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Central Pennsylvania Real Estate Report

Thursday, February 3, 2011
by Don Roth

Central Pennsylvania Real Estate Report

 

Average Sales Price
West Shore
School District
October 2009
October 2010
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$189,869
$156,151
79/116
Cumberland Valley
$234,894
$271,152
106/64
West Shore
$812,266
$169,591
88/61
Northern
$231,593
$201,446
134/60
Mechanicsburg
$190,350
$204,067
58/81
East Pennsboro
$178,055
$198,450
62/102
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$176,217
$209,175
92/123
Derry Township
$285,399
$281,982
62/99
Harrisburg
$ 83,577
$ 65,564
100/84
Lower Dauphin
$199,019
$261,211
85/72
Middletown
$141,258
$152,164
80/124
Steel High
$ 77,103
$ 74,450

87/182
Susquehanna Township
$176,968
$150,182
70/70

 

Average Sales Price
West Shore
School District
November 2009
November 2010
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$201,900
$148,980
79/104
Cumberland Valley
$248,639
$277,533
68/110
West Shore
$200,547
$181,043
58/107
Northern
$228,233
$194,650
100/57
Mechanicsburg
$179,385
$157,319
92/69
East Pennsboro
$151,279
$186,271
75/68
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$177,627
$148,780
79/104
Derry Township
$222,578
$288,382
131/136
Harrisburg
$ 81,986
$ 59,497
64/68
Lower Dauphin
$209,484
$229,143
99/84
Middletown
$112,700
$139,500
60/87
Steel High
$ 108,967
$ 64,738

113/149
Susquehanna Township
$160,150
$157,266
54/96

 

Average Sales Price
West Shore
School District
December 2009
December 2010
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$159,725
$215,883
174/63
Cumberland Valley
$252,226
$275,893
111/115
West Shore
$194,431
$178,015
72/95
Northern
$199,756
$175,307
80/68
Mechanicsburg
$188,229
$226,874
60/110
East Pennsboro
$164,392
$138,260
55/93
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$182,435
$167,787
65/80
Derry Township
$289,291
$189,216
130/103
Harrisburg
$ 69,958
$ 62,138
120/135
Lower Dauphin
$212,463
$274,087
70/54
Middletown
$122,829
$154,688
52/137
Steel High
$ 70,667
$ 48,000

137/78
Susquehanna Township
$164,504
$153,279
69/240

If there is one subject that is constantly discussed, it is the state of the real estate market in the Greater Harrisburg area. I am always asked are homes selling and what sales range is the strongest. The short answer is that homes continue to sell in our market, but they are taking a little longer to sell than what we have experienced is the past few years and that trend probably will continue into the first half of 2011. Homes priced in the low to mid $100,000s are selling the best, if you will but we must remember there are traditionally more homes in this range than any other price range. But homes in all price ranges continue to sell in our market. We must remember that some of the unfortunate news that we hear about in some areas of the country are not being experienced by this market to the degree that other areas have experienced. Yes there has been a slowdown in sales and increases in foreclosures and short sales in this market and that trend will again continue in the near future.

Is there good news in the Harrisburg real estate market? Absolutely, mortgage rates, although they have increased recently, are still below 5% and most likely will increase slightly in the months ahead. Additionally, the average home sales price has held up remarkably well and in my opinion that will continue. And lastly if you are looking to purchase a home there is a great selection of homes to choose from in all price ranges. We will most likely never see the frenzy that we saw a few years back, but I have been in this business for over 19 years and we will see the normalcy of the early 2000s and we will experience excellent home sales numbers with appreciating, not depreciation average home sale prices. No the glass is not half full yet but we are getting closer. May you have a Happy and Prosperous 2011.

If you have any real estate questions please contact me at Don@DonRoth.com and if you would like to see the list of available homes for sale visit my web site www.DonRoth.com and click on the search listings tab and search away.

Mortgage Matters

Thursday, February 3, 2011
by Don Roth

Click Here to View Mortgage Matters.

Home Sale Prices in Central Pennsylvania September 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010
by Don Roth

Home Sale Prices in Central Pennsylvania September 2010

The Greater Harrisburg area real estate market continues to be somewhat of a contraction. The sales number for September 2010 are down 35% compared to September 2009, but the average sales price has increased during the same time frame. So what does that mean to the current buyers and seller of real estate? First, there is plenty of concern about the economy and the impact on personal finances, job security and the values of homes. Second, valuations on many homes are down from the peak of the market but when compared to many areas, this geographic area has held its own and when you are reading about the real estate market many reports give a national versus a local perspective. Third, we will probably never see the year to year appreciation that we experienced, but this region has been relatively stable over the last thirty years and we will begin to see some appreciation, not great, within the next twelve months. So if you are looking to buy or sell, remember valuation is primary and when looking to purchase a home today’s mortgage interest rates, I was quoted 4.125% last Thursday for a thirty year mortgage, are at historic lows. So even if you are not in the market to purchase a home, you may want to seriously consider refinancing your current mortgage and saving some money.

