realtor: Are Buyers Starting to Re-Emerge?
- 09/23/10 05:00 AM
The summer of 2010 will be remembered by folks in the real estate business as a long vacation from serious, qualified buyers. Since the tax-credit deadline of April 30th, the number of active buyers in my market, Philadelphia, has been very slim, and I've heard similar stories from people in other parts of the country. This has been great for the few serious buyers who were looking this summer - they were able to negotiate great deals in a once-in-a-lifetime buyers' market. On the other hand, sellers have been having a very tough go of it the last few months with … (2 comments)
realtor: Employment Picture Better than Expected
- 09/03/10 06:35 AM
If you've been reading my blog you know I expect the real estate markets to start recovering once the job market starts consistently growing. Well the national news today was a bit better than expected with reports of 67,000 private sector jobs being added in August. The June and July employment numbers were also revised upwards, another reason for a bit of optimism. While a positive surprise is nice (analysts expected only 41,000 new jobs in August), the economy still needs to more than double this monthly job growth figure if we want to really reverse the damage of the 'Great … (1 comments)
realtor: Breakdown of July's Existing Home Sales Data
- 08/30/10 04:22 AM
The release last week of July's existing home sales figures from the National Association of Realtors was all over the news, where it was spun mostly as a sign that we might be headed for a 'double dip' recession driven by a continuing weakness in the housing market. If you dig a little deeper into the numbers though you see that what we're seeing isn't so much a weakening housing market, as a tale of two housing markets: the market with the $8,000 tax credit and the market without it.Home sales in the first six months of 2010 were VERY strong … (0 comments)
realtor: Back from Vacation to Find LOW Mortgage Rates
- 08/27/10 07:22 AM
I'm back from a long vacation and catching up on what I missed. There's a lot to cover, so check back for more blog posts over the next few days, but I'll start today with the REALLY good news for home-buyers or homeowners looking to refinance: interest rates are at all time lows! I'm seeing 30 year fixed FHA loans quoted as low as 4.0% which means your monthly mortgage payment (principal and interest) for a $200,000 house would be only $921.41 with only $7,000 down! And that payment is locked in for 30 years! If you're currently renting and having … (4 comments)
realtor: Read up On Philly's Past, Present, and Future
- 08/10/10 12:20 AM
I'm headed out of town for a couple weeks - but before I leave I thought I'd share a few recent articles that might increase your knowledge of Philadelphia's past, its present, and its likely future. All are at least somewhat real estate related and I learned a bit from each one. I'll be back in town on the 24th of August, but if you need expert real estate advice before then I highly recommend contacting Tim Garrity at my office. He can be reached at 215-825-2250 x.1007 or tgarrity@brownmckinney.com. Read up on the recent "condo boom" in Philly - we're … (1 comments)
realtor: Good Reading for Buyers and Sellers
- 07/28/10 04:00 AM
We're supposed to be headed out of the great recession right? The worst of the housing market is behind us right? That's the general story coming from the media lately, and to a large extent I agree. Foreclosure rates are gradually creeping down in most areas as banks streamline their systems for dealing with troubled borrowers and job losses seem to be moderating, even if new jobs aren't being created as quickly as we'd all like. So yes, nationwide things are getting better when you look at the big picture. On the ground in the world of real estate though, the … (1 comments)
realtor: States Picking Up Where Federal Tax Credit Left Off
- 05/17/10 08:13 AM
With the expiration of the $8,000 federal tax credit for first time (and some repeat) homebuyers, a few states are trying to enact similar programs on the state level to continue boosting their local real estate markets. First California set aside $200 million for first-time and repeat homebuyer tax credits. I thought California was broke, but I guess if the measure gets the housing industry back on track it could go a long way in stimulating the Golden State's economy. Now New Jersey is considering a tax credit of up to $15,000 for homebuyers who buy in 2010. With a total … (2 comments)
realtor: Video Tour of 151 W. Seymour St., Philadelphia, PA
- 05/04/10 04:12 AM
Click here to see a video tour of my listing at 151 W. Seymour St. It's a great house for a first-time buyer who needs a lot of space or for a large family looking for a low-maintenance, beautifully renovated home in Germantown. … (3 comments)
realtor: Philly Spring Cleanup A Smashing Success
- 04/12/10 06:40 AM
Thank you to everyone who came out to our cleanup event on Saturday and to anyone who participated in other cleanups around the city. It was a lot of fun getting out on a sunny Saturday morning with friends and neighbors and working together to make our corner of Philadelphia a little bit nicer to look at. I don't know how much trash we cleaned up in terms of weight or volume but I can say that I was a bit sore from all the work the next day, so that's a good sign. Not only is this annual event a … (2 comments)
realtor: Investment Market Statistics
- 03/30/10 11:48 AM
After updating my investment market statistics for last week the most interesting thing is that the number of listings does indeed appear to be picking up as spring arrives. The number of shells listed has grown for the past three weeks and the number of 5+ unit multifamily listings has topped 100 for the first time in the seven weeks that I've been keeping these stats. 2-4 unit listings actually declined a bit thanks to strong sales - 67 2-4 unit properties sold in the last 30 days, bringing inventory down to an even twelve months. Final sale pricing came down … (1 comments)
realtor: Positive News from L&I is Bad News for Abandoned Properties
- 03/23/10 07:00 AM
Philadelphia's Department of Licenses & Inspections has managed to make itself more efficient, cutting the average cost of demolishing a three-story rowhome from $26,000 to $13,000. Finding efficiencies at such a poorly run organization shouldn't be too difficult - there's a lot of low-hanging fruit - but it's always good news that they're trying to do better and at least this announcement serves as a public admission that L&I is not nearly as efficient as it could be. While it's always nice to see abandoned properties renovated and brought back to life, in some situations demolition still makes more sense, and … (0 comments)
realtor: Investment Market Stats - Set 6
- 03/19/10 09:08 AM
I just finished compiling my sixth weekly set of Philadelphia investment market statistics, tracking the trends for shell properties, 2-4 unit properties, and 5+ unit multifamily properties. If you'd like the full data set send me an email and I'll send it along. No surprising trends this week, although a lack of 5+ unit multifamily sales (only one in the past 30 days) makes that market look very oversupplied from an inventory standpoint. Overall it looks like it's a buyer's market for all the investment property types that I'm tracking, although shells and duplexes are by far the least out-of-whack in … (0 comments)
realtor: Nationwide Open House Weekend - Get 'Em Listed Now!
