January 2015 Newsletter

Market Snapshot by County

Chester  2013 2014 Change
Settled 5,755 5,621 (2.3%)
Pending 307 296 (3.6%)
Inventory 2,604 2,315 (6.9%)

Delco   2013 2014 Change
Settled 5,200 5,092 (2.1%)
Pending 237 321 23.7%
Inventory 2,685 2,759 2.8%

Montco   2013 2014 Change
Settled 8,362 8,215 (1.8%)
Pending 446 502 12.6%
Inventory 3,408 3,703 8.7%

In the News...

County taxes will remain the same in 2015

Chester County - The Chester County Commissioners approved a $522 million 2015 budget that decreases overall spending and keeps property tax rates the same. In approving next year's budget, the commissioners set the property tax rate at the same level it has been since 2013 - 4.163 mills.
Delaware County - Delaware County's $338.5 million 2015 budget holds the line on real estate taxes for the first time since 2011, maintaining a millage rate of 5.604 mills. The county anticipates generating $168 million from property taxes, a $1.2 million increase from 2014.
Montgomery County - Montgomery County Commissioners passed a budget with no increase in county property taxes for 2015. The property tax millage rate in Montgomery County is 3.152 mills.

Radnor BOC averts tax increase for Ardrossan open space purchase : The Radnor Board of Commissioners has decided not to increase real estate taxes by 0.15 mills to fund the open space purchase of Ardrossan Farm in 2015.
Although the township borrowed $9.885 million through a bond sale and closed on the deal to buy 71 acres of Ardrossan for $11.6 million, a change in the structure of the bonds and lower interest rates will allow township officials to delay a tax increase and pay the first year’s cost out of the township’s open space fund. “The bond financing has been tweaked so that the first year payment will not require a millage increase,” said board President Elaine Schaefer. “We will be deciding what the millage will be at the end of next year. There will be no Ardrossan tax increase this year.” Source: Suburban Main Line Times;

Radnor approves conditional use for Villanova dorms, performance space, parking garage : The Radnor Board of Commissioners approved a $350 million plan, one of the largest development plans in the township history, for Villanova University.
The school plans dormitories with 1,135 beds, a performing arts center, a parking garage, retail and restaurant space on what is now a 13-acre parking lot on the south side of Lancaster Avenue. Area residents have followed the process with trepidation, citing concerns of increased traffic, stormwater runoff, noise and light pollution. The university has countered by saying their plans would bring more than 1,000 students back onto campus, thereby reducing traffic. In addition, Villanova plans to erect a pedestrian bridge across Lancaster Avenue at Church Walk to enhance safety. Source: Suburban Main Line Times;

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate down to 4.8%: The Department of Labor & Industry released its monthly jobs report, showing a decrease in unemployment for the fourth straight month and the ninth decline overall in 2014.
Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined to 4.8 percent in December, three-tenths of a percentage point lower than November. December's unemployment rate in the state is the lowest since March 2008. The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania continues to look much more positive than the national average, which currently stands at 5.6%.

Judge says Tredyffrin violated Clean Streams law
Tredyffrin Township is being required by the PA Department of Environmental Protection to replace a leaky pipeline that has resulted in three sewer line failures since 2012.
The requirement is being enforced by Chester County Common Pleas Court Judge Jacqueline C. Cody, who recently declared that the township and its Municipal Authority had violated the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law during each of the three sewer line failures. The first leak from the sewer line occurred in early 2012, followed by two massive ruptures in 2014. During the pipeline ruptures in February and March 2014, Tredyffrin Township discharged approximately 21 million gallons of untreated sewage directly into Valley Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River that flows through Valley Forge National Historical Park. Valley Creek has been designated as an "Exceptional Value" stream - the state's highest water quality classification - by DEP. The settlement includes a penalty of $110,500 against the township. The consent decree also includes a schedule requiring replacement of the pipeline, known as the "Valley Creek Trunk Sewer Force Main," beginning in early 2016. Recent inspections of the 36-year-old pipeline have revealed areas of severe deterioration. Source: Daily Local;

Radnor passes 2015 budget, introduces tax increase for open space:
The Radnor Board of Commissioners passed a $32.1 million general fund budget Monday that does not call for a tax increase, but also voted to advertise an ordinance that would increase taxes to help pay for the open space purchase of 71 acres at Ardrossan Farm. Commissioner Elaine Schaefer announced a special meeting on Dec. 22 at 4 p.m. to adopt the final Ardrossan millage increase. The entire budget totals $44 million, according to William White, township finance manager. The millage rate of 3.7511 mills remains the same for the general fund. A homeowner at the median level with real estate assessed at $264,710 pays the township $993 in taxes for the general budget, White said outside the meeting. That resident at the median would then see a $39.71 tax increase for open space. Schaefer praised the township staff and the Citizens Audit Review & Financial Advisory Committee [CARFAC] for their help with the budget and the level of transparency of the township finances, which are available on its website. Source: Suburban Main Line Times;

Estate preservation ordinance considered in Lower Merion: The Haas family recently announced their intention to donate Stoneleigh, the family estate in Villanova, to the Natural Lands Trust.
The 39-acre property, with formal gardens designed by the Olmstead brothers, the landscape architects who designed New York's Central Park, would be maintained as a nature preserve open to the public. By a separate arrangement, the Stoneleigh mansion would become the headquarters and archives of the non-profit Organ Historical Society. Special zoning would be needed from Lower Merion in order to accomplish these goals and the Haas family has petitioned the township to adopt a zoning code amendment to create a new permitted use. Source: Main Line Times;