Real Estate Information Archive

We certainly hope that stock-market investors don’t sell in May and then go away. A deep decline in stock prices could be a negative for us because it would mean a reduction in accumulated wealth.

The less wealthy you feel, the poorer you feel. This appears obvious, but when people feel less wealthy they tend to dig in and spend less. The first items they target for spending cuts are the big-ticket items – automobiles and homes. (People frequently label homes as investments, but that’s not true. A housing investment generates cash flow through either rent or a flip. An owner occupied house is an asset, but not an investment. It is a consumption purchase.)

When the stock market sold off hard in 2000 and 2008, we saw a marked decrease in home sales and lending activity. Potential home buyers felt less wealthy, and the big-ticket items were the first items to be deleted from the “buy” list.

The good news is that housing returned with a vengeance (even despite the price depreciation that occurred in 2007 through 2009). Many investors turned to homes as a store of value and source of cash flow instead of stocks.

That said, the stock market has been teetering on wobbly legs of late. Let’s hope it regains its strength.   Should stock prices tumble, you can be sure that the repercussions will be felt in our neck of the woods.  That, we can do without.

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.

Sell in May and Go Away?

There’s a stock market bromide that goes “Sell in May and go away.” The gist of the bromide is to sell your stock holdings in May and then repurchase them in November. The strategy, so we’re told, enables you to avoid the months where stocks have historically suffered their most punishing losses.

For us, it’s the opposite – sell in May and keep selling to November. (Actually, keep selling through April, but why quibble?).  Home sales generally trend higher starting in May and peak in either September or October.

The good news is that we’ve got a jump on the prime selling season. Existing home sales were up strongly in March and the momentum is expected to hold in April.

As for new homes, sales growth has been respectable, but not spectacular, this year. Home builder optimism, in turn, has plateaued in recent months. The Wells Fargo/NAHB Sentiment Index posted at 58 for May. This is the fourth-consecutive month the index has posted at 58. This isn’t bad, but builders aren’t quite as optimistic as they were six months ago.  Buyer traffic remains an issue; builders don’t see enough of it. The dearth of first-time buyers remains a drag on overall traffic growth.

Despite sentiment plateauing, home builders are still willing to move ahead. Housing starts and permits trended higher in April. Starts rose 6.6% to 1.172 million units on an annualized rate. Permits rose 3.6% to 1.116 million units. Year over year, though, starts and permits are both down, with starts falling 1.7% and permits falling 7.2%.  Keep in mind that starts have historically averaged 1.5 million units annually.

But there is a mitigating factor: Most of the weakness is in the multi-family segment, which have been on a tear over the past five years.  Single-family units continue to trend higher.  Year over year, single-family starts are up 3.3%; permits are up 8.4%. 

We have to concede that we are somewhat nervous as we head into summer.  Gross domestic product growth (GDP) has ground to a halt. To be sure, GDP is by far an incomplete measure of how the economy is doing, but it does capture headlines and it does influence behavior. We’d like to see a little more growth.  The latest reading on GDP doesn’t even show the economy growing 1% annually.

Job growth – particularly in the private sector – is the greater concern, though. Last month, new jobs posted well under 200,000. A couple more months of sub-200,000 job growth and we might have to ratchet down our expectations for home sales and purchase mortgage lending.

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.

For a super-thorough baseboard cleaning, you do kind of need to involve rags, water, soap, and a decent amount of elbow grease.

But if you just need a quick spruce because you’re having an impromptu dinner party or something, there’s a faster way!

Grab a dryer sheet from your laundry room and give your dirty baseboards a quick wipe. The anti-static properties of the sheet will help repel dust so your boards will stay cleaner, longer.

The more often you wipe the boards down using this method, the less dust will stick to them. Over time, you’ll stop hating the task and focus your loathing on something else, like toilets.

Back-Saving Tip: If bending down to baseboard level is the most irritating part of the chore for you, affix the sheet to a Swiffer duster to make it easier on your back. 

