Marty Millner

Archive for the 'Solebury Township' Category

A detailed look at the Real Estate market in Yardley, Newtown, and all of Bucks County

It’s time to take a detailed look at how the real estate market is performing, in Yardley, Newtown, and all other Bucks County areas, that I cover.
It is interesting to look at the Bucks County real estate update, and realize that we now have information for the first half of 2010.  

Some observations, Bucks County wide real estate, first.

• Through June, sold/closed units is positive, compared with last year, in 7 of 8 of our principal markets, as well as for all of Bucks County.
• County wide the increase was 22.9%
• Real estate prices were actually up by 5.2%, through the first half of the year, for the entire County.  Refer to the chart, to see how each municipality did.
• For all of Bucks County, the pricing momentum actually declined from May.  It went from a 6.8% increase in May to June’s 5.2%
• The best forward looking indicator we have, is pending sales.  Probably due to the expiring tax credit this June, pending sales for Bucks County, was down 32%, compared with June of last year.  Surprisingly, it was 4 % higher than at the end of May.
• Inventory of homes, is higher now, than it was at the end of May, County wide.  However, compared with June, last year, inventory levels are down, County wide.
• Bucks County wide, there remains a 10.5 month supply of homes on the market, which is better than it was last year, at the same time, but still indicating a strong, buyers market.
• Average days on the market, remains higher in most markets, than last year.
• Average list price of homes in inventory, at the end of June, for the County, was down just slightly from last year. (-0.8%)
• Discounts off of the asking price, are actually showing an improving trend.  Overall, buyers are achieving approximately a 7% discount from the opening list price of the current listing contract.

Each of the real estate markets that I cover, performs differently.  Lets look at real estate in Lower Makefield & Yardley, for now.  I will review Upper Makefield Township, Newtown, Northampton, and others, in furture posts.

Lower Makefield Township, Yardley real estate observations.

• Inventory of homes for sale in June 2010 was 238
• Inventory of homes for sale in May 2010 was 223
• Inventory of homes for sale in June, 2009 was 253.
• Average price of a home for sale in June 2010 was $514,000.
• Average price of a home for sale in June 2009 was $526,000.
• 163 Homes sold through June of 2010, at 93% of the asking price.
• 97 Homes sold through June of 2009, at 91% of the asking price.

There remains an 8.9 month supply of homes on the market, in Lower Makefield Township.  Since we consider a balanced market to exist, when there is about a 6 month supply of houses, conditions still favor buyers.

Average days on the market are now 79 compared with 70 last year at this time.  Competition remains a challenge to sellers.  Now, more than ever, it is critical to price homes correctly and market aggressively, if you are to sell.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments, and I will post additional details on other communities, in future posts.

Solebury, PA Bucks County-Come and Celebrate Spring 2010 with the Bucks County Audubon Society!

Come and Celebrate Spring 2010 with the Bucks County Audubon Society!

Got cabin fever? After this past winter, who doesn’t!    So why not Celebrate spring Saturday, March 26^th from 6:30-9:30 p.m. with the Bucks County Audubon Society. They are hosting a “Cabin Fever Feast 2010” and are hosting the First Taste of Spring at Honey Hollow!

Enjoy a garden setting, live music, and delicious feastings from area restaurants, wineries, catering companies, dessert shops, and coffee houses! There will even be live and silent auctions!

So get rid of your cabin fever! Come on out to the Bucks County Audubon Society at 2877 Creamery Road in Solebury from 6:30 until 9:30 p.m. Relax, enjoy the weather, make some new friends, and enjoy great food! Tickets are $75 per person, and you can reserve your parking space earlier for $10 per car. Purchase your tickets today here or by calling 215-297-5880.

Bucks County, Pa 2009 Real Estate market recap

Now that 2009 has ended, we can beging to examine what happened to the real estate market, in the various communities that I serve, in Bucks County, Pa.  For my first post, examining market trends, entering 2010, I thought it could be helpful, to take a look at a chart that shows per year price appreciation (or depreciation) in markets that I serve, as well as throughout the county.

The table below, tracks very specific year to year appreciation, along with units sold, in various municipalities in Bucks County.  It is interesting to see, that the markets all are different.  For example, looking at Lower Makefield Township, prices declined by 6.7% in 2009, while in Newtown Township, prices dropped by 3.7% in 2009.


 

For all of Bucks County, prices dropped by 6.8% in 2009. 

These statistics are based on houses that sold, and they include all homes other than condominiums. 

In future posts, I will be taking an in depth look, at market statistics, in the Yardley, Newtown, Upper Makefield, Buckingham, and Solebury areas.

If you have any questions, or would like any clarification of this information, please contact me.

Peddler’s Village Apple Fest set for November 7-8

If you are looking for a great place to spend a fall afternoon, head up to Peddler’s Village , this weekend. 

