As today is December 25, I’d like to wish everyone who celebrates a Merry Christmas!

For those who do not, I bid you Happy Holidays.

Related posts:

1. Happy Fourth of July
2. Happy July 4th Chester County
3. Happy Thanksgiving

I’m Moving?

I am very excited to announce that I am moving! No, not to a new house, but to a new brokerage and team. I will be joining The Kim Wood Team at REMAX Main Line, starting immediately. You can read the announcement on the team site here.

What does this mean to YOU?

I’ve always prided myself on exceptional service and so has my new team members Kim, Tom and Sandy. Together, the four of us will be able to continue that service through the combination of our efforts.

That means you have the power of four real estate agents helping you to buy or sell your next home. If you are ever just curious or considering a move be sure to contact Tom, Sandy, John or Kim.

Four agents=One Team=Better Service!

Related posts:

1. I’m on the move

Welcome to the end of November. Better late than never, but here’s the Chester County real estate statistics for October, 2009. As always, here’s the chart first:

As you can see, under contract listings vs new listings rose again in October. The median and average price did take a bit of a dip again. I think most of that is the first time buyer credit. Buyers were anxious to take advantage of the prior deadline (11/30/2009) which meant lower priced homes targeted. Now that the extension was passed (more on that in another post), we’ll need to see how that affects sales. Days on market and residual inventory (as well as new listings) continued down. So what did this do to the county’s absorption rate? It went down to from 8 to 7.7 months of inventory. That makes the average since January around 9.25 vs all of last year at almost 11. Of course, if you look at some of the higher price ranges these numbers increase more dramatically. They are selling, but it’s going to take some time and, hopefully, as the lower price ranges pick up, the domino effect will help the upper ranges.

If you want information on your area, just contact me and I’ll be happy to pass along the information.

See the charts below:

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for August 2009
2. Chester County Statistics for October, 2008
3. Chester County Statistics for April, 2009

Daylight savings time ends on the first Sunday of November every year now. This year it’s ending this coming Sunday, November 1 at 2am local time. Be sure to roll your clock back an hour (spring forward, fall back).

I know I’ll enjoy the somewhat brighter mornings to wake up too. Alas, it will get darker earlier. Can’t win them all.

Photo Credit from simpologist

Related posts:

1. New Housing Bill signed

Sorry, for the delay, but finally had a chance to sit down and run the numbers for September. Here’s the latest statistics for September, 2009 in Chester County. First the graph:

Looking at the numbers and the slides located below, both median and average prices in September dropped 17% versus the same time in September, 2007. I added trend lines to help illustrate what prices have been doing. As you can see we had gradual rise and then drop through 2008. Over the last few months it appears to be trending upwards, or at the very least somewhat level.

Price, however isn’t the whole picture and as you can see, in the other two slides that inventory is has come gone up slightly along with a drop in new listings. Under contracts, compared to 2 years ago, has definitely risen, and this has been a general trend since the beginning of the year. Compared to August, they were up as well while new listings stayed the same. So what did this do to the absorption rate? Well, it went down a bit to 8 months of inventory. I’m sure the first time credit helped with the increase and helped some people who were waiting.

Speaking of the first time credit, there is a VERY small window (currently) to find, purchase and settle on a home by November 30. No one’s sure if and in what form the first time credit could or could not become. As I’ve stated before, if there’s an issue on November 30, you could lose out. So that means the number of days is even shorter. Especially, with Thanksgiving coming.

Back to the statistics though. If you would like these statistics for a township, zip code or in another form, just contact me. I’ll be happy to help.

Here is even more data along with the trend lines I discussed above.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for September, 2008
2. Chester County Statistics for August 2009
3. West Chester Statistics for September, 2008

The surgeon general has classified radon as the number 2 cause of lung cancer in the U.S. The current acceptable radon level has be 4.0 pCL/l since 1988. That number was recently reduced 48% by WHO, the World Health Organization, to 2.7 pCL/l according to this press release. Looking at the national map shows that there are currently 3 zones across the country, with PA and the Chester County area being one of the high potential zones (see the PA picture). This may be reduced to 2 looking at the EPA numbers.

