Real Estate Information Archive

This past week, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said that predictions for four federal funds rate increases this year were “in the ballpark.” Should they occur the range for the fed funds rate would increase to 1.25%-1.5% by the end of 2016. The range is currently at 0.25%-0.5%.

To be sure, a lot can happen over the course of a year, but there is not much happening now to elicit more fed funds rate increases.

Deflation, as we mention above, is an issue. The Fed wants annual inflation running at 2% annually. At the same time, U.S. economic growth is stagnating. Let's also not forget the ultra-strong dollar, which is near a 10-year high against the euro and a five-year high against the Chinese Yan. If you're considering a trip to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, or some other Latin American hotspot, by all means go. It's been decades since your dollar has gone so far.

If the Fed were to continue to raise the fed funds rate, the dollar would continue to strengthen. Deflation would become even more of an issue. Rates on floating-rate loans would rise, but rates on longer-term fixed-rate loans would likely fall, thus risking a yield-curve inversion.

So, for now, we'll ignore what the Fed says on interest-rate increases. We just don't see it.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

There are a lot of kitchen gadgets on the market, and it can be difficult to tell what’s really worth buying and what’s a waste of money. If you want to stock your cabinet full of useful gadgets, invest in these seven pieces:

1. Vegetable Peeler

A veggie peeler can do a lot more than just turn your zucchini into uniform strips. Next time you want some grated cheese, use your peeler! That goes for lemon zest and chocolate flakes, too. If you need to “shave” something in the kitchen, your vegetable peeler can handle the job!

2. Can Opener

So maybe your can opener isn’t a jack-of-all-trades, but he’s really good at what he does. An automatic opener that costs more than $100 is a little excessive, but if you plan on eating canned food at any point in the future, it’s worth investing in a sturdy, hand-held can opener. (Just make sure you disinfect it regularly, they get dirty!)

3. Pizza Cutter

Sure, pizza can be cut with scissors, but pizza cutters do a lot more than slice your favorite pie! If you want to cut dough for pastries, make homemade noodles or slice French toast, a pizza cutter will save you from a lot of hassle.

4. Colander

First, let’s get one thing straight: watery pasta does not taste very good. So a colander is an important tool if you’re a pasta lover. If you’re not a linguini fan, you can still use your colander as a makeshift steamer! Place your vegetables in the colander and place the colander in a large pot with 1-2 inches of water. Simmer the water until it’s boiling and place your lid over the colander. You’ll have steamed veggies in no time!

5. Melon Baller

Melon balls may seem like a waste of time, but what about cookie dough? Or ice cream? Think of your melon baller as a way to perfectly scoop and portion anything soft. You’ll be using it for practically every meal! You can also use this handy little scoop to deseed tomatoes, peppers and winter squash.

6. Tongs

Tongs are basically heat-resistant hand extensions, and make tons of kitchen tasks easier and safer – everything from flipping burgers to tossing salads. Mix pasta and sauce with ease, and rotate burning-hot cake and pie tins in the oven. If you need to grab something that may or may not hurt your hand, grab your tongs first. Better safe than sorry!

7. Cocktail Shaker

If you enjoy a martini every once in awhile, you know the joy of a perfectly shaken cocktail. But did you know that you can use your favorite liquor tool while making breakfeast, too? If you want to beat eggs, skip the whisk and use your martini shaker instead. They'll be perfectly beaten with the flick of a wrist

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

The unemployment rate has dropped to 5% from 10% since Oct. 2009. That sounds good. Unfortunately, the underlying numbers aren't quite as good as the overall unemployment rate appears.

Yes, the U.S. economy continues to add jobs in 200,000 chunks each month, but not everyone is getting in on the action. Millennials, those in the 18-29 age group, continue to suffer from unemployment and underemployment at depressing rates. U.S. Census data show that 40% of U.S. millennials are unemployment. What's more, the number of employed young people making less than $25,000 a year has spiked to the highest level in more than a quarter century.

There's more. The Labor Department sees a decline in workforce participation among prime working-age adults, those between ages 25 and 54. From 1950 through mid-2000, the employment participation rate among this group had trended higher, hitting a high of 84.5%. Since then, it's drifted lower, to below 81%. Unfortunately, most of the decline is concentrated in the younger end of the age range.

