Just today the United States House of Representatives voted 403-12 to extend and expand the Home Buyers Tax Credit.

The National Association of Realtors has provided this helpful document summarizing the details of the new Home Buyers Tax Credit.

Following the 48-0 vote by the United States Senate yesterday, and remembering our civics lessons, the Home Buyer Tax Credit will become law effective on the date that President Obama signs the bill.

Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension – Highlights of Changes:

*First Time Buyer Tax Credit is $8000 ($4000 if married/filing separately)

*+Tax Credit For Current Homeowner of $6500 ($3250 married/filing separately). Eligibility requires home being sold was principal residence for consecutive 5 years of the previous 8 years

*Credit Terminates for purchases After April 30, 2010. For the Extension Credit there needs to be a written, binding contract in effect on April 30, 2010. Purchasers will have until July 1st to close.

*You’ll note that the income limits have increased to $125,000 for a single purchaser and $225,000 for a married purchaser AND there is a limit of $800,000 on the cost of the home being purchased.

*The effective date of the Home Buyers Tax Credit Extension will be the date that President Obama signs the bill.

Be sure to save the the paper work from your purchase. Your documentation must be attached to your tax return. Check with your Accountant, but I’m guessing you will need your fully executed Agreement of Sale and your HUD-1.

This should bring a breath of fresh air to our housing markets and a smile to our piggy banks. Don’t miss out! Call me today, Judy Peterson 610-889-5509,  so that we can get started finding the right home for you!

No related posts.

The Senate is working on approving  The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension. Part of the proposal is to Expand The Home Buyers Credit for existing home sellers/home buyers but so far there is no Senate Vote. Possibly next week there may be a vote ready to go to the House and from there who knows?

From Soap Operas like Days of Our Lives  (”tune in tomorrow for the next exciting episode”), to Dallas, we’re drawn to cliff hangers. Who didn’t tune in  to find out, Who Shot JR?

Remembering Saturday afternoon at the movies…return on deposit money pennies were saved from collecting empty Coke bottles, and then spent on Saturday afternoon movie adventures. We were transported by the story, as only children can be, until these words popped onto the screen …”To Be Continued”. They were delicious seconds of anticipation. But even before I could read, I’d cover my ears from the hoots and hollers, catapulting me back to reality as the lights came up.

Oh, how the good guys (white hats) and bad guys (black hats) would live on in our imaginations . . . until next time. We were children play acting with simplistic viewpoints.  What did we know of the flip side pain and agony of some real life cliff hangers?

First Time Home Buyers and their Real Estate Agents, are following the real life cliff hanger that’s become the “perfect storm” of our economy. It will take more than help for just First Time Home Buyers to improve the housing market. Expanding the Home Buyer Credit could be a positive place to start.

However, unless unemployment and confidence improves, we may just be giving money to those who might have purchased a home anyway.

Are The Good Guys In The House The Senate or Both?

The Senate has not approved a proposed extension of The First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit or yet voted for an expanded Home Buyer Credit. Doesn’t mean they won’t, but it’s not done yet.

I like this image. While it shows risk, it also shows something we all need right now skill, courage and hope!

Hold onto your hoots and hollers! I’ve received several emails saying that the Senate Proposal is a done deal and as far as I can tell, we’re not there yet.

. . . To Be Continued . . .

Want some reliable help with your real estate questions? Ready to buy a new home or need to sell a home? Contact or call me, Judy Peterson 610-889-5509 with all of your real estate questions and concerns.

No related posts.

*Lower Merion Township, Radnor Township and Willistown Township  have earned two Mops for their Months Supply of Inventory and Days on Market for September 2009 as compared to September 2007. Of course the market will look a lot healthier when the volume of Sold and Under Contract transactions begins to move in a more positive direction.

As you can see Lower Merion Township (Montgomery County) has the highest Days On Market, 102 DOM and the highest Months Supply of Inventory at 10.9 MSI, an increase of 8% over September of 2007 with Radnor Township (Delaware County) following close behind.  In part, a backlog of New Construction, Luxury Home Styles and a higher median sale price are the main reasons.

