Linda Tremblay, Associate Broker Bucks County, PA Real Estate Services

I recently read a post by another agent addressing the pricing of homes in today's market. It was straight to the point and I could have rebloged it but with a couple of my clients going through the same thing, I thought I would try to make some sense of this market.

I have had two sellers trying to sell their homes with that exact philosophy. Both of them were previously listed by other brokers when the market was at its peak. Both homes in my opinion were originally listed way too high to begin with and both sellers came down considerably when they listed with me but not to where I wanted them to. They told me that neighbors sold their homes for more and theirs is much nicer.

Both of my sellers had offers on their homes a year ago, but did not take them because "We need X amount of dollars" and both sellers looking back wish they would of taken the offers. What brings me to post this is that unfortunately no matter what we try to tell them as Realtors, they do not listen and then they get mad at us.

Mr & Mrs Seller A got a second offer on their home yesterday. The offer came in through an agent that I have a good amount of respect for. She did her homework. This offer came in $35,000 less than the previous offer started at and has zero chance of getting to where the other one was at before the seller refused it. Mrs Seller told me that I do not understand, I never have understood that " The value of their home has fallen and their stocks have fallen so they need to get $X for their home."

What I want to tell you if you are considering selling your home is that it does not matter what you need or want for your home. The actual sale price is determined by the market. Unfortunately, the value of homes (including mine) has dropped. The value of IRAs (including mine) and stocks has dropped. So even though it is our business to sell homes and represent your interest, as real estate agents we do understand. I have never met an agent who would not prefer for there listing to sell at a higher price. After all, usually our commission is determined by a percentage of the sale price. The more money that you get for your home, the more we make.

Unfortunately, I had to tell my seller if they can not sell without getting X amount of money, maybe they should consider keeping their homne until the market goes up. The problem is that none of us or fortune tellers. Next year the market could be better or worse for our sellers.

Please, if you are going to sell, get a competive market analysis (CMA) done on your home. Do not let an agent buy your listing by telling you that you can get whatever price you need. Once you hire an agent, listen to them in regards to price, things you need to do to enhance the chance of your sale, etc. Remember, we have chosen this as our career and know the real estate market. We have been through many of the homes that are currently on the market and lots of the ones that sold. If you live in the Bucks County real estate market area, Marcie Purcell and I would love to help you sell your home and find a new one. We want to put the SOLD sign on your property.

I know they are a bunch of potential buyers out there waiting for the so called botttom to hit in the real estate market. They have been told by the press to not buy yet, just wait. Well I am hear telling you to "STOP LISTENING TO THE PRESS" By the time you find out the bottom has hit, you will have missed it. Could of it already have happened? I think so.

If you are thinking about buying a home in the near future, you need to get off the fence and buy a home now. First of all the prices are already low and the sellers are negotiating if you put a decent offer on the table. But most of all, the intest rate is down in the 4s. This is unheard of for years. You can buy more house for your payment, What is better to possibly sale a couple thousand dollars buy waiting, but pay more per month for less house OR to buy now and save thousands (yes I said thousands) over the time you hold the mortgage and have a payment that you can really afford.

No one knows how long this will last. There are millions of people all over the country refinancing their loans due to the rates. There will be plenty of buyers looking and finding a home that they want to live in. The spring market is on its way. Mortgage rates change daily or weekly. Get this great rate now-or you may never have this opportunity again.

If you are looking to buy or sell your home in the Bucks County Real Estate market, please call or email me (Linda Tremblay) or Marcie Purcell. We would love to be of service to you.

Here are the 4th quarter 2008market statistics for Bedminster Township, East Rockhill Township, Hilltown Township, Perkasie Borough, Selllersville Borough, Silverdale Borough & West Rockhill Township. These municipalities are all part of the Pennridge School District. As you can see during the last quarter of 2008 the average sale price was $312,829, 85 homes were sold, and it took approximately 98 days to sell a home. These were all residential resales (no multifamily or commercial listings) and were priced between $100,000 and $1,000,000.

Date	Units Listed	Listed Volume	Listed Average	Pended	Units Sold	Sold Volume	Sold Average	Average DOM
Dec 2008	34	10,262,680	301,843	19	22	6,213,004	282,409	110
Nov 2008	46	19,109,641	415,426	20	27	7,742,380	286,754	112
Oct 2008	49	18,769,965	383,060	24	36	12,635,120	350,975	81
Totals:	129	48,142,286	373,196	63	85	26,590,504	312,829	98

Minimum Prices	Maximum Prices	Average Prices
Original List Price : $139,900	Original List Price: $849,000	Original List Price: $340,747
Sold Price : $120,000	Sold Price: $740,000	Sold Price: $312,829

I have also included a brief print out of the year of 2008 from January to December below. The average sale price for the year was $305,969 and took about 85 days to sell a home.

Totals:

1009

373,049,999

369,722

422

428

130,955,087

305,969

85

During the 4th quarter of 2007, the numbers were as follows: The average sale price was $332,948, there were 104 homes sold and it took approximately 75 days to sell a home.