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 days are shorter, the air is crisp and Sports Center is focused on football. Yup, fall is just around the corner!  While the new season doesn’t officially arrive until Saturday, it’s not too soon to get in the spirit of things, and nothing says autumn like apples! So don a sweater, grab a pumpkin latte and try one of these upcycled apple peel ideas.

Make Jelly. Eating apple peels in every form, even sweet jelly, is good for your health! Apples are high in antioxidants, especially the peels. In fact, almost half of the vitamin C in apples is in the peel! To get an antioxidant boost at breakfast, try this apple core and peel jelly recipe.

Clean Cookware. If your delicious dinner left a caked-on mess in the bottom of your aluminum pot or pan, use apple peels to clean it up. The acid in apple peels breaks down stains and restores the aluminum to its original shine. Simply boil a handful of apple peels in water and let it simmer in your damaged cookware for 20-30 minutes. The mess should come right out and then you can care for your pots and pans like you normally would.

Brew Tea. Stay warm on chilly evenings with apple peel tea. You’ll reap all of the antioxidant benefits with none of the sugar! We love this recipe from Finding Joy in My Kitchen.

Freshen Your Air. Fill your home with the smell of fall with this apple peel air freshener. For this eco-friendly stove-top brew, you’ll need cinnamon, ginger or cloves, lemon juice and apple peels. Place your ingredients in a pan and cover them with water. Bring the concoction to a boil and then let it simmer until the water has evaporated.

If apples aren’t your favorite autumn fruit, that’s fine – other fruit peels have home and health benefits, too! Check out Four Ways to Use Fruit Rinds to learn more.

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.

Here are a few signs that a tough day has smacked you directly in the face:

1.) You sat down at your desk at 8:30 AM and did not move until 6:45 PM.

2.) You passed a puppy on the street and didn’t even stop because you were so busy.

3.) A trip to the office snack drawer was the best part of your day.

Sound familiar? Yeah…tough days are terrible. And the truth is you really can’t avoid having them every once in a while. But you can work to forget about them!

Here are seven simple things you can do at home to erase the mark of a tough day:

1. Keep Bath Salts Handy

You would be surprised how much stress and frustration can be fixed with a warm bath. Add some soothing salts to the mix, and you’re on your way to Chill-Out Town. If your current bath salt stockpile is low, ScoutMob is a great place to find different scents. Anything with sage or lavender is going to be especially good at taking the edge off.

Tip: Making your own personal bath bombs is pretty easy! Here’s our step-by-step guide.

2. Prepare a Room with No Screens, and Lots of Music

We’ve talked about how electronics and screens can disrupt your sleep, but they also prevent you from de-stressing. Your favorite music, on the other hand, will lower your blood pressure and decrease stress hormones. Sounds pretty great, right?

If you have a spare room, get some music up in that beast and keep the TV, laptop, iPad and phone far away. Come home, grab yourself an adult beverage, and listen to some music for an hour or so. May we recommend Taylor Swift’s jam Shake It Off?

3. Kiss Someone

According to a study conducted by Northwestern University, an emotionally charged, ten-second kiss will release a ton of endorphins and make you feel better almost immediately. So when the Day from Hell strikes, suck some face. It doesn’t even need to lead to sex – just enjoy the kiss!

4. Set Yourself Up for a Repetitive Action

Our bodies really dig repetition. It’s one of the reasons that people find things like knitting and praying with a rosary to be so relaxing. If those two activities aren’t really your thing, here are two more ideas:

1. Do a craft. This post has 10 DIY wine cork projects – number three and seven are repetition city.

2. Sweep or mop your floors (it helps to do the whole “wax on, wax off” thing from The Karate Kid).

You may feel silly at first, but give it a shot. We bet you’ll wind up feeling a lot more relaxed than if you’d just binge-watched a Netflix show or ate a pint of ice cream (or both).

5. Put Away Your Dishes

One nice thing about mornings: usually nothing terrible has happened to you yet. Take advantage of this boon! Make a habit of emptying your dishwasher (or clearing out the sink) prior to leaving the house. That way, if fate craps on you during the day, you can at least rustle up a clean plate, fork and cup for wine without much struggle.

