Yes. As you may have noticed, I made some changes to the blog yesterday and today. The content is the same, I changed the theme and still need a few tweaks here and there. The theme I was using before just didn’t have the flexibility I would have liked. I think can live with this one for a while.
Let me know if you like the changes in the comments below.
Photo courtesy of The Spanglemaker on Flickr.com
The Natural Lands Trust announced an agreement with the owner’s of the Shryock Paper Mill in E. Brandywine Township in Downingtown. An article in the Daily Local News gives even more detail. Here’s a link to the PDF they provide.
This is good to see as it extends the trail along the East Brandywine Creek. As a fly fisherman, I’m hoping we can park near the bridge there again. With the fencing set up parking along Rt. 282 was difficult, if not, dangerous. The road will again be open to back end area of Marsh Creek State Park again as well. It’s not a finished deal as there’s still some easements and approvals needed, but this has been an ongoing issue ever since the land was purchased and the fencing went up. It also preserves more open space in a rather pristine area that has pockets of developments, but has not become overly developed.
Are you happy that this issue is seeing a resolution? Let me know.
Here’s the statistics for May, 2008 in Downingtown, PA:
As you can see the sold median and average price both went lower from April to May this year. More people decided it was time for them to sell as the new listings rose, though compared to last year same time it was about the same number. The number of units for sale is also up.
Another positive sign for Downingtown is the number of listings under contract rose while the days on market for those listings went down. 64 days is a good average days on market for this area. While the number under contract is less than last year, you can see the days on market is about the same. The increase in sales helped the absorption rate for Downingtown go down around 6 months of inventory, which around here is considered still in the “normal” market range.
As always, if you would like a more personalized market analysis for your area feel free to Contact Me. I’m happy to help.
Disclaimer: The data provided here is ©TrendMLS 2008. Information provided is deemed accurate but not guaranteed)
Here’s the chart for Malvern and Paoli statistics, May 2008:
As you can see from the chart things are holding fairly steady in the Malvern/Paoli area. Sold numbers were about the same, as well as the sold days on market. The number of listings for sale also stayed steady, while the under contract listings went down. This had the unfortunate effect of raising the absortion rate from 6 to 8.5 months of inventory. The average price of the new listings was almost identical (~$150 dollar difference).
The average price for sold listings did go down, while the median price jumped up. While the month to month median went up, it also was up from a year ago ($417,500 for May, 2007). Everything else stayed fairly steady compared to last year as well, with most changes being less than 5% up or down.
As always, if you’d like a customized analysis you can always contact me.
DISCLAIMER: The numbers shown here are from ©TrendMLS 2008. They are deemed accurate but not guaranteed at the time of publishing.
After a few weeks of missing Tuesday tours due to other commitments or my own at 950 Hopewell Road, I was out and about again today. Here’s a look at some of the homes I saw.
The first home was 864 Chandlee Drive in West Chester, PA offered at $539,900. This house has a great deck with an awning AND another covered patio. For a home around 21 years old, all the bedrooms are a very nice size. Hardwood floors and a nice open kitchen match of to some of today’s open floor plans. It would be nice to see some carpet in the mostly finished basement, but it looks good now. The property looks good with a nice fenced in back yard for the kids and/or pets.
The second home was 9 Maentel Dr also in West Chester, PA offered at $985,000. This house is built on the former Northbrook Orchard’s land and is walkable to the store that still remains for that morning coffee or an ice cream with the family. If you want space, there’s plenty of it both in and outside the home. The hardwood floors were refinished and look really good. The “French Country” kitchen also looks great. The basement is finished and has easy access outside to the back yard.
The last home for today is 956 Cloud Lane in West Chester offered at $499,900. This home has a nice size yard with mature trees gives the home privacy from the road(s). The foyer has a nice tile entry. The kitchen was totally refinished and looks really nice. The basement was also finished and is a nice neutral color. There is still plenty of space for storage in the unfinished portion of the basement. The bedrooms are a decent size. The one downside would be the bathrooms could use some updating, though they do what they need too, they’re a bathroom.
If you’d like to schedule a showing with these or any property feel free to contact me. There’s no need for you to wait for an open house, I can schedule a private showing just for you.
Here’s the statistics for the month of May, 2008.
West Chester is still showing good movement, similarly to last month. Days on market came down again while the median and average prices ticked up. While solds went up, the homes under contract came down which means there won’t be as many solds in the coming months. The number of new listings did go down which kept the inventory level, or in this case, down a bit.
With less homes going under contract, it’s increased the absorption rate accordingly. While I reported last months as 7 months, after all the numbers came in that number reduced to 6 months. This month went up to almost 10 months inventory. With the percentage of inventory to under contracts dropping from 27% to just 15%, we’re definitely seeing some summer slowing starting. Mortgage rates rose to 6.75% as of June 13, and I’m sure that’s helping with some of the slowing. We’ll see how this summer pans out. As you can see, homes ARE still selling.
This data is for residential listings in both West Chester zip codes (19380, 19382). If you like a more personalized analysis, feel free to CONTACT ME any time.
(DISCLAIMER: As always, data provided is from Trend MLS ©2008 and is accurate, but not guaranteed.)
864 Chandlee Drive
9 Maentel