West Goshen and East Goshen Township are really normal looking, balanced real estate markets.

Chester County Real Estate Supply and Demand Numbers:

Number of Transactions For Chester County as a whole are down for September 2009 as compared to September 2007:

• For Sale -3%

• Under Contract -3%

• Sold -17%

We generally define a balanced market as being between 5 Months and 6 Months of Inventory. Although, as with Tredyffrin Township, we can attribute some of drop in inventory to properties having been withdrawn from the market.

*All data courtesy of Trend MLS and Terradatum is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.

Contact or call Judy Peterson, 610-889-5509, Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors Devon Home Marketing Center.

No related posts.

The Third Quarter Tredyffrin Real Estate Absorption Rate is looking more like a normal real estate market instead of one drowning in inventory.

Some months I have felt like I needed a huge mop to soak up the excess inventory. And in some markets that’s still the image that resonates.

But here in Tredyffrin Township for the Third Quarter Real Estate Market, we’re showing signs of recovery. The months supply of inventory is down to 5.6 months.  Keep in mind that the MSI and the Absorption Rate is based on the assumption that no new inventory is coming on the market, which is never the case.

The Months Supply of Inventory and Absorption Rates are averages, so there are definitely properties selling within days and even some with more than one offer and others, especially in luxury home price ranges, that are languishing.

MSI and it’s second cousins, Days On Market and Interest Rates, are the only numbers we like to see coming down in real estate market statistics.

The MSI for September 2009 is down to 5.6 months in Tredyffrin compared to an MSI of 7.7 months in September of 2007. The Days On Market in September of 2009 is 81 DOM which is up from 34 DOM in September of 2007.

The DOM indicator is up 139% and the Months Supply of Inventory is down 27%.

Contact or call Judy Peterson Realtor 610-889-5509 Prudential Fox and Roach Devon Home Marketing when you need a professional Market Analysis for your home in areas like Tredyffrin Township, Chester County Philadelphia Main Line Pa.

No related posts.

As the Market Dynamics for Tredyffrin Township show, all of the Median Price indicators are down for September 2009 as compared to September 2008 and September 2007.

While it’s painful to write that all of the Median Price indicators are down, we could view these statistics as a positive indicator.

Not to get in front of the market, but the fact that the number of sold transactions are actually up by 3% and the number of under contract transactions as of the end of September are also up by 23% suggests that the correction we’ve been waiting for in Tredyffrin Township has taken place or is at least moving in the direction of a more balanced real estate market.

Tredyffrin Real Estate Median Price Dynamics 2007/2009:

For Sale Prices Down 3% from $422,250 to $411,200

Under Contract Prices Down 29% from 382,450 to $272,400

Sold Prices Down 47% from %522,500 to $275,000

Tredyffrin Real Estate Supply and Demand Dynamics:

Number of Homes Sold is up 3% from 34 to 35 homes sold

Number of Homes Under Contract up 23% from 26 to 32

Number of Homes For Sale is down 6% from 250 to 236 homes for sale in Sptember 2009

Should I take my home off the market for the holidays?

Now let’s just take a look at the Number of Homes For Sale in Tredyffrin Township. It’s down by 6%. That’s a good thing and part of the answer to the question, “should I take my home off of the market for the holidays?

The answer is no, do not take your home off of the market for the holidays, at least not this year.

First, if they can’t see it, they can’t buy it.

Second, can you see that you have a competitive advantage being in the Tredyffrin real estate market while the other two Supply and Demand numbers are on the upswing?

You heard it here first! Call me, Judy Peterson 610-889-5509, when you want informed, tech savvy real estate marketing service to work for you whether you’re buying or selling a home in Tredyffrin Township, moving down the street or across the country.

No related posts.

