Real Estate Information Archive

You can save up to 10 percent on your energy bill by targeting your energy hogs and unplugging them when you aren't using them regularly! While refrigerators and air conditioners consume the most energy, there are many small appliances that consume large amounts of unnecessary energy, too. These ‘vampire’ products cannot be turned off without being unplugged, and draw power 24 hours a day.

1. If you want to know what current energy hogs you’re using, buy a low-cost wattmeter to measure the devices in your home.
    
2. Identify the vampire appliances in your house. If you don't use the following appliances regularly, unplug them!
    
3. Computers. Whether you have a desktop or a laptop (or both), your computer is a Dracula-level energy vampire. By turning your computer off instead of letting it idle or sleep, you can reduce its energy usage by as much as 250 percent.
    
4. Toaster. Once your crispy toast is on your plate, there’s no need to leave your toaster on. Unplug it until it’s time for your next snack.
    
5. Cell phones. Even when your phone is plugged-in and fully charged, it’s sapping energy from your outlet. Make a point to unplug your cell phone once the battery is full. Same goes for the charger.
    
6. DVR and cable box. Even when your cable setup isn’t recording and is turned off by remote control it uses a whopping 43.46 watts an hour. When you’re going to sleep or leaving the house for a while, unplug your setup completely.
    
7. Coffee machine. You may take your cup of java to go in the morning, but your coffee machine hangs out all day draining power. Unplug it once you have your brew, or go classy and switch to a French press!
    
8. To make unplugging appliances easier, consider using a switchable power strip to easily unplug a cluster of cords all at once. If there are energy hogs you aren't use regularly, plug them into the power strip and get in the habit of switching it off.

The real estate sales results for the greater Harrisburg, PA are showing some improvement both in the number of sales and the average selling price for homes in Central Pennsylvania. The average sales price increased 6% to $177,605, in February 2013 over the same period in 2012 and the number of homes sold increased when compared to 2011 and 2012. Another piece of good news is that the days on market from listing to under contract for the period has decreased when compared to the same period last year. Some of this good news is due to the quality of inventory and the continued existence of extremely low mortgage interest rates. Yes, there are issues with the continued, unfortunately, availability of short sales and foreclosures and the negative impact on prices but these are solid sales figures. I recently reviewed the number of homes going under contract and selling in the $150,000 to $300,000 range because this is a good barometer of the market and those sales are looking very good. Why that range? It has been my experience when that market improves both the lower and higher priced homes are selling all other price ranges will improve. Going forward improvement should continue and as I have been saying for right now slow and steady is the best course for the real estate market. The below numbers for the school districts are always interesting and should be considered. And if you are considering a sale or a purchase of a home please contact me at Don@DonRoth.com and as always you are encouraged to visit my site, www.DonRoth.com, and click on the search listings tab to see your next home.

School Districts

West Shore

East Shore

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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 Builders Take a Holiday

The holiday we refer to is from optimism. Over the past 18 months, builder optimism has moved meaningfully higher to a recent high of 47 from a low of 9, according to the NAHB's sentiment index. This month, though, sentiment dropped to 44.

Demand for new homes remains robust, but supply issues – in labor and building-material – are hampering construction. Home builders are equally frustrated by restrictive appraisals and tight lending standards. As for lending standards, we concur. Underwriting standards remain too restrictive.

For this, we can blame uncertainty and tighter regulations. We were encouraged to hear Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke agree with our assessment. In a press conference earlier this week, Bernanke told reporters the Fed is seeing "much higher credit-quality requirements" from potential borrowers. Bernanke cited the rule where mortgages could be put back to banks as being particularly detrimental to risk taking.

There are no free lunches. When the uncertainty and cost of doing business rise, businesses – including mortgage lenders – take action to mitigate uncertainty and to recover costs. Yes, the Fed gives on the one hand by continuing to buy mortgage-backed securities at the rate of $40 billion a month. On the other hand, the pool of potential borrowers is reduced by higher lender costs and the increased risk of doing business.

So we can understand why home builders might feel down from time to time. But we did say the builders were taking a “holiday” from optimism. Given strong demand for new homes and rising construction, we don't expect them to remain down for long.

