A note from Brendan Reilly
Greetings! My newsletter covers local and national real estate trends to keep you abreast of current conditions. If you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell a property in Suburban Philadelphia, I would love to help!
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Local Market Summary
For the first time in over 2 years, we saw pending sales decline in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. Settled units also experienced negative year-over-year growth in Chester and Delaware Counties. This comes on the heels of double digit settlement growth in all three counties for each of the past 2 years. The primary culprit is lack of inventory. In real estate, a 6 month supply of inventory is considered balanced. Anything less is a seller's market meaning demand outpaces inventory. We are at or below 6 month's supply in all three counties. If you've been thinking of selling, now is the time!
Existing-Home Sales Drop in January While Prices Continue to Grow
Existing-home sales fell in January to the lowest level in a year-and-a-half, but ongoing inventory shortages continue to lift prices in much of the U.S., according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Total existing-home sales dropped 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million in January from 4.87 million in December, and are also 5.1 percent below the 4.87 million-unit pace in January 2013. Last month’s level of activity was the slowest since July 2012, when it stood at 4.59 million. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said unusual weather is playing a role. “Disruptive and prolonged winter weather patterns across the country are impacting a wide range of economic activity, and housing is no exception,” he said. “Some housing activity will be delayed until spring. At the same time, we can’t ignore the ongoing headwinds of tight credit, limited inventory, higher prices and higher mortgage interest rates. These issues will hinder home sales activity until the positive factors of job growth and new supply from higher housing starts begin to make an impact.” The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $188,900, up 10.7 percent from January 2013. According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 4.43 percent in January from 4.46 percent in December; the rate was 3.41 percent in January 2013.
Home Values Expected to Rise Through 2018
A majority of more than 100 forecasters say they expect large-scale investors to sell off the bulk of homes in their portfolios in the next three to five years, boosting inventory and potentially contributing to a smoother market ahead. On average, panelists also say they expected nationwide home value appreciation of 4.5% through the end of this year, a pace that exceeds historically normal appreciation rates of around 3 percent. This appreciation is expected to slow to roughly 3.8 percent in 2015 and 3.3 percent by 2018. Based on current expectations for home value appreciation during the next five years, panelists predicted that overall U.S. home values could exceed their April 2007 peak by the first quarter of 2018.
Pennsylvania's top high schools ranked by SAT score
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has updated its database to show average SAT test scores statewide for 2013. The state provides each public high school’s verbal, math and writing scores. The Philadelphia Business Journal added up the scores and ranked schools. The Philadelphia area was well represented on the list and a local school even took the top spot.
Click through to see the top 50 schools.
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