2009 l Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day 2009 l Global Climate Change is the topic that Bloggers around the world have agreed to write about with the goal of raising awareness on one critical issue that impacts each of us.  Climate Change and Climate Control are big issues! Big enough to be overwhelming. But we need to resist the temptation to do nothing. We each need to accept responsibility for the future our planet in big and small ways.

I’m a proud Mom who’s often inspired by my two children and 3 precious grand children. As a real estate agent I spend my professional life helping families. And so it’s no surprise to me that our children and young people are the hope of our future. We need to educate ourselves as well as support and follow the efforts of our Children For Climate Change.

When my children were young they loved the children’s literature  from a series called, “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton. The Borrowers were a secret society of subterranean little people who were responsible for  all of those “things” that seemed to mysteriously disappear. You know, like the disappearance of just ONE of all the matching socks from the dryer.

Children delight in the antics of The Borrowers,  in part because the little people became the heroes because “the big ones” had messed up. First they are charming stories. And second,  they satisfy our human desire to avoid or shift responsibility, to point a finger and say, “it’s not my fault”.  As a Mom, I loved the message of personal responsibility in these well written stories.

The National and International Climate Change Debate in Copenhagen 12/7/2009:

• The Pew Center For Global Climate Change has lots of information to help us get up to speed on the issues and to be informed about the National and International debate on Climate change that’s taking place in Copenhagen December 7th 2009.
• Learn about individual States Climate Change Initiatives and see what your State has done or is doing to reduce Green House Gas Emissions and this recent update by The Pew Center.
• Follow the meetings in December at Copenhagen to ensure that we reach a Global Climate Pact.

Global Climate Control In Small Pieces:

• Support State and local environmental initiatives.
• Find ways to be Green in our personal family living.
• Use environmentally safe products.
• Support “Green” practices in our own community.
• Support Sustainable Farming in our community.
• Recycle, redesign, reinvent.
• Help those who can’t help themselves.

“Lead, follow, or get out of the way” is another way of saying that nature abhors a vacuum. We can no longer wait for the emerging nations or “someone else” to take a stance on GHG Emissions. Our own National leadership needs to lead the way and support the work that many States have begun. It’s time to do the right thing.

The enduring popularity of The Borrowers illustrates to children, and each of us Adults, that the road to personal responsibility is, at times a difficult road to travel. Today we face a bigger challenge of losing life itself.

What to do with a big problem like Global Climate Change?

Make it smaller…many pieces smaller.

Join together with others in a world wide community of  awareness and action.

Pick up your personal piece of the Global Climate Change challenge.

Think small but start walking!

Vote Earth!

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” Confucius

Let’s be good “human beans” and not “witless” borrowers of the future of our children and grandchildren.

#BAD09

#VoteEarth

No related posts.

So here I am now 4 months into in-tech love with my iPhone. I keep rewriting this post about how wonderful the iPhone is for Real Estate Agents. And the reason for the constant editing is that it seems that every day I find another great App that comes onto the market that’s helpful to Realtors® in the daily practice of real estate.

It’s an awesome Christmas morning feeling when I see that little update light go on telling me that there’s a new exciting feature for one of my Apps. One of life’s simple pleasures!

Now, I have some good friends that I respect. They have brand x phones or hand helds. Are you a Realtor with a brand x phone/hand held?

Give it away.  Or sell it to your friend, sister, brother or neighbor who is not in real estate and get an iPhone. Do I really mean that? I do.

Ok, now on to the fun part. It took me forever to find out how to make these cool screen shots. So now I’m going to share it with you so you can write a post and share your favorite iPhone Apps.

Here’s how to copy your iPhone screen: Display the screen you want to capture, hold down the depressed button on the bottom and then click the top on/off switch once quickly, voila a copy of the screen is saved to your photo App. See, you prolly already knew that, but I didn’t. Then email the screen capture to yourself or send it to Posterous. Easy peasy!

