Nick & Trudy Vandekar

Just finished reading a commentary on a survey on the new HVCC from NAR. As I blogged recently in Why are Appraisal firms using appraisers from way out of the Area we have had two appraisal issues in the last week. I also heard from agents whilst out this week that they are having problems, so the issue is current right here in Pennsylvania with appraisers from out of the area being used and not understanding the development, the homes or the pricing in the area.

So rather than improving the appraisal situation from the commentary the survey implies the situation is worse, with longer delays, and lower quality and higher prices for consumers.

As I said in my last piece when appraisers cannot even get the square feet of a property right and compare same models and attribute different sizes there is a problem with the quality of people being used.

So what have you been finding with your deals recently?

Last week we needed to go up to Lowes at Oaks and as it was a great weekend weather wise and it was our wedding anniversary we decided to find somewhere for breakfast on the way. We wanted somewhere different and a little funky. As Phoenixville could be on our way if we took backroads we thought we might find somewhere good to eat.

We drove up over the hills and coming along Whitehorse Road to the junction with Route 23 I spy the Bookend Cafe out of the corner of my eye and through the buildings from the junction. I point it out to Trudy and she says looks great lets give it a try. So we pulled into the parking lot and liked what we saw.

The food was great, and good enough that I went back this week with two of my sons for lunch and found out a little more. It has been open since November last year and the chef is the owner. He has cooked in Exton at the Brickside Grill I think and left to open a restaurant with a friend when that fell through he relaized that he wanted his own place and settled on Phoenixville where he lives and I believe grew up.

Well he is doing a great job. The tables don't match, there are books to read if you have the time, newspapers for shorter visits, serve yourself coffee and other drinks in the fridge. The food is filling and well cooked and generous. My daughter in law to be, had pancakes and could not finish them and we all were impressed with their size and how moist and fluffy they were. Can recommend the breakfast sandwich, the Reuben, the Italian, Quiche of the day, and the cookies and brownies look great but have not tried them. Coffee tastes good as well.

They also have wireless internet, if you want to get out of the office, but still need to work. What we liked is people talk to each other and there is a really nice atmosphere. The blackboard has the specials of the day. great place to try if you need breakfast or lunch, only open till 3 PM. Did I say it has also been on NBC 10 for lunch place of the day.

I was asked by a friend to give a short talk last night at a seminar on downsizing and one of the things he wanted me to touch on specifically was trends in the market,

So turning to Trend I pulled up the most recent statistics for Chester County as most of the attendees if not all were from Chester County. Average price of homes has dropped about $20,000 between the last quarter of '08 and first quarter of '09. There were 470 more homes on the market and this number is expected to increase. Number of homes that sold in the quarter was down by 150 about 16.5%,not surprisingly days on market increased by 13 to 96.

Comparing year to date sales to the end of April for the last three years was again an overwhelming negative view of the market settled units compared to 2007 are down by 40%, average settled price is down by $50,000, median settled price is down also by $29,000, settled volume is down by 48%, with sold price being 91.32% of the asking price. Now this last number is always a little skewed as realtors relist to keep their selling price to listing price high so they do not appear to not know how to price homes correctly, something our MLS has not sorted out yet although days on market is now an accurate number if you look at marketing period.

Whilst this news is overwhlemingly negative there are some positive points, homes are still selling, mortgages are available, mainly to those who truly qualify, another post on this will follow and when priced right and marketed correctly you can get a home sold well within the days on market number shown in the statistics. So don't despair just make sure you use a realtor who is tech savvy, understand internet marketing as more than 84% of buyers are now searching on line before and even whilst using a realtor.

For example we had a customer call about one of our listings because his wife found it on the internet, their agent, who is a good agent said she had shown them all the properties in that development but had missed it in the MLS, they were about to make an offer and wanted to see the home, which we were able to set up for them with their agent that day although there was 24 hour notice. Now let's hope they will like it enough to make an offer.

I recently attended an orientation meeting at our local Regus office complex and hosted a breakfast there for people who might be looking for homes.

What I like about the local office located in Berwyn on route 252 is the offices are modern, well laid out with everything you might need. Plus they have options that if you need to travel on business give you access to offices worldwide. They have a host of office sizes and the most modern data services you might need, you can bring your own copier or use their state of the art model. All in all it is a good deal when you are looking to start a business and need space that looks professional and also gets you out of the office. There are no long term commitments and they are flexible as you grow to adapt to your needs.

If you are inteested in setting up an appointment give me a call and I can make the introductions. Locally they have space in Berwyn, King of Prussia and Conshohocken, each location has their own feel and design and one may appeal to your more than another. I like the Berwyn office but that may be because I am European and the modern design is what I like personally.