Real Estate Information Archive

After a couple of months of indifference, sentiment among home builders is once again improving. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Home Builder Sentiment index improved three points to 44 in May, reversing three months of lower sentiment postings.

Home builders have been fretting recently over higher material, labor, and land costs; a still-restrictive lending environment; and a drop off in buyer traffic. (Interestingly, the accompanying report to the index points out that buyers feel a sense of urgency because of the limited number of new homes for sale.)

The rate of starts has been a source of frustration for many home builders. In fact, new-home starts fell more than forecast in April to a five-month low, indicating a pause in the industry’s progress (though the pause was centered mostly on multi-family units). Starts for the month slumped 16.5%, to an annualized rate of 853,000 units, after being revised higher 1.02 million units in March.

The good news – and this likely why home builder sentiment improved – is that the rate of starts will likely accelerate going forward. Building permits surged to a five-year high, increasing 14.3% in April. This points to stronger building activity as we head into the heart of the spring/summer selling season.

Inventory remains an issue, though, and given the slowdown in builder activity in recent months, that's unlikely to change. But we've noted many times that rising home prices will stimulate additional supply – from both home builders and existing home owners.

Data from the NAR point to some progress on the inventory front. In April, the total number of single-family homes, condos, town homes, and co-ops increased 4.1% month over month to 1.75 million in April. Higher prices are prompting more people to list their home, so the market is making progress, though it still has a lot more progress to make: on an annual basis, inventory is still 13.5% below year-ago levels.

That said, pricing points to higher inventory: Zillow, RealtyTrac, Lending Process, Services, Case-Shiller have all produced data that suggest the rising-price trend is sustainable. The latest data from the FNC Residential Price Index, encompassing 100 major metropolitan markets, also show prices rose 5.5% year over year in March.

To be sure, price trends don't last in perpetuity, but the data suggest the trend will likely hold at least through next year in most major metropolitan markets.

Home prices aren't the only thing on the rise, though. Mortgage rates have been rising too. Over the past three weeks, rates have trended meaningfully higher. Much of the rise is attributed to a strengthening economy and a perception of sustainable job growth. This has caused rates to jump 15 to 20 basis points on many 15- and 30-year lending products.

We don't know if we have a trend in the making; one bad jobs report or another European financial meltdown could drop rates once again, but it's worth noting that when rates fall, they tend not to fall far. They might fall by 20 or 25 basis point, but they show little inclination to go any farther.

So this remains the perfect market in many respects: Affordability remains at a multi-decade high, mortgage rates remain at a multi-decade low, jobs and home prices are trending higher. Waiting simply carries much greater risk commensurate to potential reward these days.

 Courtesy of 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.

It's no secret that investors (rental-housing buyers) are responsible for much of the housing-market gains we've experienced over the past couple years. This has prompted many pundits and commentators to opine that we are turning into a nation of renters.

We don't believe it because many polls (from Freddie Mac and others) show people overwhelming prefer to buy than to rent, so we are encouraged to see the rise in purchase-application activity, which recently hit a three-year high.

We also like the beneficial social aspect of owner-occupied buyers. Neighborhoods composed principally of buyers tend to be more stable, because a neighborhood of owners instills a sense of community. If there are problems, neighbors are more willing to band together to seek a solution. Renters, in contrast, tend to be more transitory, and more prone to leave, so problems are more prone to fester.

Property upkeep is another benefit. Neighborhoods of renters have less tendency to maintain their home and the surroundings. After all, it's not their property. In addition, because the landlord is frequently absent, there is no one around to pick up the slack should renters become negligent in upkeep.

This isn't to bash renters or landlords, but we think it's beneficial to property values and to community cohesiveness to see a pick up in owner-occupied activity.

  Courtesy of 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.

Of course, the trend we speak of is home prices, which continue to move higher. Not only that, they continue to move higher at a rate few commentators would have proffered when gauging the market this time last year.

To wit, CoreLogic's latest report shows home prices nationwide, which includes distress properties, increased 10.5% year over year in March. This was the highest year-over-year increase since March 2006.

It doesn't appear the trend is likely to reverse in the near future. CoreLogic's Pending Home Price Index indicates that prices are expected to post a 9.6% year-over-year gain for April, with prices rising 1.3% for the month.

To be sure, housing markets are local markets, and prices in many local markets are not accelerating at the national rate, but it's quite extraordinary to be experiencing price gains that were prevalent during the height of the housing boom.