6. Treat Yourself

At the end of a long day, treat yourself with a taste of something sweet. Eating something sweet actually pauses the production of the stress hormone glucocorticoid, so you feel better pretty much immediately. A little bit can go a long way! One small peppermint candy or piece of chocolate has the same effect as a large slice of cake. 

7. Walk Around the Block

After a rough day, it's temping to pour a tall glass of wine and veg out with your favorite Netflix show. Before you settle on the couch for the night, force yourself to take a ten minute jaunt around the neighborhood. Even a slow walk will boost endorphins, which will reduce stress hormones. Bonus points if you leave your phone at home! 

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.

Mortgage rates have drifted higher over the past two weeks. Many loan products are now quoted 10-basis points or more above quotes given in mid-April. Rising rates have crimped purchase-loan activity. Purchase applications were down 2% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage bond prices and U.S. Treasury prices have drifted lower on a dearth of bad news. In turn, yields have drifted higher. Commodity and oil price are on the rise (as you’ve likely noticed at the pump).  Rising prices is generally viewed as a good sign because demand is picking up and rampant price deflation is unlikely. There’s also little global discord. For the moment, most of us are getting along; markets are settled.

The current ethos is priced into the market. The news is unlikely to get much better, but it could get a little worse.

In fact, we’ve seen bond prices inch up and bond yields inch lower this week. Mortgage quotes have also inched lower. So, what’s going on? Financial markets are slightly unsettled over recent events in the technology sector. The world’s largest company, Apple Inc., missed on quarterly revenue and earnings estimates this week. The news likely had a few institutional investors selling Apple shares and buying low-risk bonds.

Overall, though, there isn’t much bad news, but what bad news there is should hold interest rates at their current levels. The party is still on.

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.

A Mixed Market at Best

Though still positive, home builder sentiment has plateaued in recent months. This was a point we noted last week when the NAHB’s sentiment index was released. We’re not surprised that sentiment has plateaued, given that starts have plateaued.

Now, it appears that new-home sales have also plateaued. March sales posted at 511,000 units on an annualized rate, which is on the low-end of most expectations. The consensus estimate among economists was for sales to post at 525,000 units.

Somewhat surprisingly, pricing still hasn’t gained traction. Discounting is prevalent. The median price of a new home dropped 3.2% in March to a median $288,000, Year over year, the median price of a new home is down 1.8%.

The median price is a national number, which may or may not apply to the local market. We’re finding that pricing remains tight in lower-end homes. The discounting appears to be occurring mostly in the upper echelons. Many potential first-time buyers, particularly younger first-time buyers, are still having a rough go of it if a new home is their preferred choice.

That said, the new-home market is approaching equilibrium. Sales relative to supply has improved to 5.8 months. Supply at six months relative to sales is considered the norm.

The good news is that existing-home sales are gaining traction. Sales rose 5.1% to 5.33 million units on annualized rate in March. The sales spike wasn’t entirely unexpected. February was a sour month, with sales down 7.3%.  Even with a lousy February, existing-home sales for the quarter were up a respectable 4.8%. Better yet, single-family homes led the charge, with sales up 5.5% last month. 

As for pricing, the median price of an existing home rose 5% to $222,700. Of course, this, too, is a national number.  Western markets, led by San Francisco, Denver, Portland, and Seattle, continue to show the strongest price gains. We haven’t seen all the data, but we suspect that much of the price appreciation is concentrated in the lower end of the market, which can be high. The lower end of the market in many West Coast states is priced like the higher end of the market in other markets across the country.

That said, there’s good reason to remain upbeat as we head into the summer months. The market today has a Goldilocks feel about it: not too cold, not too hot, just about right.  That’s how a healthy market should feel.  Exuberance is nice in small doses; depression is always lousy, regardless if the dose is large or small. We prefer an even keel over the extremes. This is what we have today.

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.

We all do it. Let’s talk about it: disinfecting toilets.

If you’re doing the dirty deed anyway, you might as well make the most out of your time, right? Knock out two chores at once by tackling your grout while you’re cleaning the toilet. All you need is a scrub brush and bleach.

