Posts Tagged ‘Lancaster County’
Posted by tblefko on October 28, 2009
When it comes to selling your house, “oops” won’t cut it. Recently, I read an article on HGTV’s FrontDoor.com about the most common mistakes when trying to sell a home. I’m not sure what kind of research they did, if any, but I thought the list was worth sharing.
1. Waiting Until Spring to Sell – For some reason, people have it in their heads that Spring is the best time to put their home on the market. Here are the numbers for pending homes sales in Lancaster County as compiled from the Keystone MLS over the last six months: April – 481, May – 469, June – 485, July – 461, August – 483, September – 464. Not a lot of difference here - is there? Here is a short, un-scientific list of reasons why people move: getting married, getting divorced, job transfer, new addition to the family, death. You will notice that none of these happen exclusively in the Spring.
2. Not Reading the Paperwork - When it comes to the largest amount of money that most people will spend on any one thing in their lives, don’t let anybody tell you that “you don’t have to read it because it’s a standard real estate form.” Sure there’s a lot of paperwork to read and comprehend but don’t you think the time invested is worth it? Go over the fine print of the agreement with your real estate agent or attorney before signing anything to make sure you understand your responsibilities
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Posted in Agents, Consumers, Legislation, Market Conditions, Motivation, Sellers | Tagged: Home & Garden Television, Investment, Keystone MLS, Lancaster County, Lowball Offer, Overimproving, Overpricing, Tax credit | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on October 7, 2009
The American Planning Association (APA) recently named Lancaster’s Central Market as one of American’s ten great public spaces. If you have never been to ‘Market’, you’re missing out on an experience that is uniquely a Lancaster landmark and tradition.
The APA’s Great Places’ program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Locations are selected annually and represent the gold standard in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow. In short, they are considered enjoyable, safe, and desirable and places where people not only want to visit; but to live and work every day. They are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.
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Posted in Lancaster | Tagged: American Planning Association, Central Market, Lancaster County, Media, National Register of Historic Places, Pennsylvania Dutch, Real estate | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on August 15, 2009
Image courtesy of Flickr
I remember a couple of years ago when Zillow first hit the real estate scene. Consumers embraced the web site almost immediately because of the web site’s cool, on-line tools. One tool in particular caught their fancy: the Zestimate. This single, funny-sounding word would grow to strike fear in the heart’s of REALTORS® everywhere.
But what is a Zestimate? A Zestimate is an estimated market value of a home based on Zillow’s proprietary, mathematical formula. The home data they compile to generate a Zestimate home valuation varies by location. Some geographic areas provide all the data Zillow could hope for, but others are lacking such key things as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or, in some cases, the square footage of the home. The theory says that the more data Zillow has, the more accurate the Zestimate. They even made it easy for users of the site to help them improve accuracy by incorporating edited home facts into their Zestimate calculations. In some areas, Zillow can’t produce a Zestimate at all, but they do have some basic information on the homes.
Why did REALTORS® dispise Zillow? Because they claimed that the tool that produced Zestimates oversimplified the valuation process and gave inaccurate results. Regardless, Zillow shot up the popularity charts and in no time at all it was firmly entrenched as one of the top ten real estate web sites in the world. REALTORS® looked at the new kid on the block as a threat to their own personal fiefdom as experts on property valuation. They exclaimed, “How dare they hand out FREE property estimates! They’re misleading consumers. Why can’t consumers see that the accuracy of Zestimates is atrocious?”
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Posted in Agents, Lancaster, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Agents, Charts, Lancaster County, National Association of REALTORS, Property Values, Sellers, Statistics, Video, Zestimates, Zillow.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on August 11, 2009
Lancaster County was recently cited in ”Where to Retire” magazine as one of the eight best places to live during one’s golden years. What other locations did we share this distinction with? Fort Myers, Fla.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; Greeley, Colo.; Spokane, Wash.; Chattanooga, Tn.; Salem, Ore. and Chico, Calif. I’d say we’re in pretty fair company.