Now, this doesn't mean another bubble is set to burst; many markets are rising from a considerably lower base than what prevailed in the early 2000s. That said, these price gains – especially in regions that far exceed the national average – should prompt us to view the market with a more discerning eye; value and price tend to move in opposite direction.

We've mentioned in the past that rising home prices will lift more owners into positive equity, thus prompting more of them to list their home. It's an economic maxim that higher prices lead to more supply, and that appears the case today.

Calculatedriskblog.com reports that for-sale inventory is up 12.2% for the year, a notable improvement over 2011 and 2012, when the peak increase was only 5%. More inventory should lead to more sales activity.

The trend in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures also portends better days ahead. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports home loans that were at least one month late or in the foreclosure process dropped to 10.3% of mortgages in the first quarter, down from 11.25% in the fourth quarter and 11.33% from the first quarter of 2012. This trend demonstrates a more robust and more resilient lending environment.

At the same time, mortgage rates continue to hold multi-decade lows. For this, we can again thank the Federal Reserve, which continues to purchase $40 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities each month, thus creating a demand that has helped keep rates low.

Though our record at predicting mortgage rates has been spotty, to say the least, it's worth noting that it appears more likely the Fed will cease purchasing mortgage-backed securities sometime in 2014. When the purchases stop, mortgage rates are sure to rise.

In short, this might be the perfect time to buy a home: prices are rising from a low basis, and buyers can finance their purchase with a low-cost loan. How long the perfect time lasts is anyone's guess, but we wouldn't be surprised to see something give – perhaps the price trend or low mortgage rates – by early 2014.

 Courtesy of 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.

In the content above, we reasoned why caution is warranted, but we didn't reason that pessimism is, because we don't think it is.

Investment in residential real estate construction is a significant reason why we don't think the housing recovery is likely to wilt. Contrary to popular perception, consumption doesn't drive growth, investment does. We say that because production precedes consumption.

The good news is that private residential investment is on the rise, which portends a rise in sales and sales-related activity. Looking at the bigger picture, private residential investment tends to lead economic growth, so this is obviously a good sign going forward.

Though relatively more cautious, we remain bullish on housing. But as we've noted many times in the past: all real estate markets are local, which means we are more bullish on some markets and less bullish on others.

 Courtesy of 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.

Home prices continue to chug along the upward trajectory.

The latest edition of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows that home prices rose in all 20 metropolitan areas the index tracks. What's more, not only were prices up, they were up strongly: Prices in the aggregate rose 1.2% month over month in February, which, when combined with previous monthly increases, produces a 9.4% year-over-year price gain – the highest annual gain since 2006.

To state the obvious, home prices have been on tear over the past 12 months. Many metropolitan regions have experienced double-digit year-over-year gains, and a select few are approaching triple-digit gains.

How times have changed.

In the dark days of 2009 and 2010, when home prices were continually trending lower, we repeatedly championed the need to remain positive. To be sure, the ride down was painful, but we reasoned that prices always bottom. Today, we see that in the majority of local markets prices have not only bottomed but have recovered nicely.

Prices continue to recover, and in many markets the price recovery has advanced to the point where prices are approaching previous highs. This tells us that the housing recovering needs to be viewed with a more discerning eye. We say that because this is a recovery unlike any other.

For one, the recovery is being driven by investors and not owner-occupied buyers. What really makes it unusual, though, is that institutional investors, who in the past drove the multi-family rental market (e.g. apartments), are buying single-family homes en mass.

For example, Blackstone Group, the world’s largest private equity firm, has invested over $3.5 billion to purchase 20,000 vacant and foreclosed single-family homes. In the past, this single-family rental market had been the domain of the small investor.

Not surprisingly, the Blackstones of the world are buying these properties and renting them. This makes economic sense. Vacancy rates are at multi-year lows, while rents are at multi-year highs. Rising rents warrant rising rental property values. Our concern is that we've never seen such a strong push into single-family rentals that we are seeing today. Is this creating a market-distorting effect? We can't say for sure.

We are also concerned by the rise in market speculation, particularly in the former bubble markets in Florida, California, and Arizona. We've noticed a considerable rise in the number of cable television shows devoted to rehabbing and flipping homes. RealtyTrac has even penned an article titled “25 Markets Where Flipping Homes is Most Profitable.”

In short, housing is showing signs of becoming the hot market again, and that alone is reason to vet the market more cautiously.

