Real Estate Information Archive

The 4th of July will be here before you know it. If you don’t have a huge amount of time to decorate with all things red, white and blue, don’t stress! You can still celebrate Independence Day in style by doing a quick patriotic project or two.  These DIY decorations are so easy that they can be done in four minutes or less.

Here are six 4th of July decorations that we salute:

1. Fireworks Placemats 

Take plain white or beige fabric placemats and give them some 4th of July bang. All you need is fabric paint, a paper plate and a clean kitchen scrub brush. First, dump out a quarter-sized bit of the paint onto a paper plate. Then, dip the bristles of the scrub brush into the fabric paint and press the bristles firmly onto the fabric. Overlap colors to create your own fireworks display! Tip: To make smaller fireworks, just use a smaller brush.

2. Painted Mason Jars

If you already have red, white and blue spray paint in your craft room or garage, this project is for you! Simply take three mason jars and paint them. You can paint each jar a different color or turn them into a makeshift American flag. To do this, paint one blue and tape off straight lines with painters tape (to make red and white stripes) for the other two.

3. Layered Centerpieces

Head out to your local supermarket and pick up three jars of sprinkles: one red, one blue and one white. Gather up a few small vases or glass containers, and pour each color of sprinkles into the vase, one color at a time. This will create a beautiful, layered centerpiece display for your table! Place a few tall candles inside for some patriotic lighting. Tip: If you don’t have time to run to the store, use white rice and dye it with food coloring.

4. Decoupage Tin Cans 

Cover various size cans (coffee cans work great for this) in scrapbook paper. Cut out your decorative paper so it fits evenly when wrapped around the jar, and then lightly coat the tin with spray adhesive. Adhere the paper to the tins. That’s it! Add water and flowers for a quick vase, or fill each tin with eating utensils for a buffet-style display.

5. Patriotic Printables

Few things are faster than clicking the print button. If you’re looking for quick 4th of July art, you can find fun, patriotic printables online, and most are free or super cheap. We especially like this one from eighteen25. All you need to do is find one that fits your style, hit print and then frame it.

6. Streamer Table Runner

This festive 4th of July table runner creates a bright, bold statement in no time. Grab rolls of red, dark blue and light blue crepe streamers to place over a white table cover. Lay out five lines of streamers across the table in whatever color pattern you’d like. Then, weave the streamers perpendicular to the first pattern. Weave each strand in and out for a plaid effect, and you’ve got a table runner that’s party-ready.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

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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.

With home prices exceeding pre-bubble highs in many markets, more people are asking: Should we be concerned about another market bubble?

There are no guarantees, but this market looks significantly less frothy than it did in early 2008.

For one, mortgage-debt levels remain reasonable. Bank of America reports that mortgage debt as a percentage of real estate owned was at an all-time high of 63% just before the market-bubble burst. Today, it's down at 44%, which is a normalized and sustainable percentage.

A more obscure indicator also points to a bubble-free market. When markets get bubbly, they induce a tsunami of new participants. Using California as a proxy for the whole,CalculatedRiskBlog.com data show that the number of real estate agents peaked at the end of 2007. Today, the number of salesperson licenses is off 33.5% of the peak. The number is at March 2004 levels. In other words, people aren't blindly rushing into a perceived gold rush. That's a sign of market health.

In short, we don't see a market distorted by bubbles. To the contrary, we see a clearly sustainable market.

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.

The New-Home Market Leads the Charge

Many commentators were disappointed in the headline number, but they shouldn't have been.

The headline states that housing starts posted at 1.036 million on an annualized rate for May. The consensus was looking for starts to post in the 1.1-million neighborhood. If we compare May with April, we see an 11.1% drop-off in starts.

The numbers appear disappointing, until you dig a little deeper. April, which was already a strong month for starts, was revised up to 1.165 million. That's a 22.1% month-over-month increase when compared to March. Seeing starts throttle back in May after such a strong showing is no reason to sulk. Indeed, it should be expected. To expect continual double-digit monthly increases is to expect the impossible.

The trend in permits is another reason to embrace the future. Permits were up a very stout 11.8% to 1.275 million potential starts. Permits are a leading indicator, and this leading indicator posted its best number since August 2007.

Given the bullish outlook on new-home construction, no one should be surprised that homebuilders are feeling upbeat these days. The NAHB Home Builder Index spiked five points to 59 in June. This is the highest reading since September 2014.

To be sure, sentiment can change and markets can turn. But for the past year, home builders have become increasingly upbeat. Sales and construction activity has generally supported rising optimism. We don't expect that to change over the remainder of 2015.

Of course, the percentage of new-home sales is relatively small compared to existing-home sales. Our bread is mostly buttered on existing-home sales. On that front, sales have trended higher in recent months. Still, they've had a tough time hanging about the important five-million mark on an annualized rate.

The good news is that it appears more likely that sales will hover above five million. A recent report from CoreLogic shows that another 254,000 residential properties regained positive equity in the first quarter. This trend of rising positive equity ensures more supply will come to market, which will lead to a rising sales trend.

What's more, the Federal Reserve appears willing to maintain an accommodating stance.

We've said repeatedly since the beginning of the year that a Fed interest-rate hike was unlikely for June. In the latest Fed meeting, officials showed no inclination to raise the federal funds rates. What's more, it remains unlikely the fed funds rate will be raised before fall. The Fed is still looking for labor-market improvement (mostly wage growth) and more consumer-price inflation. And when the Fed does move to raise the fed fund rates, it will likely do so in very small increments.

That said, let's not take this as a guarantee of low mortgage-lending rates. The market can and has overridden Fed desires. The Fed might not move to raise interest rates; this doesn't mean the market won't.

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.