Summer time is here so what better time for flip flopping. It seems that Delaware County is giving mixed signals to the real estate market. The residential resale statistics are up and down. Since thee days on market has continued to increase dramatically over last year we really need to look at the big picture in order to see what is happening around Delco. As the national media toughts the big slide in the real estate market our area is still trying its hardest to remain steady. Let's look at the numbers and see whats happening...

• The number of units listed for sale is down 2.05% over the number of units listed in May '08. June '08 listings are also down about 23% over the number of homes listed in June 2007.
• The Average list price is also down just under 6% over May ‘08 but is up 6% over June '07 average list price.
• The Average SOLD price is up 12% over May ‘08 a nice surprise for the market but a slight reality check is that the SOLD price this year compared to June of ‘07 is still down about 1%.
• The Average Days on Market increased to 68 days, a 2% increase over last months 66 days on market average and is up 47% over June 2007 days on market of 46, ouch.

Buyers are definitely taking their time in making a decision for the purchase of their new home, which is frustrating to most sellers. Only time will tell but the numbers are indicating that overall sold prices are up 6% over this time last year which in not bad considering many national stories of the steep decline in real estate values. Make sure you look at the big picture to get the true residential resale market statistics; it will help in understanding what type of market we are in. Delaware County seems to be holding its ground in this topsy-turvy market, know your numbers and you will be armed with the knowledge to make the decision that is right for you!

All the best

DJ

*statistics derived from TrendMLS provider of multiple listing services to the real estate community of Delaware County and many other surrounding counties

Overall the month to month statistics are beginning to rebound and patience may be the hottest commodity on the market this year. Delaware County has hit a slide over last year but your need to look at the whole picture to see that the market is trying its hardest to come back. Home sellers may not like the stats right now but sit tight. Here is what the TRENDMLS numbers are telling us about last month...

• The number of units listed for sale is up, just over 12% over the number of units listed in March '08. However listings are down about 9% over the number of homes listed in April 2007.
  
• The Average list price is up about 11% over March ‘08 and down 7.7% over April '07 a little troubling on the year-to-year sales but a nice month-to-month increase in pricing
  
• The Average SOLD price is up 11.7% over March 2008 and still discouraging is that the SOLD price from last year was down 2.5% over April '07.
  
• The Average Days on Market decreased to 76 days, a 2.6% decrease. However, 76 days on market average is up 33.9% over April 2007 days on market of 57.

This is the home buying and selling season and despite the low consumer confidence there were still more homes listed in April than in March so the home buyer inventory is out there. The numbers may still not be favorable for sellers and the market buyers will dictate what the home is worth and sellers need to be faced with the reality of having to accept a lower than expected sale price in this type of market. Patience is going to be needed by all involved in the real estate market as the fast and furious pace of years past is just that the past!

See Ya!

*statistics derived from TrendMLS provider of multiple listing services to the real estate community of Delaware County and many other surrounding counties

March Housing Market Update for Delaware County Pennsylvania

Consumer confidence is at an all time low. Job losses in March were the highest is years, topping 80,000. And this means is that the housing market is also feeling the lack of confidence as home buying in Delaware County Pennsylvania is feeling the crunch. Since last month Delaware County has taken a slide and home sellers may not like the stats. Here is what the TRENDMLS numbers are telling us about last month...

• The number of units listed for sale is up, just under 11% over the number of units listed in February '08. However listings are down about 13% over the number of homes listed in March 2007.
• The Average list price is down about 11% over February ‘08 and down 8.9% over March '07, a nice increase in pricing
• The Average SOLD price however is down 12.5% over February 2007 and the discouraging news is that the SOLD price from last year was down 7.6% over March '07.
• The Average Days on Market decreased to 78 days, a 2.5% decrease. However, the 78 days on market average is up 16.4% over March 2007 days on market of 67, so properties are sitting out there longer.

Until consumers gain confidence, the numbers may not be favorable for sellers. As we always proclaim the home is worth what the buyers are willing to pay. Not good news for the home sellers as they may need to have a greater amount of patience. The three big items for home owners to remember is price, location and condition. If they are all in line with the market competition you may need to sit tight and wait for the right buyer.

Happy Buying and Selling

See Ya!