We've been saying for the past year that the lack of young first-time buyers is the one variable that could set housing market back. We're not bearish on housing or lending by any stretch, but without an influx of first-time buyers, it will be tough for housing and mortgage lending to maintain the trajectory established in recent years.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

One and Done?

Sometimes you have to riff a bit this time of year. Meaningful news is scarce, which is understandable. With the majority of people preoccupied with December holidays and New Year festivities, much of the news falls on deaf ears anyway.

For the engaged minority, substantive topics are still worth discussing. Few are more substantive than the Federal Reserve and interest rates. Admittedly, we've done our fair share of riffing on the Fed and interest rates, and for good reason: The Fed is the gift that keeps giving. Its influence over housing and mortgage lending can't be understated.

Now that the Fed has finally notched its belt with a federal funds rate increase, punditry and interest-rate speculation run rampant. We again join the fray.

The prospect of rising mortgage rates can be a good marketing tool. It motivates potential home buyers and refinances to act now.  We've voiced our opinion that higher rates reside in our future, but now we have to tack back. We've changed our opinion somewhat; not so much because the facts changed, but more because they haven't improved.

Gross domestic product growth (GDP), for instance, continues to languish stubbornly. Yes, GDP growth at 2.0% for the third-quarter allowed the Fed to raise the fed funds rate, but growth for the fourth quarter was recently revised down to 1.3% by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Slower economic growth will give Fed officials reason to pause on an immediate follow-up rate increase.

If you look around the globe, you'll find deflation, not inflation, remains the great concern. Oil prices are near a seven-year low; natural gas prices are at a 14-year low. Many commodity indexes (Bloomberg Commodity Index and Rogers Agricultural Index, most notably) are at multi-year lows. Central bankers are much more keen to cut interest rates, not raise them, in a deflationary environment.

What's more, the U.S. dollar will rise even further against the world's currencies if the Fed continues to hike interest rates. The dollar is already at a multi-year high against many of the world's major currencies. Yes, this is good news for U.S. international travelers and importers, but it's bad news for U.S. exporters. 

With all that said, we still see some possibility of higher mortgage rates, just not across the lending spectrum. You may have noticed that short-term lending rates have drifted somewhat higher, but longer-term rates remain flat, even down, depending on when you asked for a quote. We're seeing a flattening of the yield curve. The spread between short-term rates and longer-term rates has narrowed.

This isn't all that unusual. The fed funds rate will impact the short end of the yield curve first. Because inflation expectations remain low, it's failing to raise rates on the long end of the curve. This suggests long-term rates could remain at current levels for some time to come – through the first quarter of 2016 seems reasonable to us.

But, of course, that outlook could change if the facts change.   

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Cleaning the kitchen doesn’t have to be a daunting, time-consuming task. The secret to getting it done in 20 minutes is good preparation and a good system. Have all of your supplies handy and then ready, set, clean!

For this speed clean, you’ll need:

• 1 cup baking soda
• soft cloth
• sponge
• 5 lemon slices
• microwave-safe bowl
• old sock
• rubber band
• broom
• 1 cup white vinegar

Minutes 1 – 5: Clean Your Kitchen Sink

Wet the entire surface of your sink with warm water. Sprinkle baking soda onto the surface and rub it in with a soft cloth or sponge until it forms a paste. Then, rinse! Note: If you have a copper or stone sink, follow these special instructions.

Minutes 5 – 7: De-Clutter the Kitchen

If you’re kitchen is uber-cluttered, you won’t get everything in two minutes. But, you’ll be able to make a big dent by clearing out any surface-level trash like old coupons, takeout bags and anything else that’s lying around your countertops.

Minutes 8 – 10: Clean Your Microwave with Lemon

Put 1 cup of water and 5 lemon slices into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat it on high for 3 minutes, and then let the bowl sit for a full 2 minutes (you can go on to the next step while it sits). When you’re done, the microwave will be clean! Carefully remove the bowl of water and wipe down the inside of the microwave with a warm, damp sponge. Curious how this trick works? Check out our full step-by-step.

Minutes 10 – 12: Clean Under the Fridge

Grab a broom, put an old sock around the handle (fasten it in place with a rubber band) and swab the area out. We call this method the “crack attack.”