Judy’s 15 Must Have iPhone Real Estate Apps:

Near Buy - one of the most ingenious and useful Apps for Realtors. Showing a house? Buyer asks, “how much is that house down the street”. Walking your adorable Bichon pup named “Daisy” (oops that’s me) and a neighbor asks about a house she saw? Look it up on the spot in Near Buy. You look really smart.

Around Me – tell your Buyers about all the lifestyle, interesting places around a neighborhood like hospitals, theaters, hotels, supermarkets, taxis, parking, etc. It takes much more than 4 br 2.5 baths to make a happy client.

Smarter Agent – Accurate, clean, well designed real estate app.  It really works like a Swiss Watch for looking up property, listing contact information, etc.

Trulia – Excellent Real Estate Property App. When I’m at an Open House, my iPhone is set to open in Trulia.  Guaranteed, that someone will ask me if there are any other open houses in the area or they will ask the price of the other two listings in the neighborhood.

Zillow – Check out the Zestimates as Zillow names them. They’re often not accurate in my area, but it’s good to know what clients are finding online.

Walk Score – Walk Score is becoming huge to City planners as more and more people seem to want a “town center” or walk to shopping. It just depends on your market. In some high end market areas it might not be a plus having a high “walk to” score. No question though, that the concept of a town center is a definite trend in housing.

My New Place – This one’s new on my iPhone. For many reasons, Rental properties may be trending stronger. Anyway, there’s always a need to share Rental costs with clients if only to illustrate the investment benefits of owning a home compared to financing the landlords real estate dreams.

Calcs Pro and Fast Figures – are two nice financial Apps that walk you through some of the important numbers that buyers and sellers need to consider. There’s no substitute for talking to a trustworthy Trident Mortgage Representative (call for the name and number of my fav), but these can help.

Evernote – is a powerful Organizer/Note taking App I learn more about every day.  You can send photo, voice notes, and to do’s to, even pdf files to Evernote. The Home Inspector hands you a business card – take a photo of the card together with the info and you won’t be searching through your pockets looking for the information when you need it.

Gas Buddy – Road Warriors can save money and find the lowest gas price no matter where you are.

Yelp – Long day of showing homes? Just open Yelp to find your clients favorite spot when you want to take a coffee or lunch break.

365 Holidays – Need to know if a contract day falls on a holiday? Of course you do.

Twitteralator Pro and Tweetie – I like both of these for keeping up with the latest and greatest on Twitter. If I had pick just one, it would be Twitteralator Pro. But I also like Tweetie because it’s simple and easy to flip through the tweets for a quick read.

Facebook – The iPhone Facebook App makes it easy to stay socially connected with friends and family and clients.

The iTunes Store has over 75,000 Apps for the iPhone and I have just 72 of them. My favorite Photo Apps will be the subject of my next iPhone post. I use my Nikon DSLR together with a fabulous wide angle lens for taking my listing photos and for my  jp Real Estate Photography service for area agents.  But a few great iPhone Photo Apps are a must have for every Realtor. You know, “a picture being worth more than a thousand words” or dollars in the case of real estate.

Stay tuned. Tell me about YOUR favorite Apps.

Buyers and Sellers, want to work with a tech savvy Realtor who will use every available real estate marketing and social media tool to get your Chester County Main Line Pa property sold or help you find you the perfect new home? Give me a call now, Judy Peterson, Realtor 610-889-5509, Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors Devon Home Marketing Center. I can help.

No related posts.

Bring Canned Goods For REACT

The Deb Callahan Band Plus 15 other Bands will be performing in Paoli with a FREE Concert at the location of the Paoli Village Shoppes across from the Paoli Train Station and in other Paoli area locations such as Malvern Federal, Ace Paoli Hardware (my fav for kids toys and fix it help!), CVS in Paoli Plaza and the Paoli Design Center all sponsors of the event.

Bring some non-perishable food donations to support the REACT Food Closet. Valley Forge REACT, needs your help. REACT, together with assistance from the community and members of the Tredyffrin-Easttown Fire and Police force  assists area families in need every day and through the holidays.

Have fun and do good! A winning combination.

