Real Estate Information Archive

Beyond.com has just published their Q4 2013 analysis of the best places to hire and get hired nationwide. And guess who is in the Top 10 of with the most job opportunities per capita...Harrisburg PA! Take a look...

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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.

The cost of buying a Harrisburg PA home is going up. What's behind the rise in interest rates? Is now still a good time to buy? Here's an interesting video explaining a little bit about why mortgage rates are rising. There's also a little bit in here about how "staying on the fence" could lead to a higher monthly payment.

Rates are still historically low and it's a great time to buy. Wondering if now is the time for your to buy a Harrisburg PA home? Give us a call! We’ll help lay out your options so you can make an informed decision.

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.

Here are 5 renovations that will increase your Harrisburg PA home's value.

Reno Do #1: Upgrade Your Kitchen

All of our experts agree that a kitchen renovation should be at the top of your list, since it's the heart of a home—the room where families spend most of their time. But where to start? A couple of givens include upgrading to stainless steel appliances and installing countertops made from engineered stone or granite, because these fairly easy changes will improve the aesthetic appeal of the space. Details can also make a difference, like putting shiny knobs on cabinets and purchasing a sparkling new faucet for the sink.

Another wise kitchen upgrade? Knocking down a full or half wall, so you can connect the kitchen to a den or living room. “It makes the kitchen feel more spacious," says Phyllis Rockower, owner of the Real Estate Investors Club of Los Angeles in California. "If you’re cooking, you can still hear what people are saying during a party, or keep an eye on your kids while they’re playing.”

Reno Do #2: Revamp Your Bathroom

A lot of people may say they’ll lend a hand when it’s time for you to move, but when the big day finally arrives, good help can be hard to find. If your friends and family pull a disappearing act on moving day, don’t stress! Most items in your house can be moved with just one person.

Here are six tips for the solo mover:

Safety Note: Don’t try to be a hero! If you don’t feel in control of a heavy piece of furniture, don’t move it! A hospital bill is a lot more expensive than a mover’s fee, and sometimes hiring help is the only safe option. If you’re on a budget, check out these eight ways to cut your moving costs by $100 or more.

1. Strip it. If you struggle to shift your dresser just a few inches, getting it down a flight of stairs can be downright intimidating. But, a lot of heavy furniture can be disassembled, which makes it much lighter and easier to move. Take out drawers, remove cushions, mirror or glass tops, knobs and feet. Basically, anything that’s screwed on can be taken off to lighten the load. Tip: Use an ice cube tray to keep track of small parts during the move.

2. Rent moving gear. One dolly can prevent a lot of sweat and frustration (and possibly a hernia). Plus, the cost of renting a few moving tools for the day is a drop in the bucket compared to hiring professional movers. Visit your local hardware store and check out their furniture jacks, scissor lifts and dollies. They’ll do the heavy lifting for you!

3. Don’t lift, slide. You could rent commercial sliders, but a large blanket or throw rug all work just as well! Lift the legs of your furniture one at a time and put them onto your makeshift sliders. Then, drag! Patience is key – move slowly to avoid damaging your floor, walls or furniture. Tip: If you get the furniture onto sliders, but still can’t move it with your arms, use your leg strength! Lie on your back, place your feet on the furniture and push with your legs.

4. Walk it out. If you don’t have a slider handy, and you’re moving a chair, use it’s legs. It’s time consuming, but you’ll avoid the heavy lifting! Put the chair on its back two legs and “walk” the chair left foot and then right foot. You’ll eventually get it out the door.

5. Remove the hinges. If you ordered some furniture and then had it assembled inside of a room, getting it outside can be tricky! Before you think about sawing that entertainment center in half, try taking the doors off of their hinges. You’ll gain a few inches of wiggle room – which can sometimes be enough to slide that bulky furniture right on out!

6. Beware of the second floor. If you have extremely heavy pieces of furniture on a second or third floor – such as a big sofa or desk – it’s really not safe to move it by yourself. This is because once you angle something down the stairs, gravity will actually increase the weight of the furniture, and it’s very easy to lose control!

Information from 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.

Five years ago Bea Johnson and her husband and two sons were looking for a home closer to the restaurants, shops and school in their coastal California town. 

During the year they spent house hunting, the family of four moved into a small apartment, took only the possessions that were absolutely necessary and left the rest in storage.