“Where to Retire” magazine was launched in 1992 with the goal of helping its readers find the ideal place to retire. Now published six times a year, the magazine covers the best retirement regions, towns, and master-planned communities, and has a national average circulation of 220,000 and an average readership of 500,000.
According to the magazine’s editor, Mary Lu Abbott, it’s a prime time for retirees to find affordable places to relocate, as an excess inventory of homes provides great values at low cost. She’s states that as the housing market recovers, much of the buyer traffic will be active adults looking toward retirement and the cities that offer the opportunity for a well-rounded lifestyle coupled with great home buys should see increased interest from relocating retirees.
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Posted in Buyers, Condominiums, Lancaster, Market Conditions | Tagged: Condominiums, Lancaster County, Media, Moving, Retirement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on July 26, 2009
Image via Wikipedia
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reported on Thursday of this past week that existing home sales for the month of June increased for the third month in a row fueling speculation that the housing downturn is starting to reverse direction. Excerpts of NAR’s press release¹ follow:
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but are 0.2 percent lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in June 2008.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is hopeful about the gain. “The increase in existing-home sales occurred in all major regions of the country,” he said. “We expect a gradual uptrend in sales to continue due to tax credit incentives and historically high affordability conditions . . . “
Much of the fuel for the fire of homes sales has occurred in the first-time homebuyer market which has accounted for 29 percent of transactions according to an NAR survey of its practitioners. With the $8,000 tax credit deadline of December 1, 2009 (4½ months away) fast approaching, it will be interesting to see if this segment continues to stoke sales numbers.
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Posted in Lancaster, Market Conditions | Tagged: Lancaster County, Lawrence Yun, National Association of REALTORS, Reports, Statistics, U.S. Housing Market | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on July 10, 2009
The gap between the 2008 and 2009 real estate markets in Lancaster County is down to a razor’s edge. On Wednesday of this week, the front page of the Intelligencer Journal ran the following story:
Market Here For Housing Gets Better ¹
Numbers for pending home sales improve
The housing market in Lancaster County continued to rebound in May, creeping ever closer to 2008′s level, local Realtors reported Tuesday.
The number of pending home sales here was down only 2.5 percent from the May 2008 figure, the smallest gap so far this year, according to the Lancaster County Association of Realtors.
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Posted in Lancaster, Market Conditions | Tagged: Agents, Buyers, Financing, Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster County, Lancaster County Association of REALTORS, Mortgage, National Association of REALTORS, Newspapers, Property Values, Statistics, U.S. Housing Market | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on May 23, 2009
Over the last decade, the role of a REALTOR® has changed drastically. REALTORS® are no longer the gate-keepers of information because of the proliferation of real estate related web sites on the internet. Consumers today can compare mortgage rates of various lenders, read about ways to improve the marketability of their home and obtain comparable home data from the comfort of their home without any interaction from a real estate professional.
While a REALTORS® role may have changed, it doesn’t mean our importance as a trusted advisor has waned. In fact, our function today is more valuable than ever.
I read an article on REALTOR.org by Steve Harney that drives this point home. Steve specializes in negotiation and leadership training and has been in the industry for more than twenty years, first in sales and then as broker-owner of a 500-associate real estate company. He explains that the REALTOR® of today needs to be able to take all that information that is readily available to the consumer and interpret it for them. Here are four questions that Steve lists in his article that today’s real estate practitioner needs to be able to address. Notice that none of them has anything to do with providing a printout or a body of statistics but rather furnishes a valuable interpretation and opinion of why things are the way they are today.
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Posted in Agents, Buyers, Market Conditions | Tagged: Agents, Buyers, FAQ, Lancaster County, National Association of REALTORS, Statistics, Web Sites | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on May 18, 2009
- Screenshot of yelp.com
Found an interesting and useful website while browsing over the weekend. The site is yelp.com. The site is all about the power of ‘word-of-mouth’ amplified. It is loaded with reviews of local businesses from real people on just about anything you can imagine in your area. Want to know something about that new Italian restaurant that just opened up down the block? How about which beauty spa gets high marks for service? Where should you buy your next kitten? I also found this website great to learn about businesses and service providers when you are traveling out of town. Happy YELPING!