Minutes 12 – 15: Clean Your Sponges in the Microwave

Now that your microwave is clean, it’s time to kill the bacteria on your sponge. Microwave a wet sponge on the highest setting for two minutes. Carefully remove the sponge and let it cool before use.

Minutes 15 – 16: Disinfect and De-Stink Your Dishwasher

Pour one cup of distilled white vinegar in the bottom of the empty dishwasher and start a complete cycle on the hottest temperature setting. 

Minutes 17 – 20: Wipe Down Counters & Stovetop

And finally, wipe down the stovetop and counters. Wipe away any residual food, dust or suspicious spots with your cleaning product of choice and a paper towel or soft cloth.

And in less time than it takes to watch a Big Bang Theory episode, you have a clean kitchen. Can you get it done in 20 minutes? Time yourself and tell us in the comments!

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

It's still up, up, and away for home prices in many markets. CoreLogic reports prices nationwide were up 6.8% year over year for October. This means prices in many markets are still appreciating more than the historical norm of 2% to 4%. (Inflation is a key factor in home-price appreciation.)

After the housing bubble burst in 2008, many of us couldn't wait for home prices to rise after such a precipitous and unexpected fall. (This was the first time many of us had actually experienced home-price deflation.) Fortunately, prices since then have recovered, and advanced to set new highs in many markets. 

But sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Rising prices can be a windfall for sellers (though not necessarily if a seller is also a buyer), but they can be an impediment to buyers, particularly first-time buyers with no equity to cash in.  That's the problem today: a dearth of first-time no-equity buyers.

We'd like to see a further reduction in nationwide home-price appreciation going forward. More signs suggest that's the case in more markets. (Case-Shiller, in particular, has seen a slowdown.) Slow and steady has always won the real estate race in the past. It will continue to win the race in the future.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Time to Brace Ourselves (Or Maybe Not)

Thanks to Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, there really isn't much to report on the housing and mortgage front. The focus for most of the past week has been on eating and shopping. Therefore, we might as well take another look at the Federal Reserve and its upcoming Dec. 16 meeting. After all, it's only two weeks away.

We again turn to CME Group and its data on trader expectations. As it stands now, traders in federal funds rate futures contracts are pricing a 75% chance the Fed will raise the fed funds rate come Dec. 16. That's the highest odds given for 2015. 

Trader expectations were further buttressed this past week on the words of one Fed official. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said he favors raising the fed funds rate this month. (The fed funds rate is a base rate for all other rates and hasn't been raised since 2006.) “Absent information that drastically changes the economic picture and outlook, I feel the case for liftoff is compelling,” Lockhart said.

Yes, the language is mealy and equivocating, but Fed officials speak only in equivocating terms (the difference is always a matter of degree). November's employment numbers (released on Friday) will likely be the final arbiter: If November saw 200,000 or more new jobs created, we'd expect to see the odds of a rate increase rise above 80%. We expect to see 200,000 or more new jobs for November.

At this point, though, pretty much everyone has priced in a rate increase. That's the way it's been for the past few weeks. Mortgage rates have held steady, and have even drifted lower.  We've mentioned in the past that it's not the actual event that moves markets; it's the anticipation of the event. Pretty much everyone is done anticipating.

That said, we expect mortgage rates to hold steady over the next week to 10 days. When we get closer to Dec. 16, volatility could pick up. Post-Dec. 16, we wouldn't be surprised to see rates drift higher.  The impetus is for lending institutions to find a way to generate more interest income. A higher fed funds rate helps the cause. 

That means that the rates we have today might be the best rates we see for awhile. If anyone is in the market to refinance or to buy, now is as good a time as any to lock and load. The odds of gaining 10 basis points isn't worth the risk of losing 25 basis points. Better to be pound wise and penny foolish then the reverse.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

“White Christmas” is playing on the loudspeakers at the mall, and the grocery stores are all stocked with red and green M&M’s. The holidays are officially here! Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of our favorite holiday traditions – you can get a deal on pretty much anything you need for your home – but the savings don’t have to stop there!