“After living with just the necessities, we realized that we had much more time to spend with our family when we weren’t spending it caring for a large house and lots of belongings,” says Johnson.

Then, when they did decide on a house, they chose one half the size of their previous home and simplified by selling most of their old stuff.

Around that time, Johnson and her husband began investigating environmental issues. “We read books, watched documentaries, and what we learned worried us and made us sad for our kids’ futures,” she says. “So we decided to do something about it. My husband quit his job to start a sustainability consulting company, and I tackled greening our house.”

It was then that Johnson devised a system to reduce the family’s garbage—she calls it the Zero Waste Home. She started by swapping everything disposable in their home (paper towels, water bottles, grocery bags) for reusables.

Today, she says, her family’s yearly waste can fit in a quart-size jar.

She spoke with LearnVest about how to get started, her zero-waste strategies and the one sustainable habit she’s just not down with.

Information from 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.

What do a Swiss Army knife and a can of blue paint have in common? They’re both multi-functional! You can probably figure out the knife’s other uses, but what’s up with blue paint? Let’s just say that after you find out, you may start thinking about repainting your porch.

Choosing blue paint isn’t the only design decision that can have hidden benefits. Here are four home décor items that have two (or more) functions you may not know about.

Blue paint can also be ....

Wasp repellant. Few things ruin a relaxing porch session faster than a swarm of angry wasps, and getting rid of them isn’t always easy. Traipsing around with a can of Raid is one option, but here’s another idea: paint your porch ceiling a light blue (like robin’s egg or periwinkle). According to Southern wisdom, the color deters wasps from nesting in your ceiling because it’s a similar hue to the sky. Some people write this off as folklore, but we figure if it works, it works! At the very least, you’ll promote a sense of calmness on your porch.

Solar shades can also be ...

Furniture protectors. If ever there was a décor piece that deserves the Jack-of-all-trades nickname, it’s solar shades. Not only do these puppies create a cool, modern look in any room, they also reduce glare and heat from the sun. Plus, they block out UV rays, which prolongs the life of your furniture. To put your solar-shade excitement over the edge, some designs don’t obstruct your view when they’re drawn. There are a number of options on the market, but the Signature Solar Shades from Blinds.com are extremely popular.

Mirrors can also be ...

Sunlight magnifiers. A full-length mirror’s ability to show you how great your butt looks in those new jeans is well documented. But, depending on the placement of the mirror, it can also be used to brighten up a room! If possible, position a mirror across from a window or other source of natural light – it will reflect the light around the room and brighten things right up.

Sherwin Williams Harmony Paint can also be ...

An air freshener. If you thought paint was only good for adding color to a room, think again. Not only is the Harmony series a zero-VOC paint (good for your health), it also gets rid of house odors (good for your nose). Whether your home-stink comes in the pet, smoke, food or mold variety, Harmony is specifically designed to help freshen things up.

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 “fiscal cliff” has taken center stage after the election. The fiscal cliff is Fed Chairman Bernanke's shorthand for the combination of federal tax increases and spending cuts that are scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2013. If we were to hit the cliff full throttle, we'd experience $500 billion in expiring tax cuts and automatic government-spending reductions.

The fiscal cliff's attention is well deserved. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the economy will be pulled down into another recession, with gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 0.5%, if Congress fails to act. In turn, unemployment will rise to over 9% from today's 7.9%.

In other words, there is an elevated level of uncertainty still weighing on housing; however, we expect this uncertainty to be removed before the end of the year. We will likely see a compromise on income-tax rate increases; and we will likely see a compromise on federal spending cuts.

Once the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff has been removed, we expect business investment and hiring to increase, which will lead to more normalized economic growth rates (between 3% and 4% annually). Should that occur, the odds increase that we will be looking at fewer value-priced homes and higher mortgage lending rates this time next year.

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 point to a sustained and expanding housing recovery.

On that front, the National Association of Realtors reports that prices for single-family homes rose in 81% of U.S. cities. What's more, prices are not only rising, they are rising at a higher rate. NAR's data show the national median price for an existing single-family home rose to $186,100 in the third quarter, a 7.6% increase over the third quarter of 2011.

We've pointed out in the recent past that the good news on pricing isn't emanating from only a few sources; it's emanating from nearly all sources.