Saturday 10/3/09 12 Noon to 6pm RAIN OR SHINE!

No related posts.

I will say that I’ve never seen anything quite like this market in my 18 years as a Realtor.  More than usual, the Buyers and Sellers appear to be marching to the beat of a different drummer. This is apparent in the disconnect between the August increase in the Median For Sale Price and the drop in the Median Sold Price and Under Contract Price.

From the 5% median For Sale price increase of $439,900 over the August 2007 Median For Sale Price of $419,500 to the 6% Median Sold price drop ($435,000) in August 2009 as compared to August 2007 Median Sold Price ($462,450), it appears that, at least here in Tredyffrin Township, Buyers and Sellers perceive the market direction very differently.

This month, I waited to do our August Real Estate Market Update, to make sure that every transaction for August 2009 was in and recorded in the MLS, just in case there were some Under Contract transactions with longer settlement dates.

The Under Contract transactions dropped in Median Sale Price by 26% from $439,900 in 2007 to $324,935 in August 2009. The August 2008 Under Contract Price was $370,000.

How about the Supply and Demand numbers for Tredyffrin? Do they support the belief that the Median For Sale Price should increase by 5% over August 2007? The number of homes sold in August 2009 (45) has dropped 30% over the number sold in August 2007 (64). While those under contract are up only 4% from 25 UC in 2007 to 26 UC 2009.

So maybe the good news is in the Months Supply of Inventory? The current MSI is 7 Months compared to 7.3 Months in August 2007. While the Days On Market DOM has increased 84% from 52 DOM in 2007 to 95 DOM in August 2009.

August 2009 is not as pretty as the prognosticators were predicting. It’s still a Buyers Market or maybe the Buyers just stayed at the Shore for the September low rates.  Either way, we’ve now tied up the lose ends of Summer. And from here, good, better and best pricing is still a critical issue, together with impeccable showing condition. You know, just in case you get a 90% or a 92% offer? I’m just sayin. You heard it here.

Do you need to know what the right price for your Tredyffrin home is? Or what impeccable home showing condition means for your Tredyffrin home? I can help you. Contact or call me, Judy Peterson 610-889-5509 Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors, Devon Home Marketing. I love helping Sellers get their property to sold for the best price and helping Buyers make wise buying choices.

No related posts.

Saturday September 19th between 12 noon and 5pm (rain or shine). Mark your calendars for the annual tour of historic homes in Tredyffrin Township. The 5th Annual Historic House Tour Ticket  Order Form can be used if you like to mail your check or you can order your Tour Tickets online at the Tredyffrin  History website.

Highlights for The Tredyffrin 5th Annual Historic House Tour will

Antoinette's Day Spa Paoli Pa 19301

showcase 7  Private Historic Homes in Tredyffrin Township PLUS a bonus tour of the Wharton Esherick Museum AND a special Welcoming Tour by this year’s sponsor, Antoinette’s Day Spa of Paoli.

Come learn about some of the hidden historic gems in Tredyffrin Township. And don’t forget to thank the home owners who so graciously open their homes for us to enjoy on this special day. As in the past, a map of Historic Home  locations, a tour badge and a history will be provided at the pick up location.

Of course you can make a donation to the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust anytime. Today would be good!

But Saturday, September 19th you also get a fabulous tour of historic homes by knowledgeable tour guides and the opportunity to enjoy our community with neighbors and friends. Contact Pattye Benson, Historic Preservation Trust President 610-644-6759, with any questions about the house tour.

*Photo Credits: Pattye Benson

Contact or call Judy Peterson, 610-889-5509 for Tredyffrin Historic Homes for sale, Tredyffrin new homes for sale and for help getting your Tredyffrin Township home sold for the highest and best price in the least amount of time. My promise – “Superb Service and Superb Results”. You deserve the best internet savvy real estate marketing in the Chester County, Main Line Pa area provided by me and my team at Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors Devon Home Marketing Center.

No related posts.