Save money all season long with these savvy holiday tips:

Serve Appetizers Instead of Full Meals

If you're planning on hosting a get-together or party, serve bite-size finger foods instead of springing for a multi-course meal. Guests mostly just want to show off their holiday sweaters anyway, so whip up some homemade appetizers and let the people mingle! For some great recipes, read: From Bacon to Brie.

Make Your Own Decorations

Getting festive is always fun, but you don’t want to break the bank on decorations. Instead, go in the backyard (or craft store), scoop up a few pinecones and then go to work making these easy, seasonal pinecone decorations. People love them, and they cost you almost nothing!

Turn Old, Full-Size Cards into New Postcards

Do you have a stack of old Christmas cards from seasons past? Excellent. Cut them in half and use the cover as a repurposed post card. Nobody will know the difference, we promise.

Stay at Home

The holidays are jam-packed with new movies, expensive dinners and other out-of-the-house activities, but you don’t have to do them all! Save some cash by staying home with your family and playing some old board games (charades works, too). Who knows, it might turn into a longstanding, cost-effective tradition!

If after all of this you still hate the word cheap, just say frugal, instead. Frugal isn’t so bad.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

The odds continue to rise. Last week, we reported that traders in federal funds rate futures contracts were pricing in a 74% chance the Federal Reserve will raise the fed funds rate come Dec. 16. The odds over the past week have been lifted to 78%. This means that in three weeks something will occur that hasn't occurred in nine years: the Fed will officially raise an important benchmark interest rate.

Of course, that doesn't mean current mortgage rates are a thing of the past. We've frequently mentioned that anticipation moves markets, not the actual event itself.  This is the reason we've seen mortgage rates actually hold steady, or even drift lower, over the past three weeks.  The future is priced into the present.

We're not expecting too much volatility in rates over the next couple weeks. AsDec. 16 approaches, that could change. (Another blow-out employment report, due on Dec. 4, will further raise the odds of a fed funds rate increase, but it shouldn’t do much to move interest rates more than they've already moved.)

That said, after the fed funds rate increase occurs, we wouldn't be surprised to see interest rates begin to drift higher. Not much higher, but enough to appreciate the rates available today.

 Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Sales Falter; Should We Worry?

Sales growth has ground to a halt as we enter the waning days of 2015. Sales of existing homes dropped to 5.36 million on an annualized rate for October. That's a 3.4% decline from September sales. Year-over-year sales growth has dropped to 3.9%, the lowest reading since January.

Supply is still an issue. This has been case for at least the past two years. Though sales were down in October, that did not materially lift supply relative to sales. Supply currently stands at 4.8 months at October's sales rate. A year ago, supply stood at 5.2 months.

Some pundits have blamed weakening prices for the inventory decline. The median price for an existing home stood at $219,600 in October, a 0.9% decrease compared to September. Year over year, the median price is up 5.8%, while the average price is up 3.4%. Price appreciation is down, but it is reverting to more historical norms. We don't necessarily view this as bad, though it does mean home owners still saddled with negative equity are unlikely to find relief in the near future.

As for new home sales, they posted at 495,000 on an annualized rate in October. This was below consensus estimates, but was a 10.7% improvement over September sales. Supply is less of an issue in the new home market. At the current sales pace, supply has risen to 5.5 months, putting it near the historical norm of six months supply.

It appears home builders are either targeting more lower-end markets or seriously discounting their inventory. The median price of a new home dropped a severe 8.5% to $281,500 for October. Year over year, the median price is down 6%.

To be sure, sales data are backward looking, while sentiment is forward looking. But given recent trends in sales and pricing, we would not be surprised to see another decline in home builder sentiment in December.

Despite the recent spat of negative news, we remain positive. When economic growth is considered, it's possible the past two months of sales and price data are an anomaly. The economy continues to grow. Indeed, third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was revised up to 2.1% annualized growth. The initial report last month showed growth at 1.5%. Readings on consumer activity remain positive, which supports the contention that U.S. consumers continue to drive demand for U.S. production. A spending consumer is a confident consumer.

Should we worry?

We don't think so. The economy continues to grow. Strong job growth in October also provides a reason to remain bullish. If November job numbers come in as expected (with 200,000 or more new jobs), we would expect to see a positive trend form in home sales and pricing to start 2016.

 Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.