That said, we still view housing positively. We think there is plenty of improvement to be had in many markets. We also think there is plenty of room left to grow. After all, the upside to rising home prices is more mobility and more buying and selling.

What's more, the lifeblood of the market – financing – remains very attractive. Indeed, mortgage rates have fallen steadily over the past two months and are now flirting with the lows seen late last year.

The mortgage market is also showing signs of becoming more inclusive. More lenders are willing to venture into riskier lending. The Los Angeles Times reports that a growing number of lenders are embracing subprime lending. That's good news, because loans are being underwritten with eyes wide open. More important, they are being underwritten with the risk properly priced in.

And as for risk, it's something we need to become more aware of as the recovery progresses.

 Courtesy of 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.

We can extend the conversation of uncertainty to mortgage-bond investors, particularly those in the private market. Public officials and private pundits alike have commented on the need for private money – which is virtually nonexistent – to return to the mortgage market. Private money matters, because it means a more diverse, more inclusive mortgage-lending market.

A recent New York Times article points out that there have been few private mortgage-bond deals in recent years. The reason is the banks that sell mortgage-backed bonds are waiting for regulators to finish drawing up rules aimed at strengthening the market.

The hold-up centers on loan down payments. Private lenders want more leeway on down payments, so private bonds can be issued on mortgages with lower down payment requirements. Regulators have balked at the request in the past, but today it appears they are more willing to compromise. Regulators are being pressured by lenders and consumer advocates. Both sides have cautioned against stringent down-payment requirements, arguing that restrictions would limit lending.

The regulators are listening, and that’s good news, because if they listen and act on what they hear, we could see lending extended to potential borrowers who are champing at the bit to get in the market and buy a home.

Courtesy of 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.

Home sales at the national level continue to spin their wheels.

On the existing-home front, sales dropped 0.6% to an annual rate of 4.92 million units in March. When we look back to October 2012, we see that sales have, for the most part, plateaued.

Of course, when we speak of plateauing existing-home sales, we invariably speak of plateauing inventory. Supply, in fact, remains low at 4.7 months at the current sales pace. Only 30,000 units were added in March, which is 70,000 shy of the historical average March increase of 100,000 units.

The silver lining in this frustrating sales cloud is that low supply coupled with rising demand equals rising prices. Year over year, the median price is up a very stout 11.8%, which is on par with the boom days of 2005. (So we shouldn't expect the current price trend to hold indefinitely).

New-home sales also appear to be going nowhere fast. That said, they are at least lurching forward. New-home sales rose 1.5% to an annual rate of 417,000 units in March. Unfortunately, the increase was still 2,000 units short of what most economists had expected.

Supply is also tight in the new-home market. The number of new homes for sale rose by 3,000 units for March, but that wasn't enough to materially increase inventory, which remains at a low 4.4-months supply at the going sales pace.

Curiously, the median price of a new home at the national level fell 6.8% to $247,000. We are not particularly concerned, though; weaker pricing likely reflects a change in compensation – higher sales of lower priced homes – rather than a material change in overall demand.

So constrained inventory is an obvious issue, but so is tight credit, particularly for higher-amount non-conforming loans.

Rates remain very low, and have been very low for the past year, but we've yet to see a material pick up in purchase-application activity.

Uncertainty and risk – two subjects we've addressed repeatedly in the past six months – are by far the key constraints. Sequestration, regulation, taxes, Obamacare is to name a few of the most obvious uncertainty contributors.

When the perception of uncertainty is reduced, the economy grows, jobs become more plentiful, and lenders and regulators become less risk averse. Unfortunately, uncertainty remains elevated, and as long as it remains elevated the economy will continue to sputter and hiccup along.

 Courtesy of 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.

Positive Conversations

We can extend the conversation of uncertainty to mortgage-bond investors, particularly those in the private market. Public officials and private pundits alike have commented on the need for private money – which is virtually nonexistent – to return to the mortgage market. Private money matters, because it means a more diverse, more inclusive mortgage-lending market.

A recent New York Times article points out that there have been few private mortgage-bond deals in recent years. The reason is the banks that sell mortgage-backed bonds are waiting for regulators to finish drawing up rules aimed at strengthening the market.

The hold-up centers on loan down payments. Private lenders want more leeway on down payments, so private bonds can be issued on mortgages with lower down payment requirements. Regulators have balked at the request in the past, but today it appears they are more willing to compromise. Regulators are being pressured by lenders and consumer advocates. Both sides have cautioned against stringent down-payment requirements, arguing that restrictions would limit lending.