- 03/17/10 08:28 AM
The National Association of Realtors has deemed April 10th & 11th "Nationwide Open House Weekend." This is a great idea to generate buzz among buyers and sellers going into the spring selling season, and if you're thinking of buying soon you should mark your calendar and plan to get out and see a few open houses that weekend. If you're thinking of selling this year, getting your property on the market before the April 10th weekend is very important. It's always important for sellers to have their property in tip-top shape and ready to sell as spring rolls in and the … (0 comments)
realtor: Nice Article Defending Philadelphia's Hipness...
- 03/17/10 03:58 AM
This slightly tongue-in-cheek article deconstructs a top 10 list of hot cities for young professionals and points out that Philadelphia has a lot more going on than many higher ranked cities. Philadelphia was ranked a lowly 32nd in this ranking, but I agree with the author here that many of the cities higher up on the list are mainly attractive becuase they're super affordable and offer a lot of relatively mundane entry-level jobs. The reason higher-rent cities like New York, San Francisco, and dare I say Philadelphia rarely do well on lists like this is that there is so much demand … (0 comments)
realtor: A Great Way to Stay Fit & See the City
- 03/16/10 01:53 PM
A few years ago I participated in one of Philadelphia's coolest athletic events, the annual Broad Street Run. I plan to try it again this year on May 2nd and if you're into running and are looking for an excuse to get an intimate and unique 'tour' of the city I highly recommend you give it a shot as well. If you didn't guess from the name, the Broad Street Run is a run down Broad Street (in some places known as Avenue of the Arts or you could call it 14th Street to help keep your numbers straight). The run … (1 comments)
realtor: Supply Constraint in Real Estate Markets
- 03/15/10 01:22 PM
For those of you out there researching potential markets or neighborhoods for investment this article might be tasty food for thought: http://nreionline.com/finance/news/supply_constrained_markets_advantages_0308/. It discusses the benefits of investing in supply constrained markets, the conditions that lead to a constrained supply of real estate, and the relative supply elasticity of a few major markets. The basic idea of this article is common sense to many investors, but digging into the economic theory behind "invest in land - they're not making any more" can be a useful exercise in assessing the risks and returns of any real estate investment. Most of Philadelphia, for … (0 comments)
realtor: Philly Investment Market Stats
- 03/15/10 06:26 AM
The big stats chart is getting a bit unruly as it grows, so I thought I'd throw up some charts and a few thoughts here and if you're interested in seeing the full data set every week just shoot me an email and I can send it out as a .pdf document. The charts below illustrate two points that I knew were true in today's market, but by keeping these statistics I see that these points are even more salient that I thought: 1. The lower end of the market is far-and-away healthier than the higher end. Shell properties which have … (0 comments)
realtor: Certifiably Certified - Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource
- 03/10/10 01:27 AM
As of this week I am officially certified by the National Association of Realtors as a Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR). To earn this certification I have taken classes on the ins-and-outs of working with both buyers and sellers of distressed properties. This education, combined with my real world experience with foreclosures, short sales, and other distressed transactions over past few years, will enable me to better serve my clients in today's ever evolving marketplace. If you'd like to discuss distressed real estate transactions such as short sales, foreclosures, tax-lien sales, dilapidated or abandoned property sales, or any other unique … (3 comments)
realtor: $1500 To Sellers in A Short Sale - Take it While you Can!
- 03/08/10 08:30 AM
The Obama administration has sweetened the pot for home-sellers who owe more on their mortgage that the property can sell for (article here). With the new program, taking effect April 5th, a seller who completes a short sale will receive $1,500 in 'relocation assistance' to incentivize them to get the deal done quickly and move on. The government will also give cash incentives to banks and loan servicers to encourage them to work through the backlog of underwater properties currently on the market. Short sales benefit sellers because they are less harmful to their credit score than a foreclosure. They also … (5 comments)
The summer of 2010 will be remembered by folks in the real estate business as a long vacation from serious, qualified buyers. Since the tax-credit deadline of April 30th, the number of active buyers in my market, Philadelphia, has been very slim, and I've heard similar stories from people in other parts of the country. This has been great for the few serious buyers who were looking this summer - they were able to negotiate great deals in a once-in-a-lifetime buyers' market. On the other hand, sellers have been having a very tough go of it the last few months with … (2 comments)
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