The good news is that home builders continue to break new ground at an expanding rate. Housing starts increased 0.8% in February, pushing starts up to an annualized rate of 917,000 units. The trend in permits portend increased activity heading into spring. Permits rose 4.6% to an annual pace of 946,000 units in February.

When viewed from a longer-term perspective, you can see home builders have made significant progress and have room to accommodate more progress this year.

Rising prices will continue to move the housing recovery along. Zillow reports that home values rose for a 16th-consecutive month in February. Zillow's home price index shows the average home value at $158,100. Of course, within the context of an entire country that doesn't mean much. What's meaningful is that monthly and annual price appreciation was recorded in 30 of the largest markets Zillow follows.

Rising prices, in turn, reduce negative equity. CoreLogic's research shows that 200,000 homes were lifted into positive equity during the fourth quarter of 2012. This brings the total number of homes that moved to positive from negative to 1.7 million in 2012.

Time plays a role as well: amortization and rising prices are working together to hurry the process along. In other words, time really does heal all wounds, though it hardly feels that way at the beginning of the process.

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.

Mortgage rates were down significantly this past week. In some instances, they were down over 10 basis points. For this, we can thank (blame?) the tiny country of Cyprus.

It seems odd that a tiny Mediterranean-sea country of 1.1 million inhabitants would influence interest rates in a country – the United States – with a population of 313 million. So what's going?

Today's financial institutions are closely intertwined – though lending, borrowing, trading, and market-making relationships. This raises the contagion risk, where something bad in one country can quickly spread. We saw that occur in 2008 when many of the world's largest financial institutions were at risk of collapse.

In Cyprus' case, a banking panic was initiated when the European Union insisted Cyprus implement a 6.75% tax on bank deposits less than 100,000 euros and a 9.9% tax on larger deposits. In exchange, Cyprus banks would receive a ten-billion euro bailout. The fear is that other European countries ( Italy in particular) could be forced to impose the same tax, thus resulting in a mass run on those banks.

In short, fear and uncertainty again sent investors to the haven investments of U.S. Treasury and U.S. mortgage-backed securities; hence the lower mortgage lending rates, which we don't expect to last. Fear passes quickly these days, so we suggest borrowers act quickly.

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.

Wet winters, heat-intensive summers and heavy storms are just a few natural elements that can wear down your house’s exterior paint. Protect your siding, trimming and gutters by touching up the exterior paint of your house once a year. Here's how from BrightNest.com...

1. Head outside and examine your siding. Walk around your home and look for areas where paint may be chipped, peeling or flaking. Also look for any signs of water damage, bubbling paint, or areas that have been faded by the sun. These are the areas that you need to touch up.
    
2. Once you’ve inspected your exterior siding on foot, grab a ladder and examine the upper siding and trim. Look for the same red flags in step #1. Before you climb your ladder, it’s a good idea to read about proper ladder safety.
    
3. Clean any areas where you notice damage. To do this, grab a paint scraper and remove paint that isn’t tightly adhered to the siding or trim. Don’t be afraid of removing too much – if the paint is coming off easily with the scraper, it isn’t protecting your house from water damage and other elements anymore.
    
4. When you’re done with the scraper, use your wire brush to remove any remaining paint flakes. If your siding still has some dirt and grime on it, clean it with an old rag and warm water. You want the surface to be as clean as possible before you do any touch ups.
    
5. If you have the original paint you painted your house with, that’s great! However, there’s a chance your siding may have faded so the colors will no longer match. Scrape off a quarter sized chip of paint with your paint scraper and take it in to your local home improvement store to get it matched. You’ll also need a good exterior primer. Before you begin painting, make sure your siding is thoroughly dry.
    
6. Apply a layer of primer. Read the instructions on the label before you begin and follow them exactly. Let the primer dry completely before you apply the touch-up paint.
    
7. Touch up any of the affected areas. Use the same paint applicator that you originally used to paint the exterior of your home. If you’re not sure what tool was used, consult your local home improvement store when you’re purchasing the paint and primer and see what applicator they recommend.
    
