $298,750 over the last six months, about 77 percent of the Delaware statewide median. Resideline tracked 276 closings there, roughly 46 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $168, measured on 207 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 5.08 percent a year (1,054 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 21 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. About 10.1 percent of listings that sold were marketed as-is or distressed, which is high and part of why the entry price is low. Full detail is on the Dover market page.
3. Millsboro, $330,000
Homes in Millsboro closed at a median of $330,000 over the last 12 months, about 85 percent of the Delaware statewide median. 283 closings sit behind that figure, about 24 a month, enough to price against. Single-family houses closed at a median of $194 per square foot across 119 sales with usable living area. Homes that sold twice appreciated at a median of 5.22 percent a year between those sales, on 561 repeat-sale pairs across the postal area that shares the city's name; that is what happened, not what will. The median listed home took 55 days to go under contract, across 157 listed closings. Full detail is on the Millsboro market page.
4. Newark, $380,000
Homes in Newark closed at a median of $380,000 over the last 12 months, close to the statewide median. Resideline tracked 281 closings there, roughly 23 a month. On a per-square-foot basis, houses there closed at a median of $216, measured on 156 sales. Between consecutive sales of the same home, prices moved a median 4.46 percent a year (1,114 pairs, postal-area scope), a historical figure rather than a projection. The median listed home was under contract in 18 days, so a buyer here needs financing lined up before the search, not after. Full detail is on the Newark market page.
Note: realized appreciation is the one column measured on the postal city, from repeat sales of the same home across the ZIP codes that share the city's name; every other figure is confined to the municipal boundary.
Only 4 cities with 100 or more tracked closings sit at or below the Delaware median of $390,000, so this list is short by design rather than padded with cities above it.
How to read this list
A low median is where the analysis starts, not where it ends. Property type, size, condition and block move a number far more than the city line does, so check any address on this list against its own comparable closings.
Figures last updated October 3, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked. Appreciation is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home; it is historical, nominal and not a projection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest city to buy a house in Delaware?
Wilmington, with a median closed price of $224,900 over its reporting window, among Delaware cities where Resideline tracked at least 100 closings inside the city limits.
Are these asking prices or sale prices?
Closed sale prices. Every price median is the price homes actually closed at inside the municipal boundary, not a listing price. The one column measured differently is realized appreciation, which uses the postal city, as the note under the table says.
Why does a cheap city show a high price per square foot?
Because the ranking median covers every property type that closed, condos and multi-family included, while the $/sqft column is single-family houses only. In cities where most sales are condos, the median price is low and the house $/sqft can still be high.
Is the appreciation figure a forecast?
No. It is the median annual change between consecutive sales of the same home, on repeat-sale pairs. It is historical and nominal, and it says what happened, not what will.
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