Nick & Trudy Vandekar

Old Forge Crossing market statistics for 2007

Compared to 2006 when there were over 50 units sold at Old Forge Crossing in Devon, PA, 2007 was a quiet year with just 24 homes sold resulting in raising demand for homes at Old Forge Crossing. The average days on market was 52, this was skewed a little by three homes that were on the market for over 100 days, one of which was on the market for 179 days. Without these three homes included the average days on market were 39. Two bedroom units were on the market slightly shorter at 50 days or longer if you take the lower number. On average prices at which homes settled was 98% of asking price; what I noticed is that the higher the asking price the lower the settled price, those units which had the highest asking prices settled at 96% of asking price. As Realtors we often advise clients to price correctly and prepare their homes for sale. This was reflected looking through the sales as those homes that sold quickly were priced sharply or also had been well maintained and prepared for sale. Using a stager also helps sell a home quickly.

From the 24 homes sold 18 were one bedroom homes; 2 of these had dens, and there were 6 two bedroom homes, two of which had two full baths and a powder room, these incidentally were the two highest priced units in the development and both settled for $220,000. Two bedroom units ranged in price at settlement between $196,500 and $221,000, although this highest priced unit also gave a $6,000 seller assist, so in reality it sold for $195,000. In the one bedroom homes the lowest priced unit was $163,900 and the highest asking price was $179,000 which settled at $169,000 and the highest settled price was $174,900, but again this is misleading because the seller also gave a $5,000 assist so the real price was $169,900. The highest settled price without any assist or concession was $172,500, 99% of the asking price of $174,900.

So what does all this mean for 2008? Well, we did not see any rise in prices within the development for 2007; whilst the interest rates are low there are plenty of buyers looking for homes. We have seen the year start with a bang, especially in the last two weeks. Will prices rise? This price range is the lowest in the township and the area, Old Forge Crossing homes in my opinion give some of the best value, the closest competition is Drummers lane, but those units do not have private entrances and you have to use a shared laundry room, as well as having a lot of road noise from the 422 and 202 intersection. At the moment the media has led buyers to believe that homes are not selling and therefore whilst prices may increase slightly, buyers will resist this by making lower offers.

To get the best price, sellers need to make sure their home is well presented, bathrooms, kitchens both need upgrading, consider updating the A/C and heater units and freshly paint the walls in neutral colors. As I mentioned above get help staging your home and realize that when you sell your home, it is not the same as when you live in it.

If you want help selling or if you are looking for a home in Old Forge Crossing contact me at 610-203-4543 or email me at Nick@VandekarTeam.com. I will be happy to help you buy or sell. We have a special offer for sellers of homes in Old Forge Crossing, please go to our website and click on Old Forge Crossing from the menu on the left for details.

Real Estate is Local!

As much as you read and hear in the media about the crashing real estate market you must always remember real estate is local. As we do not have a national weather forecast so the real estate market varies from area to area. What is happening in Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit is not the same as is happening in Philadelphia. And what is happening in Philadelphia is not the same as is happening in Chester, Delaware or Montgomery Counties. And what is happening in the counties is not necessarily the same as is happening at township level in Easttown. On top of this the market also varies by price bracket as well.

So let's look at some comparisons for 2006 and 2007 for Easttown township locally using information provided by Trend our local MLS. As you can see this information is split by price brackets and into home sales and condos.

In 2007 there were 168 sales of properties compared to 161 in 2006, the value of the property sold dropped quite substantially, but when you look at the price brackets you will see why. All of 2007 we have seen the million dollar homes taking longer to sell. In 2006 there were 48 homes sold for over a million dollars, of which 2 were over three million dollars. In 2007 there were only 32 homes sold over a million, but interestingly four of these were priced over three million dollars. Most other price brackets have seen minor changes other than the $500-549,999 range which saw a big jump from 4 homes to 13 sold in 2007.

Days on market increased with more homes taking 30 to 90 days to sell rather than selling as soon as they were placed on the market. There was a 1% drop in the average price sellers were receiving at settlement compared to what they were asking from 2006 to 2007.

So, overall, the local market in Easttown does not seem to have been as affected as the so called national market. However, it is important to realize a home priced and prepared correctly for sale does have more chance of selling more quickly and closer to the asking price. If you want to know how to prepare your home for sale or what the right price is for your home now please contact us.

Real Estate is Local!

As much as you read and hear in the media about the crashing real estate market you must always remember real estate is local. As we do not have a national weather forecast so the real estate market varies from area to area. What is happening in Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit is not the same as is happening in Philadelphia. And what is happening in Philadelphia is not the same as is happening in Chester, Delaware or Montgomery Counties. And what is happening in the counties is not necessarily the same as is happening at township level in Tredyffrin. On top of this the market also varies by price bracket as well.

So let's look at some comparisons for 2006 and 2007 for the different townships locally using information provided by Trend our local MLS. As you can see this information is split by price brackets and into home sales and condos.

In 2007 one home more sold in Tredyffrin than 2006 in total, how these sales were made up is also interesting, 5 more million or million plus dollar homes sold than 2006, the lower price ranges saw less sales up to $350,000 with 16 less homes selling in 2007 than 2006, there was a jump in the $800-850,000 bracket with an extra five homes selling, but in all other price ranges sales were pretty similar year on year.

Where there was a big difference was in condo sales with a big drop of 40 less condos being sold in 2007 than 2006. I know in Old forge Crossing there was a drop of about 23 sales less in 2007 than 2006 and the other sales were probably in Chesterbrook. The price range most affected here was $150-250,000.

Another interesting point is that sellers are getting just a little less than they were in 2006 in relation to their asking price, this number falling by about only 1%. Days on market did seem to increase for houses, not so much for condos; there also are fewer homes on the market, by about 10% for houses and 20% for condos which may account for the lesser increase in days on market for condos.