November 7 & 8 will mark the 38th annual festival.  It will run from 10:00 to 6:00.  Admission and parking are free. Check out www.PeddlersVillage.com for details.

Local orchards will be on hand, for anyone looking to take home apples.  There will cooking demonstrations, as well as music, jugglers, and stilt walkers.

Peddler’s Village , if you are not familiar with it, is a group of about 40 unique stores and shops, and is always a fun destination.  It is located at Routes 202 & Street Road, in Lahaska.  It is about 25 minutes from Yardley.  Check out this video, for highlights of last years apple festival.

If you go, please let me know if you enjoy it.

Warrington, Pa., Bucks County – Winding Brook Farm Autumn Family Fun Activities – Through October 31st, 2009

I feel like since the weather is about to get colder out, that I need to visit every outdoor event this fall.

Well, here is another great event being held by Winding Brook Farms in Warrington, Pa.  The “Amazing” Corn Maize, Hay Maze, Li’l Peepers Hayride, Pumpkin Patch, weekly entertainment, concerts and more.

CORN MAiZE: A 5 acre maze to test your skill! Come see our design this year, created by Brett Herbst, founder of The Maize, LLC. These guys are the leading corn maze design/consulting company in the world. Expect 30 minutes or more to complete the maize. A trivia question “passport” can help guide you through the maze, if answered correctly. In the event of defeat, they have “corn cops” to show you the way out. How fun!

HAY MAZE: A labyrinth of hay bales towering above your head. It will take a few minutes to wind your way through this puzzle. Kids will love to enter numerous times, at no additional charge.

LI´L PEEPERS HAYRIDE: This is an evening hayride with Family Friendly Halloween Scenes. The hayride lasts approximately 30 minutes and is suitable for all ages.

PUMPKIN PATCH: A walk-to-patch, free of charge, is available. Or take a hayride to the pumpkin patch where each person can pick their perfect

They have also launched a Haunted Hayride this year called “Night Chills” and have a combo ticket for that with their Corn Walk of Horror for $25. This is for the family members who prefers their Autumn entertainment of the “spine-chilling” variety. The Haunted Hayride runs through 10/30. The duration is approximately 30 minutes.

See their website for ticket prices and combination deals. Some events are free with purchase. Tickets are also available at the farm on event dates.

Call me if you have question or just come out and enjoy the fall weather.

Yardley, Newtown, Pa, Bucks County. Many Halloween Events around the Area– October 1, 2009 to November 1, 2009

Bucks County. Many Halloween Events around the Area– October 1, 2009 to November 1, 2009

It is that time of year again! Halloween Hayrides, some very scary, some not as scary, you can take your pick.

Shady Brook Farms has something for everyone. Come early in the day to take a hayride to the pumpkin patch and then stay around in the evening for the Shady Brook Farm’s “Horrorfest”.  Horrorfest has four thrilling attractions such as the Hayride of Horror, Barn of Horror, Alien Encounter and Deadtime Stories Corn Maze. You can check times and buy tickets online at Shady Brook Farms.

A great hayride for the family is at Active Acres.  Here you can ride to the pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkins. Enjoy pony rides, the corn maze, farm animals and more.  It is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3:30pm through October 26^th.

We have all heard of and hopefully have toured the Eastern State Penitentiary.  The Halloween attraction, “Terror Behind the Walls” is back with the New Infirmary now open. Voted #1 Haunted House in America, don’t miss the chance to be inside the 11 acres abandoned prison. Visit the Easter State Penitentiary “Terror Behind the Walls” for more information.

Come out to the Grand Opening weekend of the Valley of Fear and The Original Haunted Hayride here in Feasterville, PA.  Or if you can’t make it this weekend, you have plenty of opportunities as they will be open every Thursday through Sunday from October 1 to October 25 and then daily from October 27^th to November 1^st. There are three main attractions for you to see. First is the Original Haunted Hayride. Second are the Miles Manor and One Eyes Willy.  Third is the Valley of Fear. Visit the Valley of Fear website and print off an opening weekend coupon for 3 attractions for the price of two. You can also purchase the Fear Pass or VIP Fear Pass only which will let you skip to the front of the line on all three attractions.

What a great way to spend time outside before the weather turns cold.  If you need more information, please call me.

Are realtors doing business in Yardley, Newtown, Lower Makefield Township, Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County?

Thought it might be interesting to give everyone a brief overview of how my business has gone, over the past few weeks.  We all know that our market, for sellers has been pretty tough.

I currently have houses on the market that are priced from the low 200,000’s to over 5 million!