*statistics derived from TrendMLS provider of multiple listing services to the real estate community of Delaware County and many other surrounding counties

In Pennsylvania agents are required by law to present, explain and have their potential clients sign a Consumer Notice which fully explains relationships between the agent and their client. It is very clear as who is representing who in a real estate transaction.

But has your real estate agent really done their job? Do you understand the consumer notice that you signed? It is somewhat confusing when dual agency, designated agency and transaction licensee come into play but your agent needs to be sure that you are fully aware of who is representing who before you begin your search.

Everyone is entitled to exclusive representation and it is extremely important that everyone involved in the transaction understands who they are working with. Why? It helps avoid any awkward representation issues when other agents suddenly enter the picture.

A buyers agent should among many other things...
1. Provide you, the buyer, with a list of possible homes in your price range and area.
2. Help you with your financing options
3. Coordinate and Schedule all appointments for you
4. Be your exclusive representative
5. Educate you on the market place, procedures and contracts that you will need to sign.
6. Help put together the offer to purchase a home
7. Negotiate on your behalf and full represent you in the transaction
8. Most importantly be your one point of contact, your guiding light through the process.

Your agent will do the best they can in helping you find the home of your dreams. Yes, along the way you may find a home on your own outside of the area you identified as your target area. Let your agent know that you found a home you would like to see and they will be happy to make all of the arrangements to preview the home and the should also adjust your search criteria. I think that you will find greater success if you work closely with one agent rather than calling all of the houses you like yourself and scheduling appointments with all those agents, let your agent do the leg work for you.

Stay in constant communication with your agent and they will make your home buying process much more enjoyable.

Happy Buying

A great place to live, work or visit, Media PA has so much to offer. From the Summer time festivals, shopping, restuarants, music, arts scene and the year round activities, it is a place that has something for everyone, That's why they call it Everybody's Hometown!

 Take a look at a video I put together...

All the best

Delaware County's housing trend update.

The national media is still killing buyer and seller perception of the market conditions in our area but at least we received a recent boost from the Philadelphia Inquirer stating that of all places in our area, Media PA was one of the best markets right now. So here is what TRENDMLS statistics are telling us about last month

• The number of units listed for sale is down, just under 6% over the number of units listed in January '08. However listings are up about 5% than the number of homes listed in February 2007.
• The Average list price is up about 8% over January ‘07 and up 12.5% over February '07, another increase in pricing
• The Average SOLD price however is down 3% over January 2007 but the somewhat good news again is that the SOLD price was up almost 3 % over February '07 sold prices.
• The Average Days on Market increased to 80 days, a 21% increase, ouch. That is also about the same increase over last years February 2007 days on market of 67, so properties are sitting out there a bit longer.

Activity has been on the rise this month already and the market is looking for a nice boost with Springtime right around the corner. Happy Buying and Selling.

See Ya!

*statistics derived from TrendMLS provider of multiple listing services to the real estate community of Delaware County and many other surrounding counties

Can you feel it?

Not sure if buyers and sellers alike are starting to recognize it yet but I can tell you the market is starting to wake up. Activity on listings is starting to pick up as showings have increased over the past week and a half and dare I say it. I even heard talk of bidding wars on some recently listed homes! If this the same black cloud market the national press is talking about, not here, not now. The Philadelphia Inquirer did a story on the Delco market and touched bidding wars and hot open houses right here in Media.

Don't get me wrong Mr./Mrs. Seller, Home Buyers still have the upper hand as the inventory will need time to even out but do realize this the market is not going to bear over priced homes even in the best condition. If you feel your home is the "best on the block" you need to do is price your home right at or even below recent home sales and then list your property and see what happens. If the buyers agree you may just find yourself in the middle of a bidding war for your home and if the buyers don't show you may need to think about the price, condition, and location and see if it is priced right.

Buyers are out there and they all want a deal. The combination of the right price, condition and location for a buyer may just be right for a great deal.

Happy Buying and Selling

All the best

Media, PA, David F. Joslin, Jr., a Media based Realtor® for Keller Williams Real Estate was recently awarded the Bronze Medal for sales production during the year 2007, placing him as one of the top producing agents in the Keller Williams Real Estate Media Market Center. Recently the awards were presented to a select few agents who showed excellent sales performance during the inaugural year of the office and despite being caught up in one of the toughest real estate markets in history the agents continued to be successful in their business.