One last important piece of information. If you find yourself in a position of being behind on your mortgage, please click on the following link which provides numerous sources of assistance Mortgage Financing Options That May Save Your Home. And if you need any additional information please contact me at Don@DonRoth.com.

 

Average Sales Price
West Shore
School District
September 2009
September 2010
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$183,437
$197,330
47/70
Cumberland Valley
$231,900
$265,775
87/95
West Shore
$170,574
$194,607
44/93
Northern
$181,161
$245,350
49/148
Mechanicsburg
$176,164
$197,397
74/57
East Pennsboro
$175,765
$204,210
44/77
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$193,916
$189,615
 67/112
Derry Township
$256,884
$189,113
74/89
Harrisburg
$ 76,451
$ 58,591
56/88
Lower Dauphin
$200,667
$278,854
89/84
Middletown
$142,672
$146,316
67/85
Steel High
$ 70,756
$ 74,983

29/67

Again, if there is any real estate information you need, please contact me at your convenience.

Central Pennsylvania Real Estate Report 2009 - Trends & Prices

Monday, January 11, 2010
by Don Roth

Happy New Year to all. As I report on the real estate market in the region, I think most of us know that to say that it was a challenging year would be an understatement. In many of the areas throughout the U.S., the real estate market continues to be under siege. In Pennsylvania and especially the Greater Harrisburg area, we have fared much better, and there are signs that stabilization and improvements in the market are becoming a reality. When comparing 2009 to 2008, we saw the number of homes sold decrease by 44 sales, which is a very minor percentage in the real estate market. Yes, the average sales price of homes declined by approximately 5% when compared to 2008, but the month to month decline in sales prices was most significant in the earlier months of 2009.

Why do I anticipate an improvement for 2010? Well, one reason is that interest rates are still very attractive, although there is every indication that mortgage interest rates will climb higher as we go through 2010. The impact on mortgage payments is evidenced below for a $150,000 mortgage amortized over 30 years.

Interest Rate Monthly Principle & Interest Payment
5% $805.23
5.5% $856.68
6% $899.33

 

Pretty substantial increase in the cost of a mortgage, isn’t it? We can say it is only a 1% increase in rates, but is actually a 20% increase in the cost of your housing payment. Something to keep in mind is that a rate increase has the effect of reducing the price of a home a buyer could afford. But there is still more positive news for the real estate market. First of all, the first time home buyers credit of up to $8000 is still available for contracts written by April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010. Also, the other home buyer credit of $6500 is also available under the same time guidelines (more about that in a separate article). Second, there is plenty of quality, well priced homes available for sale, and in my opinion, the asking prices for homes to a great extent is more in line with the market expectations at this time. Maybe I see the glass half full, but I do expect more positive real estate news being disseminated in the coming months; at least in our area.

Average Sales Price: 2008 vs 2009
West Shore
School District
2008
2009
Days on Market
Camp Hill
$219,593
$191,430
61/77
Cumberland Valley
$284,468
$250,326
69/84
West Shore
$197,857
$191,613
57/68
Northern
$219,415
$218,685
73/99
Mechanicsburg
$210,216
$189,781
61/72
East Pennsboro
$182,028
$176,023
53/65
East Shore
Central Dauphin
$199,348
$187,403
72/70
Derry Township
$276,019
$252,568
68/82
Harrisburg
$74,554
$76,194
69/80
Lower Dauphin
$210,022
$215,153
63/79
Middletown
$144,654
$138,461
77/80
Steel High
$76,965
$77,239
82/93
Susquehanna Township
$169,136
$165,807
57/70

 

As we can see, the average sales price in some areas differ from year to year. Although I did not drill through the numbers, my opinion is that there have not been as many expensive homes that have sold. With the availability of the tax credit in 2009, many buyers took advantage of that, and in many cases, we had a higher number of those homes selling in 2009. Also, we did not escape the foreclosure and short sale experience in the area, but the impact was substantially smaller than in other areas of the country. No one likes to see those types of transaction, but unfortunately that is the world we live in right now and those transactions will have some impact on our market going forward.

Lastly, VA and FHA loans are having a bigger impact on the market, partially due to the credit crisis and also because of the changing lending environment we are experiencing. The percentage of those loans went from 22% in 2008 to 36% in 2009. These are still quality loan products and they do not have the negative connotation from previous years. If you would like more specific information on any area, please contact me at 717-579-2879 or email at Don@DonRoth.com. And if you would like to search available homes for sale please go to www.DonRoth.com and click on the search button. Again, wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

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