I have houses on the market in both Bucks County and Mercer County.  Over the past couple of weeks,  we have accepted offers on the following properties:

• 3 Eaton Court, in Newtown.
• 4 Highfield Court, in Lawrence Township, NJ.
• 615 Lauren Circle, in Lower Makefield Township.
• 1784 Jockey’s Way, in Lower Makefield Township.
• 16 Glen Stewart, in Ewing Township, NJ.

The asking price of the above properties, ranges from the low 200,000’s to 845,000.  Please note, that although offers have been accepted, we are still waiting for all of the above homes to actually go to settlement.

On the buyer side, I represented buyers who are purchasing a home in Upper Makefield Township, Solebury Township and my son and his girlfriend, who are first time home-buyers, buying in W. Bradford Township. 

In general, from a personal perspective, it does appear as though things are getting a bit more active.  The majority of my listings are seeing more traffic, and more serious interest.  It is actually unusual, for August. 

If you have questions about the market, or are curious about the value of your home, please contact me for a market snapshot report, that is available at no cost, by email.  The report will detail, everything that is active, pending and sold, within about a 5 mile radious of your house.

Yardley, Newtown, Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County tax appeal update

Just  a very short post, for today, regarding an upate on the property tax appeal process for Bucks County.  I really appreciate the calls and emails, regarding the previous posts that I have done, about how to file an appeal of your proprety taxes.

I wanted to let everyone know, that the deadline for filing, is August 3rd.  The only thing that is required to meet the deadline, is to go to the tax assessor website, and download the form.  Complete the form, and indicate that information will follow.  You don’t have to have all the information together, at this time.  You just have to file the form on or before the 3rd.

You will then get a hearing date. 

Another important note, you must attend the hearing on the date scheduled.  As far as I know, they will not continue the hearing if you are not present. 

Another observation, after speaking with many people, is that perhaps the easiest way to get detailed information for the appeal, is to hire an appraiser.  An qualified appraiser will generate a very detailed report, that will substantiate a current value that will be lower than your current assessed value, assuming you have a valid case.  It generally costs about 400 for an appraisal.  Please contact me, if you need to find an appraiser.

Bucks County, Yardley, Newtown Pa, tax appeals

As a follow up to my post yesterday, regarding the process of appealing property tax assessments, I saw that in the Bucks County Courier Times this morning, there was an interesting article about a large group of home owners in a specific neighborhood, who decided to appeal their property tax assessments. 

The neighborhood is called, “Bluestone Creek“, and it is in Warrington Township.  It is a newer developement, and many of the owners found, after moving in, that their tax assessments were based on values that were more than what they paid.  As I pointed out in my post, yesterday, property taxes are unfavorably skewed against newer construction. 

Home owners in this neighborhood, saved an average of 900.00 each, with their successful appeals. 

As I observed yesterday, in my post, this article points out that it is not a complicated process to appeal your property taxes in Bucks County, if  you feel that they are not fair, based on other homes of comparable value.

Property Taxes Too High in Bucks County? What to do about it.

I recently saw an article in a Mercer County, NJ newspaper, about the number of commercial property owners in Mercer County, who are unhappy with the property taxes they are paying.  Given the challenges that municipalities are facing with budgets right now, the last thing they need are property owners trying to lower their taxes.

The article raised an intersting point, as it relates to property taxes specifically in Bucks County.  With regards to property taxes in Bucks County, there are often relatively large differences between the property taxes that are paid on similarly valued properties.  I often refer to this as inequities in property tax base.  Theoretically, 2 houses that are worth exactly the same, that are in the same area, meaning that they are in the same County and Township, should pay the same property taxes. 

In fact, in Bucks County communities, we often find that the above is not the case.  The reason for that, is that there has not been a County wide reassessment, in decades.  As a result,  assesments on individual properties, can be skewed.  As a general rule, they are unfairly biased against newer construction.  That means that relative to value, newer houses generally pay more in property taxes, than older houses of comparable value.  So the question is, are your taxes fair, relative to the value of your house, and if not, can you do anything about it?

In fact, it is relatively easy to appeal your property tax assessment, if you feel that it is unfairly high, relative to other houses of comparable value.  Many home owners are not aware of the fact that they can appeal the property taxes that they are paying.  The process is actually quite simple.  All you need to do, to start the appeal process, is to complete the property assessessment appeal form, which is available on the Bucks County website and present it to the Board of Assessment Appeals office at the Court House in Doylestown.  You will need information regarding property taxes of similar homes, in order to make your case.  I can assist with gathering that information.

Another option, which is even easier, is to contact an attorney who specializes in filing tax appeals.  I recently had a friend/client, who succeeded in an appeal in Lower Makefield Township, and saved several thousand dollars a year, on their property taxes.  They hired an attorney, who took the case on a contingency basis, and took a percentage of the first years savings, as the fee. 

If you would like more information about this process, or would like me to help you with gathering the information, please contact me at 215-519-1399, or send me an email.