Date	Units Listed	Listed Volume	Listed Average	Pended	Units Sold	Sold Volume	Sold Average	Average DOM
Dec 2007	41	15,923,880	388,387	22	27	9,521,007	352,629	76
Nov 2007	73	30,056,476	411,732	34	39	13,046,545	334,526	78
Oct 2007	84	32,638,208	388,550	34	38	12,059,124	317,345	72
Totals:	198	78,618,564	397,063	90	104	34,626,676	332,948	75

Minimum Prices	Maximum Prices	Average Prices
Original List Price : $149,900	Original List Price: $979,000	Original List Price: $355,154
Sold Price : $110,000	Sold Price: $855,000	Sold Price: $332,948

Again. I have include the yearly averages for 2007 in a one line report below:

Totals:

1226

466,016,220

380,111

519

537

174,636,351

325,207

75

As you can see, the average price has dropped about $20,000 but could be more or less for your home, depending on its price range. If you want to sell your home, you need to have reasonable expectations. If you price it correctly and it is well maintained it will sell.

These market statistics were comprised through Trendmls.com and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

It is a good time to buy a home. This is inventory available to choose from, prices are good and mortgage rates are at a historical low. Real Estate, over all, remains a good investment, although it may not seem so if you bought your home 2-3 yrs ago. Historically it goes through cycles and although it has been down, it will go up. If you bought your home in 1999 or before, you home value has at the very minimum doubled.

If you are considering either buying or selling a home in the Pennridege School District or in the surrounding Bucks County Real Estatemarket or the neighboring counties, please contact Linda Tremblay or Marcie Purcell. We would love to help you with your real estate needs.

Here are the market statistics for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 for the Quakertown School District. The district is comprised of the following municipalities: Milford Township, Richland Township, Richlandtown Borough, Quakertown Borough, Trumbauersville Borough, & Haycock Township. These statistics are based on residential sales between $100,000 and $1,000,000 and do not include multi-family or commercial real estate. As you can see the average sold price was $229,414, there were 65 units sold, and it took on average 83 days to sell a home. Historically this is the slowest time of the year for real estate.

Date	Units Listed	Listed Volume	Listed Average	Pended	Units Sold	Sold Volume	Sold Average	Average DOM
Dec 2008	28	8,212,690	293,310	16	28	6,332,250	226,151	98
Nov 2008	35	10,495,153	299,861	23	14	2,967,700	211,978	88
Oct 2008	54	15,746,399	291,599	19	23	5,612,000	244,000	62
Totals:	117	34,454,242	294,480	58	65	14,911,950	229,414	83

Minimum Prices	Maximum Prices	Average Prices
Original List Price : $144,900	Original List Price: $515,000	Original List Price: $250,370
Sold Price : $122,000	Sold Price: $459,550	Sold Price: $229,414

Here are he statistics for the year 2008. The average sale price was $251,947 and it took approximately 80 days to sell a home

Totals:

750

217,379,482

289,839

358

374

94,228,463

251,947

80

Now compare the same statiestics for the fourth quarter of 2007. The average sale price then was $259,414, there were 88 units were sold and it took on average 73 days to sell a home.

Date	Units Listed	Listed Volume	Listed Average	Pended	Units Sold	Sold Volume	Sold Average	Average DOM
Dec 2007	29	6,926,027	238,828	24	22	5,872,050	266,911	105
Nov 2007	57	15,593,900	273,577	35	37	9,687,219	261,816	65
Oct 2007	65	19,921,340	306,482	30	29	7,314,901	252,237	58
Totals:	151	42,441,267	281,067	89	88	22,874,170	259,933	73

Pricing Details of Sold Units for the Date Range Selected

Minimum Prices	Maximum Prices	Average Prices
Original List Price : $130,000	Original List Price: $649,000	Original List Price: $274,744
Sold Price : $128,000	Sold Price: $599,900	Sold Price: $259,933

Below are the statistics for the entire year of 2007 include 469 homes sold and the average sale price of $273,325.

Totals:

901

270,962,279

300,735

474

469

128,189,764

273,325

66

If you want to sell your home, you need to be realistic with your expectations. If you bought your home more recently (within 3-5 yrs), you may not make any money on the sale of your home, but you will also save money on the buying of your new home. If you have owned your home longer, you are still in a position to sell your home for much more than you purchased it for.

If you are a buyer,it is a great time to buy. There is ample inventory on the market to insure that you have a good selection of homes to choose from. The interest rates a historically low so you can buy more home for your monthly payment. And finally, historically, real estate is a good investment. Although we a in a lower market now, it will eventually go back up.

If you are considering buying a home in Quakertown or the other surrounding areas of the Bucks County Real Estate market, please contact myself or Marcie Purcell for all your real estate needs.

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles for making the playoffs. They were counted out by most (including me) after a dreadful beginning of the season. After #5 was benched, he seemed to get his head back in the game.

The Eagles received some belated Christmas presents from the NFL teams that lost their games ending their playoff hopes during the last regular season games of this year. With their losses and the Eagles win, the Eagles became the 6th seed wildcard team.

The Eagles received their presents and then gave a huge present to their fans with their stomping the Dallas Cowboys. Most Eagles fans would agree that a win by the Eagles over the Cowboys is always a good thing. A win over the Cowboys which advances them to the playoffs? ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!

Go E-A-G-L-E-S

If you are considering a move to the Philadelphia area and are interested in Bucks County real estate, please contact Linda Tremblay or Marcie Purcell.