8. When applying your touch-up paint, make sure you spread a little bit of new paint around the area that is being re-touched so that it blends with the rest of the exterior (commonly called diffusing). This is usually best done with a brush.
    
9. Let your paint fully dry. If the color is too light, try applying a second or even third coat.

At 2.07 million units, housing inventory is at its sixth-lowest level in 30 years, according to Capital Economics. Low inventory has helped with rising home prices. And even though prices have been rising, affordability remains high.

The NAR's Housing Affordability Index measures whether or not a typical family earns enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan on a typical home based on the most recent monthly price and income data.

We've read many predictions that high affordability will persist indefinitely. LPS Applied Analytics, for one, believes home values could rise an additional 35% before affordability becomes an issue.

We're a little more circumspect. Bank of America recently revised its expectations for home prices, expecting prices at the national level to rise 8% in 2013. A few months ago, Bank of America was forecasting a 4.7% increase.

Given rising interest in single-family homes, we don't think Bank of America's expectations are unreasonable. Home prices could very well rise 8%, but it's highly unlikely personal income will rise at the same rate. At the same time, mortgage rates will also rise with more job creation, which will make mortgages more expensive.

The point we want to emphasis is that, yes, homes are still very affordable, but there is no guarantee they will remain so. In fact, it's financially risky to expect the market that exists today – in both houses and mortgages – to exist tomorrow

  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've been warning over the past few months that accelerating job growth would lead to higher mortgage rates. That's exactly what's occurred.

Last Friday, the Commerce Department released its employment report, which showed 236,000 new jobs were created, topping most economists' estimates. The surge in job creation dropped the unemployment rate to 7.7% from 7.9%.

The rate of job growth frequently reflects the rate of economic growth. When economic growth accelerates, so does the demand for loanable funds. Interest rates, in turn, rise. But they rise not only because of increased demand, they rise also because economic growth stimulates inflation – a key component in interest rates.

We weren't surprised, then, to see the spike in mortgage rates – particularly in the 30-year fixed-rate loan – that occurred this past week after the release of the employment data.

Many lenders are concerned that rising rates will take the steam out of the housing recovery. We are more sanguine. As long as rising interest rates are accompanied by rising job growth, the impact will be minimal. Low rates have done their job, and employment and economic growth are the most important factors to maintaining the housing recovery at this point.

Rising rates will slow refinances, but we expect purchase activity to pick up the slack. More people working, and more people working at better-paying jobs, means more people will qualify for a loan. Just as important, they'll qualify for a higher-rate loan that they can still comfortably service.

In short, we don't see rising rates as an impending disaster.

The robust interest by investors in single-family homes will also help keep the housing market moving on a northeast trajectory. Low purchase prices and the potential for capital gains have pulled many real estate-minded investors into the market. We've mentioned in the past how large institutional investors have acquired large swaths of single-family homes.

That said, most people still prefer to own than to rent. Surveys compiled by the National Association of Home Builders (as well as other groups) find that most people overwhelming want to own a home. This shouldn't come as a surprise; neighborhoods of owners tend to be more stable and better-maintained than neighborhoods of renters.

We're not disparaging investors (or renters). In fact, they are doing the market a service. But over time, we expect more of these rental properties to transition to owner-occupied properties – and that's a good thing.

 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.

Are you living in a baking-soda-less household? Not cool. Baking soda has been rocking the cleaning world since before the Pyramids were built – so it’s got some serious street cred. For example, did you know it can un-funk vintage furniture, polish your silverware and absorb nasty smells? If you don’t have any baking soda handy, here are five reasons you should change that right this instant:

1. Odor domination. You’ve probably heard that placing baking soda in your fridge combats strong smells, but that’s not the only funk it can handle! Sprinkle baking soda in the toilet before you go out of town, pour it down the drain to de-stink a smelly garbage disposal or even add some to your fabric sofa cushions to get rid of pungent smells.

2. Fire prevention. If you’re cooking greasy food on the stove, a box of baking soda could save your life (or maybe just your curtains). If grease spills onto your burners and catches fire, pouring baking soda on the flames will squelch them before things get out of control! Never use water to extinguish a grease fire. To be extra safe, always keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen to deal with serious problems.

