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

Below are the market statistics for the Central Bucks School District during the 3rd quarter of 2008. These are residential sales priced between $100,000 and $1,000,000 and are located in Buckingham Township, Doylestown Borough, Doylestown Township, Chalfont Borough, New Britian Township, New Britain Borough, Warrington Township, Warwick Township and Plumstead Township.

During the 3rd quarter of 2007, the average sale price was $425,000 and it took 57 days on average to sell your home. Our market here has slowed a bit and prices have adjusted, but we are in a much better market than some other parts of the country.

If you are considering buying or selling a home in the Central Bucks School District or other areas of Bucks County real estate, call or email Linda Tremblay or Marcie Purcell. We would love to help you with your real estate needs.

Home shoppers and sellers tend to focus on property listing particulars when comparing homes for sale. While "the numbers" present important information--list price, number of bedrooms and baths, room sizes, year built, square footage, lot size, systems, appliances, etc.--they often don't reveal essential home features or neighborhood details that make a house a home that buyers will fall in love with.

Even when visiting a property--either online or in person--home shoppers and their agents can't always see all that a home and its location have to offer, especially in today's over-supplied market. Anyone who has toured property after property in one short rush knows how hard it is even to remember one from another. That's where the homeowner's input becomes especially important.

If you're serious about selling your home in today's competitive real estate market, take stock of everything your home has to offer--particularly those special assets that may not be readily apparent. Use the following lists to stimulate pulling together the whole story, and provide photos to show potential buyers what makes your home the "best on the block."

Below are the market statistics for the 3rd quarter of 2008 applying to homes located in the Pennridge School District. These statistics are for homes located in Bedmiinister Twp, Dublin, East Rockhill , Perkasie, Sellersville, Silverdale, Hilltown, and West Rockhill. These homes were priced between $100,000 and $1,000,000. They were all residential resales, not lots, multi family or commercial properties.

As you can see, the average sale price was $292,000 and it took 71 days on average to sell a home. During the same time period in 2007, the average sale price was $307,770 and it took approximately 66 days to sell a home.

Although this is not good news, it is NOT anywhere near as bad as other areas of our country. If you want to sell you home, you need to remember that

1. 1. It is a buyers market.
2. 2. It does not matter what you want or need to sell your home for. Although you can set a list price, the market determines tha homes actual value.
3. 2. You home needs to be well maintained, decluttered and neutral in decor to get the best price for it.

If you are really serious about selling your home in the Bucks County Real Estate market, please call me or Ma cie Purcell

Here are the market statistics for the homes located in the Quakertown School District. These statestics are taken from Trendmls and have the following criteria. They are residential resales (not farms, multi-family or commercials), were priced between $100,000 and $1,000,000 and are located in Richland, Milford or Haycock townships or Quakertown, Richlandtown, or Trumbauersville Borough.

The average sale price for the 3rd quarter is $260,059 and it has been taking an average of 68 days to sell a home. In comparison, during the 3rd quarter of 2007, the saverage sale price for the same criteria was $269,825. It only took 50 days on average to sell a home.

Although this is not extremely good news, it is NOT as bad as other parts of the country. If you are, considering selling your home, please remember it will take a little more time and you have to realistic about what your home is worth. It does not matter what you want or need to get for your home. You can set the listing price, but you can not determine the sale price. The home will sell at the current market value, which is determined by what a ready, willing, and able buyer is willing to pay for your home.

For help with buying or selling a home in the Bucks County Real Estate market, please call linda Tremblay or Marcie Purcell. We specialize in the Central and Upper Bucks County area.

SHORT SALES
How To Avoid Foreclosure By Selling Fast For Less

As home prices have dropped in some areas of the country, a growing number of homeowners are finding their home is worth less than the mortgage amount still owed to their lender (known as being "under water" or "upside down" in the mortgage). Owners may find themselves in this situation because they purchased their home at the peak of the local market, just before prices began to drop. Or, using an interest-only or payment-option loan, their monthly payments did not reduce the principal owed--and the home's value dropped. Some tapped too much home equity through second loans or lines of credit, even as much as 125% of the home's value.

Those "upside down" mortgage holders who can still make their monthly mortgage payments are safe if they don't need to move. They can wait out the market--perhaps even benefiting from lower property taxes from a lowered tax assessment--until the correction is complete and home prices again begin to appreciate.

Others, however, find themselves caught by escalating mortgage payments and other household expenses they can no longer afford. Although some borrowers can negotiate "workouts" and "loan modifications" with their lenders, others don't have those options. The only choice left to avoid foreclosure is a "short sale"--where the lender agrees to accept, as fulfillment of the borrower's obligation, a sales price lower than the amount still owed on the mortgage.

If you find yourself in this situation, or you know someone else who is, here are five critical factors every short-sale seller must know.

Short Sale Beats Foreclosure On Credit Report
A foreclosure is a court settlement process involving legal action and possible attorney fees. A short sale, on the other hand, is a negotiated settlement with the lender--no attorneys required. Both show up on the borrower's credit profile, but the difference between a foreclosure and a short sale is the difference between broken credit and badly dented credit. The "short sale" consumer has better options sooner in terms of buying another home, qualifying for loans or credit cards, securing reasonable interest rates, finding rental housing, even applying for insurance.

Often Lenders Prefer Short Sales To Foreclosure
Foreclosing is an expensive, time-consuming process for lenders (costing an average $50,000 per property, according to a 2007 report by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress). In a foreclosure, the lender sells the property at auction--which may also result in lower net than the outstanding mortgage--or repossesses and sells the property as "lender owned" real estate, which is a "non-performing asset" that negatively impacts the lender's ability to make loans. In short, lenders want your money not your home.

You Need An Offer To Get Short-Sale Approval
Lenders generally do not "pre-approve" borrowers to conduct a short sale. Instead, the seller-borrower finds a buyer, who makes an offer that is presented as part of a short-sale package for the lender's consideration. The package will include information such as the purchase contract, an estimate of the net from sale, a complete seller's financial disclosure and a hardship letter stating why the seller can no longer make payments. The lender often requires other information as well.

If the lender is open to a short sale, their loss mitigation department orders a Broker's Price Opinion (BPO), asking a knowledgeable real estate professional to render an opinion on the market value of the property (by looking at sold prices of comparable properties, the cost of making repairs and any other factors that might impact the property's value).

Assuming everything is to the lender's satisfaction, if the buyer's offer meets or exceeds the BPO, chances are the lender will accept the short-sale offer and "forgive" the difference between the offer and the outstanding mortgage.

New Law Waives Income Tax On Forgiven Debt
Until recently, mortgage debt forgiven by a lender was considered to be part of the borrower's taxable income, meaning the taxpayer would have to pay income taxes on the forgiven amount. That rule has changed: On December 20, 2007 President Bush signed into law the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which excludes forgiven mortgage debt from taxation. The exclusion only applies to a taxpayer's principal residence and to indebtedness forgiven between January 1, 2007 and January 1, 2010. The excludable amount of debt is limited to $2 million. Other restrictions apply; consult a knowledgeable tax professional for all the details.

Short-Sale Process Requires Professional Help
Conducting a short sale is not a simple process, as it requires negotiations with the lender (often more than one lender is involved) as well as the buyer, who may not understand the unique intricacies of the process. That's where our expertise becomes essential. We understand the complexities and critical timing of short-sale procedures and can guide you--whether you want to sell your property as a short sale or you're interested in purchasing a short sale. Please feel free to give us a call for more information. We'll be happy to discuss all your options!

If you would like to receive this kind of information into your email inbox monthly, please vist my website http://www.buckspahomes.com or email me. or Marcie Purcell.