The regulators are listening, and that’s good news, because if they listen and act on what they hear, we could see lending extended to potential borrowers who are champing at the bit to get in the market and buy a home.

Courtesy of 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.

Gold sold off big this past week, posting its largest two-day dollar drop ever, and its biggest percentage drop since 1980. Okay, but what does gold have to do with mortgage lending and housing?

Gold is considered a haven asset. Gold is an asset investors flock to when they are fearful, particularly if they are fearful over slow economic growth and inflation. When investors are fearful money flows to gold.

But the recent sell off points to money flowing out of gold. This tells us that investors are becoming less fearful and that more money will be flowing into other asset classes. This also tells us that more investors are expecting more economic growth – which is good news for housing and mortgage lending. When more people expect more economic growth, interest in housing rises and financing becomes easier to come by.

We mention gold because assets markets are interconnected: money flows from one asset class to another. Money flowing out of gold means more money will likely flow into stocks, real estate, and capital investment, which should help the economy and increase job opportunities and wages.

In other words, investors today are becoming more interested in growing wealth than preserving it. This is good news for the economy in general, and for large-item goods (like housing) in particular.

 Courtesy of 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.

For the past year, we've been saying that housing will become an important variable in economic growth. The trend in housing starts is proving that's the case.

Starts were exceptionally strong in March, moving ahead 7.3% to an annualized rate of 1.036 million units. Looking year over year, total starts are up 46.7%.The multi-family component has been exceptionally strong, driven by increased investor demand. That said, the single-family component has also posted a robust gain, rising 28.7% year over year.

Housing construction is now running at a rate unseen since 2008.

Looking ahead, considerable upside still exists. Over the past two years, annual housing starts have increased to one million from 600,000. Despite the strong surge in starts, they remain 50% below the historical norm of 1.5 million annualized unit. In other words, housing is far from running the course.

In the interim, though, there are a few concerns. Permits declined 3.9% in March, falling to an annual rate of 902,000 units. The decline points to a slow down in building activity over the next month or two.

Builder sentiment also suggests something might be amiss in the short term. The National Home Builders Association sentiment index dropped two points this month to 42. This is the second-consecutive monthly drop, which pushes sentiment down to a six-month low.

Builders are citing a litany of issues for their souring outlook: low inventory (which more starts should rectify), falling buyer traffic, rising construction costs, and still restrictive lending (particularly construction lending).

We can't quarrel with the builders' complaints, but on a positive note we could be seeing a loosening of the purse strings on the lending front.

We see mortgage lending becoming more inclusive. We particularly like what is occurring in purchase lending. This past week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that the mortgage purchase index increased 4%, posting its highest activity level since May 2010. What's more, conventional purchase activity is up to levels unseen since October 2009.

More lenders are also showing a willingness to extend credit on lower down payments. It's especially encouraging to see more lenders willing to extend conventional mortgages with 5% to 10% down payments.

The positive trend in conventional loans tells us that regulatory concerns are receding and that lenders are becoming less risk adverse. This is good news, because we've been saying for some time now that we need a more diverse, more accommodating lending market. In other words, we need a more normalized market. This appears to be the direction the mortgage market is taking.

 Courtesy of 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.

It's encouraging to see more people acknowledge the housing recovery. Fannie Mae, in a recent housing survey, found that 48% of respondents believe home prices will rise in the next 12 months, while the percentage that expects prices to drop remains at a survey low 10%.

In addition, most of the respondents Fannie Mae's surveyed had an overall positive view of housing. Sixty-four percent – a high percentage – even said they would buy a home if they were to move in the next three years. (Let's hope they do.)

Though bullish on housing, these same respondents were much less bullish on the economy and their personal finances. Only 20% of respondents said their household income is higher today than it was a year ago. More discouraging, the percentage of respondents who believe their personal financial situation will worsen over the next year rose by 4 percentage points to 21%.

There's a dichotomy at work: housing doing well, many other segments doing not so well. We are unlikely to get a full-fledged housing recovery until the other segments of the economy start doing well.

For the other economic segments to do well, we need less uncertainty: That means clarification and consistency on regulations, taxes, and government spending. Until that occurs, much of the economy will continue to sputter and putter along, and this will eventually drag on the pace of the housing recovery.

Courtesy of 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.