3. Stain destruction. Baking soda is a stain’s worst nightmare. Rub this cleaning agent into wine, vomit, coffee or pet stains to remove the problem. You can clean any surface with baking soda – including kitchen and bathroom counters – by sprinkling baking soda on a damp cloth and scrubbing.

4. Pest prevention. Do you have a problem with cockroaches in your home? Baking soda to the rescue! Yes, this product can even help repel cockroaches. Mix together 1/3 cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of sugar. If you have extra, you can store it in a sealed jar, just make sure you label it! Fill small dishes (the caps of gallon milk jugs work well) with the solution and place them under the sink or wherever you suspect a problem.

5. All-natural awesomeness. In case you haven’t caught on yet, baking soda is kind of the Ryan Gosling (read: the best) of green cleaning products. Using baking soda is just as effective as store-bought options, but you’ll avoid the dangerous chemicals that are found in many household cleaners. Tip: If you’ve fallen head-over-heels for baking soda like we have, consider buying it in bulk to save even more money. Baking soda doesn’t spoil, so storing it for a long time won’t diminish its cleaning power.

Information brought to you be 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.

I read a recent article in the Wall Street Journal titled “How to Fix a Credit Report Error Before It Bites Back” and being in the real estate business for many years it had a number of good points that are useful to all of us and especially if you are looking to purchase a Harrisburg PA home. We all have heard and seen the trials and tribulations when a bad credit score derails a purchase or if approved the interest rate is higher than the going rate for most borrowers.

What are the causes and what are the remedies? Naturally, late payments are definitely going to have a negative impact on your credit score and your ability to make a purchase. AND yes sometimes there are reporting errors by a creditor for a number of reasons, including reporting a delinquency that is not yours because there is one or more John Jones that lives in your area. And I am sure there are many people who can give me examples of bad reporting. BUT you do have some recourse in these examples such as disputing the claim and/or providing proof of payment – that is the best way to counter the negative by keeping good records.

Also, it is up to you to monitor your credit report and the best (and it is free) way is to go to AnnualCreditReport.com and you can receive a report once a year at no cost to you. That is an excellent way to insure that the Credit Bureau has all the correct information. Yes, there are offers, at a cost, to give you the same information but free is for me and I hope for you also. Soon I will provide info on Credit Repair concepts and hopefully help you in that arena.

If you are looking for information on who you can talk to about credit, please let me know, and especially, if you are considering purchasing Harrisburg PA real estate. Please also visit my web site, DonRoth.com, to have access to all of the properties that are for sale in the Harrisburg area.

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 all know it’s important for your Harrisburg PA home to be green, but did you also know it can be easy? Bonus: These changes will save you money, too!

Switch To CFLs. They’re bright, stylish and will save you money! Yes, CFLs have a slightly higher purchase price, but they only use one-fifth of the power and last up to ten times longer than your current light bulb. Plus, these new bulbs give you design options that don’t exist with standard light bulbs. Want a red, warm light to match your grey walls? No problem!

Make A Compost Bin. Yard trimmings and food waste make up 27% of the solid waste stream in the United States! Instead of adding to the landfill, make a compost bin. The mix you make of fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds and other leftover food scraps will help make your garden lush and improve its soil structure and water retention. Bonus: You’ll save money on fertilizer!

Reduce Junk Mail. Every year, the average household gets nearly 800 pieces of junk mail. To stop the never-ending stream of snail mail spam, just take a picture with PaperKarma! PaperKarma is a mobile app designed by two Microsoft guys to help you easily unsubscribe from the junk mail of your choosing. Simply use the PaperKarma App to snap a picture of the offending catalog or mailer and within 24 hours they will unsubscribe you from the spammer’s distribution list.

Wash Clothes in Cold Water. Up to 90% of the energy used while doing laundry comes from the fuel used to run your water heater, rather than the electricity needed to run the machine. So, wash with cold water instead! Bonus: It also saves the average family around $63 on their electric bills. If you’re curious just how much your family will save, try Seventh Generation’s Calculator. Info provided by www.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.