Posted in Lancaster | Tagged: Lancaster County, Web Sites | 1 Comment »
Posted by tblefko on May 3, 2009
Image courtesy of Flickr
If you take a moment and peer up into the sky you will actually see that we are at the crossroads of a real estate buying opportunity like we haven’t seen in my lifetime. All the factors that go into making a real estate buying decision are perfectly configured. But like most perfect planetary alignments, clouds and precipitation sometime make it difficult to see this truly amazing sight and before you know it, the moment has passed. The four planets that I see aligning are as follows:
1. Mortgage Financing - If you’re like most people, you will need a mortgage to assist you in purchasing a home. Interest rates right now are the lowest that they have been in decades (see ‘Mortgage Info’ tab). When I first got into the real estate business over twenty-five years ago, the 30 year fixed rate was about 17% (this is not a misprint). To put that in easier terms to understand, a principal and interest payment on a $150,000 mortgage then was $2,138 – - – now $805. Hopefully, President Obama’s programs and endeavors will start to have some positive effects on the economic growth in this country. When that happens and consumer spending starts to pick up, what do you think will happen to interest rates? I was not an Economics major in college, but even I can figure out that rates will tick up because of inflationary fears. So if you have good credit, money to work with and an income that can be verified, there has never been a better time to get a mortgage.
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Posted in Buyers, Financing, Lancaster, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Buyers, FICO Score, Financing, Lancaster County, National Association of REALTORS, Obama, Property Values, Sellers, Statistics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on April 18, 2009
Image courtesy of Flickr
Most of our elected government officials right now are scrambling around trying to fix Humpty-Dumpty because he fell off the “Housing” wall and is supposedly shattered in a thousand pieces. All the kings horses and all the kings men are trying to put the pieces back together again. But what if Humpty-Dumpty doesn’t need fixing? What if all he has is a bad cold that will run its course regardless of the medicine that is administered? Essentially, that is what
Todd Zywicki, a law professor at George Mason University, is saying. Zywicki has done extensive research on the subject of bankruptcy and foreclosure and has appeared before Congress as an expert witness to testify on the subject.
In a recent
article* that appeared on Forbes.com, Zywicki takes serious umbrage with the way President Obama and his administration is handling the housing situation in this country. Obama has recently referred to the housing situation as a “crisis” that is “unraveling home ownership, the middle class and the American Dream itself.” Zywicki’s assertion is that this just isn’t the case. Before you unload on me and say that I’m just another conservative (I am) Republican (I am) wack-job (questionable) trying to drag down our country and the Democrats, consider this – - – I voted for him.
Zywicki’s research indicates that different parts of the country experience different sets of problems when it comes to real estate. In other words, one size doesn’t fit all which is essentially what he argues the Obama Administration is trying to do with its housing policy. Zywicki points to three distinct types of housing markets that exist today:
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Posted in Financing, Lancaster, Market Conditions | Tagged: Financing, Foreclosures, Lancaster County, Obama, Property Values, Statistics, Web Sites | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on April 6, 2009
Inman News, a leading source of independent real estate news, information and commentary, just published findings from an online survey* they conducted recently. The results indicate that three out of four respondents believe that the housing market in their area is improving or stabilizing and most say they have noticed the change within the last two months.
Of those that felt the market was improving, 70.6% cited ‘low interest rates’ as the number one reason for the improvement. Interest rates on conforming, conventional mortgages are at, or near, fifty year lows as shown on my Mortgage Info page. Following close behind this reason was ‘affordable prices’ at 67.8% and ‘good deals’ at 57.1%. (NOTE: Respondents were asked to cite all reasons that apply so totals add up to more than 100%.)
The survey also tried to gauge the attitudes of buyers and sellers. On the homebuyer side of the equation, agents are finding that 74.7% are still very ‘cautious’ when it comes to moving forward with purchasing a home. This percentage is extremely high and shows that purchasers are still in a wait and see mode when it comes to the market. More than likely, they are going to want to see some more positive news out of the financial markets and continued stabilization of interest rates for them to get off the fence.