"2006 was a tough year as we planned for the opening of the brand new Media Office, but once the doors were open and the dust settled it was time to get back to business in 2007." states Realtor Joslin, "I am just lucky to have such a great sphere of family, friends, clients and team members, especially my business partner Gus Nazaridis, all of them keep our success moving forward. We pride ourselves on integrity, honesty, passion and hard work and we are glad that our clients recognize that with continued support, referrals and repeat business; that is why we succeed."

David F. Joslin, Jr. is an award winning sales associate with Keller Williams Real Estate in Media, PA. He is a member of the Suburban West Realtors Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR) and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). To contact David Joslin, Jr. please call his main office at 610-565-1995, try him direct at 610-517-8249 or visit his website www.DavidJoslin.com.

The Keller Williams Media Market Center opened its' doors for business December 1, 2006 and has been growing ever since. With over 70 agents now on the roster, Team Leader Emma Payne expects the office to hit the 100 agent mark in the near future.

Building a referral network starts with sharing information. I have made it one of my goals for 2008 to enhance my referral network and resources to my Family, Friends, Neighbors and current and future Clients.

How does it work? This referral network is going to be made up of trades and services offered by you. If you have a business, service, craft or hobby that you would like to promote for FREE, simply let me know and I will add you to my list of professionals as long as it does not compete with my own real estate business.

Now why would I do this? Quite frankly I want to expand my business and my contacts. One of the ways to do that is build a reliable network. This network will showcase your business to my current and future clients as well as other real estate professionals like me.

What's the catch? A possible referral here and there: or a chance to win your business when you need a real estate professional. The ultimate goal is to build a reliable reciprocal referral network that builds strong business relationships by sharing our services with our clients. By building these relationships I hope that we can all build our businesses.

How much does it cost? Maybe the cost of a stamp: depending on how you want to get your contact information to me.

Take a Minute... Write down your business name, type of business, full time / part time or hobby and any contact information you would like included on the other side of this letter. At a minimum, I would highly recommend an email address and/or website, phone number, company name, contact name and the type of business you are promoting.

Send your information via email, david@davidjoslin.com . I will include you on the service provider section of my website, some promotional material and relevant marketing material.

Note: I do send out a bi monthly magazine to 400+ households that will have a comprehensive listing of all service providers but space is limited to a first come first served basis.

That's it! If you have any questions please fee free to contact me directly or for more information on my business please visit www.DavidJoslin.com .

All the best,
david joslin

Delaware County's housing trend update.

The media is killing buyer and seller perception of the real estate market conditions in our area. If they want to dissect neighborhoods there may be a variation up or down but overall the market is not sliding downward, if anything it is still moving upward.

• The number of units listed for sale is up, way up, an astounding 123% over the number of units listed in December '07. However that is 3% less than the number of homes listed in January 2007.
• The Average list price is up about 10% over December ‘07 and up 2% over January '07, a minimal increase in pricing
• The Average SOLD price is down 2% over December of 2007 and the somewhat good news is that the SOLD price from last year was up about 2% over January '07.
• The Average Days on Market was virtually FLAT with a slight change from December ‘07 (65 DOM) to January '08 (66) - Days On Market (DOM) and up only two days from 64 to 66 over January of 2007.

Let's get some perspective on the housing market and take a look at the average sold prices over the past four years in Delaware County...

YEAR AVERAGE SOLD PRICE
2004 $227,248
2005 $247,865
2006 $251,535
2007 $267,609

So Since 2004 the average sale price of a home in Delaware County has increased about 16% percent. Now that certainly looks like an increase to me.

Yes, foreclosures are up across the country as well as in our county, but, the foreclosure process takes a very long time so those going into foreclosure started doing so months and months ago, if not a year or so.

I wish the media would just print the statistics. We are subject to the doom and gloom headlines all of the time when in fact the media could be directly causing buyers not to buy and sellers not to sell. The media could in fact be responsible for the consumer confidence level being so low and a direct factor in why people are not spending money. Oh the sky is falling the sky is falling, give me a break. Enough is enough. Don't believe the hype. If you are looking to buy or sell ask your local professional to provide you with some of these stats, if that is what you are looking for, if not, put your house up for sale or go buy a new one and live your life according to you and not the media.

See Ya!
DJ