From the release:

The World Health Organization has released their Handbook on Indoor Radon which strongly validates the worldwide threat of exposure to radon gas. According to handbook, WHO has been studying the effects of radon exposure since 1979. Although radon was classified as a human carcinogen in 1988, it took over 20-years of sound research and real-life studies from all over the world to confirm the true magnitude of the risk radon poses. Based on the results of these studies, WHO now suggests that homeowners take action when radon levels exceed 2.7 pCi/l. This is a much more conservative figure than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) action level of 4.0 pCi/l, which has been the U.S. standard for over 20-years.

It is fairly common to get some level of radon in this area. Those people who choose to test usually spend around $100-120. The bill for radon remediation can run upwards from $900 depending on various factors (house size, system size, etc.). Not huge compared to other issues that can be found, but certainly a potential unexpected expense. According to the release, levels can be reduced using current technology for this new level.

We have NOT been told to change our current level of 4.0 in PA, yet. I do understand that it will be changed to align with WHO. How soon? I don’t know yet, but when I do I’ll be sure to post an update.

Related posts:

1. Regulation Z (The “new” Act)

Well, OK it certainly has gotten a lot easier actually. Today is blog action day. An annual “event” where we bloggers are given a topic as a call to action. This year’s topic is climate change. A big part of this is being green, a hot topic both in and out of the Real Estate industry. We have designations, classes, etc. all to help us understand how to change our lifestyles and in the process help the environment.

One place to start is the simple lightbulb. According to Energy Star, using a Compact Flourescent Lightbulb (CFL) uses 75% less energy and lasts 10 times longer than a regular incandescent bulb. That’s about $30 in energy savings over a bulbs lifetime. I don’t know about you, but I could always use an extra $30 (justsayin).

Bigger changes occur after little changes begin. What are you doing to make a change?

Photo Credit

Related posts:

1. Bloodwork isn’t so bad

After a great breakfast and during our photo walk this weekend, we were passing a store I’ve seen while driving often through West Chester and I couldn’t stop myself from going inside. The smell of olives hit me as I entered the doorway and I was in heaven. A Taste of Olive has an incredible selection of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, salts, and many other unique culinary items.

Olive Oil

From their website:

Our oils are grown and pressed by artisans and small farmers, in Italy, Greece, Spain, Australia, Chile, California, Morocco and Tunisia. Many of our balsamic vinegars are harvested in Modena, Italy and are aged up to 18 years. We want our customers to share the concept of incorporating, a more flavorful and healthy cuisine, into their way of life

It’s a unique place that allows (and encourages) you to go from stainless steel drum to stainless steel drum and sample before you buy. Believe me, 2 olive oils and 1 balsamic vinegar later, I was buying! I can’t wait to go back and sample purchase more. They even have a frequent buyer club. The bottles are wrapped and bagged in such not only for protection, but would make a great gift, as well. They do have samplers that looked nice, too. They also do tastings (look for an announcement here soon).

So, if your driving (or walking) through West Chester along High Street. Stop in. If it’s a Saturday and the West Chester Grower’s Market is open, go get some crusty bread from Big Sky Bread to go with it, like I did. You won’t regret it!

Related posts:

1. New Panera Bread in Exton
2. A small taste of the Tour de France
3. Tuesday Broker Tour for September 9, 2008

On Saturday, October 10, I will be joining a group of like minded people for a breakfast and photo walk. We will be meeting at 9AM for breakfast at Market Street Grille and approximately 10:30 walking around downtown West Chester for pictures.

What is a photo walk? It’s a fun and FREE (the pictures not the food) gathering of people who meet and take pictures of an area. You can be a beginner or an expert, the fun is in the sharing both in person and after. Seeing the very different pictures people take of the same thing can get very interesting.

Some people will just come to eat breakfast (on you) and some will be meeting at 10:30 for the walk. Come on out and join us.

Related posts:

1. West Chester Statistics for October, 2008
2. Chester County Statistics for October, 2008
3. Bloodwork isn’t so bad

October is breast cancer awareness month and I’ve added the pink ribbon to the header for the month. Remember, cancer doesn’t care who you are, so be proactive about your health care. The following short video is from BreastCancer.org:

Related posts:

1. The Site gets a little Pink
2. Chester County Stats – June 2008 Mid-Month Check
3. Chester County Statistics – Mid Month Check