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Posted in Agents, Buyers, Market Conditions, Sellers | Tagged: Agents, Buyers, Lancaster County, Property Values, Reports, Sellers, Statistics | 1 Comment »
Posted by tblefko on March 25, 2009
This coming May, the long-awaited Lancaster County Convention Center and 300 room Marriott Hotel will open their respective doors for business in downtown Lancaster. Lancaster Online was given an exclusive tour of the facilities under construction recently that showed a virtual beehive of construction activity.
This massive endeavor has drawn equal parts praise and criticism since it was first proposed many years ago. In fact, if you have kept up with the project as I have, you realize that the “Letters to the Editor” section in the Lancaster Newspapers explodes with comments the entire week after an article runs in the newspaper. Opponents of the project have railed against the controversial initial studies that they claim were slanted and biased in addition to who was actually footing the bill for it while proponents of the project expounded on the economic benefits that they claim would follow once it was built. In reality, just like any other divisive issue, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
Well folks – - – the merry-go-round is about to stop! It’s here whether you like it or not. It’s time to unite. Come the end of May, hop in your car or hit the shoeleather express and visit the facilities. Walk the halls and admire the craftsmanship; have lunch in the restaurant; meet a friend for drinks at the bar; or just sit in a chair and look out over Penn Square. Take the time to welcome the employees to their new home – - in Lancaster!
Posted in Development, Lancaster | Tagged: Lancaster County | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on March 25, 2009
In a news release published today by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), they find that house prices across the U.S. ticked up 1.7% between December 2008 and January 2009. The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from -.9% in the Pacific Division to +3.9% in the East North Central Division. Pennsylvania is located in the Middle Atlantic division which showed prices moving up 1.5%.
As indicated in a recent post (The Distant Drums), there are signs of some positive things happening in the real estate industry. In Lancaster County, sales jumped 10% from January ’09 to February ’09. In addition, interest rates dipped below 5% for thirty year fixed rate mortgages this past week. Does this mean we’re out of the woods? Probably not. But we’re certainly moving in the right direction. I anticipate over the next couple of months we’ll be hit with some mixed signals. To borrow a metaphor used quite often during March Madness, a team is usually not as bad as a fifteen point loss indicates and not as good as a fifteen point win would suggest. The key to thriving in the real estate game is to remain calm and think clearly while all around are losing their heads.
Posted in Lancaster, Market Conditions | Tagged: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Lancaster County, Property Values, Statistics | Leave a Comment »
Posted by tblefko on March 2, 2009
Image Courtesy of Flickr
Let’s here it for Lancaster County! We’re taking names and kickin’ some butt. YaaaHooo!
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) just released their “All-Transactions Home-Price Index” which compares the fourth quarter of 2007 with the fourth quarter of 2008 and it shows that Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is faring better than most other real estate markets nationally. While the national appreciation rate dropped 4.5% for that period, Lancaster showed an increase of 1.6%. Their study is based upon purchase prices and refinancing appraisal amounts for the last quarter.
Before I get too caught up in myself, let’s take a step back and look at national home price surveys in general. It seems like every every government agency, financial institution, REALTOR® organization and corner coffeehouse has their own version of what real estate prices are doing. Let’s face it, if you crunch the numbers long enough and add a touch of this and a pinch of that, you can make statistics back-up anything you’re selling. In fact, my analysis of the the local data supplied by the Keystone MLS for the month of December actually showed Lancaster County’s prices taking a dip. But that’s not the point. Regardless of what formula or methodology is utilized by any of these entities, they are all basically showing the same thing: when you compare Lancaster County versus other areas of the state and country, we’re more than holding our own.
So the next time you hear a news report or read a newspaper about how home prices in Las Vegas are plummeting by the hour; remember, the old adage definitely applies, “All real estate is local.”
Posted in Lancaster, Market Conditions | Tagged: Federal Housing Finance Agency, Lancaster County, Property Values, Reports, Statistics | Leave a Comment »