The NAR's good news on home prices is supported by CoreLogic and Trulia. CoreLogic's data show that home prices rose 5% year over year in September, posting the biggest increase since July 2006. Trulia's data show that home prices rose 2.9% year over year and 0.7% month over month in October.

This up trend in home prices is a strong selling point to clients, as is the prospect of a diminishing inventory of value-priced properties.

This time last year, we reasoned that homes were priced to produce outstanding long-term appreciation. That's turning out to be the case, but it may not be the case for long. Many homes are still priced to produce superior price appreciation, but there are certainly fewer of these homes on the market today compared to last year.

The reduction in distressed prices and value-priced inventory is attributable to the shrinking supply of distressed properties. The inventory of REO properties owned by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the FHA continues to decline, and will likely continue to do so in 2013.

An important, but frequently overlooked, demographic trend leads us to believe there will be no backsliding on rising prices and reduced value-priced inventory.

Census Bureau data show new households are being formed at the fastest rate in more than six years. T he United States added 1.15 million households in the 12 months that ended in September. That's a significant increase over the past four years, when an average of 650,000 households were formed annually.

Rising household formation means consumer confidence is also rising, as is confidence in the economy and job prospects. These factors translate to rising home demand and continually rising home prices.

Mortgage rates, on the other hand, continue to buck the trend; they're not rising. Though not moving materially lower in recent weeks, mortgage rates still don't show any inclination to move higher. Given the election results and slowing economic growth in Europe, we don't expect them to move materially higher, for at least the remainder of the year.

The four-year extension of the Obama administration means an extension of Ben Bernanke's reign as Federal Reserve chairman, and an extension of his low-interest rate policies. Across the Atlantic, slowing economic growth in Europe means more money will flow into haven investments like U.S. Treasury notes and bonds and agency securities, such as mortgage-backed securities.

Money flows from the Federal Reserve and private European investors into U.S. government securities ensure mortgage rates will remain low, at least for the near term.

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.

“Dog bites man” has been a leading theme as we head toward 2013. By that, we mean we continually report on improving home prices; to the point where home prices are almost no longer longer news.

We say “almost,” because after years of reporting on falling prices, we still have a ways to go on the upside to balance the scales.

The latest price data from S&P/Case-Shiller added more weight to the rising-price side. Case-Shiller's data show home prices edged up 0.9% month-over-month in August for 19 of the 20 cities it follows. Case-Shiller's data continue to affirm the positive price-trend data issued by other popular pricing providers, such as Zillow, Fiserv, and CoreLogic.

Speaking of CoreLogic, its latest data release shows continued improvement in distressed properties. CoreLogic reports that completed foreclosures posted at 57,000 in September, down from 83,000 a year earlier and slightly lower than the 59,000 foreclosures reported in August. Improved pricing and greater demand, which have enabled more short sales, are allowing more underwater borrowers to escape their obligation without foreclosure.

The downward trend in foreclosures, along with a gradual clearing of the shadow inventory and rising home price, leave little doubt that we are in the midst of wide-spread housing recovery.

Of course, ulta-low mortgage lending rates have aided the recovery in no small measure. Rates today continue to hold their lows (though they haven't been setting new lows lately).

Today, the concern, if not the lament, among housing-market participants is credit availability. Last week, we reported on the Mortgage Bankers Association lament that too many qualified borrowers are not getting their loan. Overly strict lending standards, in short, are retarding the speed of the housing recovery.

Most of us know that credit availability is a chief concern among first-time home buyers, many of whom lack strong credit scores or large down payments. This segment usually constitutes 45% of the overall home-buying market, but today it's down to 32%, according to the National Association of Realtors.

There is still too much uncertainty in the market for lenders to venture farther out on the risk curve. Impending new regulations have lenders understandably nervous. The new regulations will determine risk held by lenders, as well as down payment required for borrowers.

To be sure, we need to balance regulation with access to credit, but that's a fine balancing act. What's more, it's not a constant act. The system must be sufficiently flexible to meet market demand.

The good news is that the purse strings show signs of loosening. A recent survey by the Federal Reserve shows that banks, on net, are reporting easing lending standards. (The survey encompasses all forms of credit, not just mortgage.)

We think we will see a less restrictive mortgage market in 2013. Economic growth and job creation are expected to improve next year. An improving economy leads to more liberal lending policies and more accommodating regulation.

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.