Toilets should be cleaned once a week. Why? Well, we all make a daily stop at toilet town, and over the course of seven days the porcelain throne gets grimy. So pencil in a cleaning sesh once a week.

Grout is less predictably dirty, so keep an eye on it. If it looks dirty, give it a scrub. Not dirty this week, though? Chill instead of doing step number two.

Here’s your three-step routine:

1. Pour a ½ cup of bleach into the toilet bowl. Let it sit for ten minutes. Note: If bleach isn’t your thing, check out some alternatives in step three of this to-do.

2. While you’re waiting, dip the scrub brush into the bleach and tackle your grout. A few scrubs should make your grout sparkling clean and handle any residue.

3. When the ten minutes are up, scrub away at the toilet with your brush. Tip: Don’t forget toclean your brush afterwards so it’s ready for next week.

That’s it! Bask in your sparkling bathroom.

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.

Getting to the heart of a complicated financial matter in a few paragraphs is no easy feat, but we’ll try. After all, interest rates are an important variable in housing and lending.  It’s a good idea to understand how the Federal exerts its influence on our lending rates.

The Fed has been a central and pivotal figure since the 2008 financial crisis. It has moved to lower interest rates to levels rarely seen.

The usual way to lower rates is to simply move the range on the federal funds rate – a key overnight lending rate for commercial banks. The Fed influences the fed funds rate by adjusting the interest rate it pays banks on the reserves banks hold at the Fed.

Today, the Fed pays 50 basis points on these reserves, which was raised from 25 basis points in December. The fed funds rate, in turn, adjusts to reflect the rate the Fed pays on bank reserves.  No bank will lend for less than the Fed pays on reserves, so the fed funds rate adjusts to what the Fed pays on bank reserves.  Other lending rates adjust to the fed funds rate over time.

Buying and selling securities are other means to influence interest rates.

When the Fed buys a mortgage-backed security or a Treasury security, it pays with newly created money.  The Fed buys these securities from banks and primary dealers. The money is credited to the seller’s account at the Fed. This creates liquidity – more money to lend.  At the same time, the Fed’s demand for these securities raises their price and lowers their yield. Interest rates tend to fall.  The opposite occurs when the Fed sells securities; rates rise. Other interest rates take their lead from what is paid on these low-risk securities.

Mortgage rates tend to take their immediate lead from long-term Treasury securities, particularly the 10-year U.S. Treasury note.  The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is typically quoted around two percentage points higher than the yield on the 10-year note. This is why we frequently refer to trends in the yield on the 10-year note to get an idea of where mortgage rates are heading.

So, if you want to get an idea of where mortgage rates are heading, keep an eye on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield (found readily at Yahoo Finance) and the effective federal funds rate (found at Bloomberg). Both will give you an idea of what to anticipate in our lending 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.

Starts Still Spinning Wheels

It’s encouraging to see that home builder sentiment remains positive. The Wells Fargo/National Association of Home Builders Sentiment Index posted at 58 in April.  This is the third-consecutive month the index has posted at that number. (A posting above 50 is a positive sign.)

Home builders are optimistic about the future, but for the present, activity has slowed. Housing starts fell a sharp 8.8%, to a 1.089-million annualized rate, in March.  Permits, which are indicators of where activity is heading, show similar weakness. They were down 7.7%, at a 1.086-million annualized rate, last month.

That said, the long-term trend remains positive. Starts are up 14.2% year over year. What’s more, there’s still plenty of room to grow. The long-term average annual start rate is 1.5 million. Starts could increase by 50% and that would bring us only to historical norms.

Mortgage rates remain accommodating to both home starts and sales.  They continue to hold near lows established a few weeks ago.  Best execution rates on the 30-year fixed-rate loan are still regularly quoted below 3.75% in many parts of the country. What’s more, rates show little inclination to move beyond the tight range they’ve held since the beginning of April.

The good news is that more buyers are taking advantage of low rates. Though purchase applications were off slightly last week, they are still up 17% year over year.  Purchase applications for new homes have been particularly robust. They were 17% for March, and that was a month-over-month increase.  Perhaps that’s the reason for builder optimism.

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.