Real Estate Information Archive

Did the Employment Numbers Seal the Deal?

Everyone's talking interest-rate hike after the blowout employment numbers for October. Payrolls surged by 271,000, handily beating all economists' estimates. October saw the strongest monthly payroll gains since last December. The surge in employment, in turn, dropped the unemployment rate down to 5%, the lowest it has been since May 2008. 

Job gains were realized across a wide swathe of the economy. Professional and business services lead the way with a 78,000 gain. The sub-component of temporary help services – a leading indicator for future hiring – was up a robust 25,000. What's more, everyone now working has, on average, a little more money to spend. Wage growth for October increased 2.5% year over year. 

When employment takes flight, interest rates are sure to follow. Indeed, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note spiked nearly 10 basis points when the employment numbers hit the wire last Friday. As the 10-year note goes, so too goes mortgage rates. Rates rose to a four-month high over the past week. For much of October, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was quoted below 4%. Today, it's regularly quoted above 4%. 

Lenders are obviously pricing in a rate increase at the next Federal Reserve meeting, to be held on Dec. 16. More traders are also pricing in an increase. Federal funds rate futures contracts are priced with a 68% probability that the Fed will raise the fed funds rate next month.

So, it appears our streak could be ending. We've been saying since the beginning of the year that we don't see a fed funds rate increase until 2016. As recently as last week, we affirmed that opinion. But as a famous quote attributed to economist John Maynard Keynes goes, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?” We change our mind. We'll concede that a rate increase is more likely than not come December. 

That said, more likely isn't synonymous with inevitable. If consumer price inflation remains muted and if gross domestic product growth is revised downward, we could easily see the probability of a rate increase fall. The deal isn't done yet. 

Until then, we expect to see 4%-plus quotes on the 30-year loan. If the Fed decides again to kick the can down the road and postpone a fed funds rate increase, rates will very likely reverse course.

And if the Fed does raise the fed funds rate, that doesn't mean rates are going higher still.  When the Fed made its other major policy change – to systematically withdraw from quantitative easing two years ago – rates ran up until the time the Fed begin to withdraw. Rates than drifted lower by a full percentage point over the subsequent year.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Ever heard the phrase “happiness is an inside job”? It’s true. We can all stand to bring a little more joy into our lives, and it turns out our hard-earned cash can help us get there. Yes, that’s right: You can buy happiness. According to a new book called Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending by Harvard professor Michael Norton there are ways spending can increase your bliss with cash.

Don’t run out and buy that new X-Box just yet! According to an article in Time magazine about the book, it isn’t the act of shopping that brings joy. Rather, it’s the strategic way you spend, and the mindful reflection on that spending that will bring happiness.

To boost your bliss try one or more of these ideas:

1. Buy Experiences

According to the article, 57 percent of Americans reported that purchasing an experience made them happier than buying something material. It’s not necessarily because the experience is so fun. Rather, this is because you can reflect on and think about your “money well spent” for long after the experience is over.

This is because of a phenomenon called adaptation. No matter how excited you are about your new thing you recently bought, you’re going to get bored of it over time and it will lose its glitz.

So what can you do at home? Well, anything. Here are a few ideas:

Throw a Puzzle Party. Puzzles are making a comeback, particularly interesting puzzles that can parlay into framed art. Buy a puzzle you find interesting (we like this Clementoni Senecio 1000 Piece Paul Klee Jigsaw Puzzle for $21 on Amazon) and invite a few family members or friends to join you. For the 21 and up crowd, bring a few brews or a bottle of wine to the table. Play some music. Have fun! Once it’s complete, consider framing it (this jigsaw puzzle frame is $23).

Note: If you want to keep the fun going, don’t feel pressured to finish the entire thing in one sitting. Twice the parties, twice the fun!

Host a Mashed Potato Social. Throwing a dinner party doesn’t have to break the bank! We love the idea of a mashed potato social, because it’s quirky enough to be memorable, and potatoes currently sell for about $2 per pound. Throw some cream, butter, milk and salt into your grocery cart and whip up a batch of “perfect mashed potatoes.” For the party, lay out a few classic toppings like chives, butter, bacon and cheese buffet style. For a whimsical touch, serve your potatoes in sundae glasses (this set of 12 is only $41!). Friends and family will have fun building their own potato sundae, and you’ll have potato-filled memories to make you smile.

2. Make It A Treat

When it comes to romance, we’ve all heard “distance makes the heart grow fonder.” Well, the same concept is true for purchases. According to the article, knowing you can’t have access to something all the time may help you appreciate it more when you do. (Think holiday treats.) How can you trick yourself into savoring a treat? Make it a special occasion! Here’s an idea:

Sunday Night: Ice Cream Night. If ice cream makes you happy, deny yourself the sweet treat six days a week. Then, fight the Sunday scaries by allowing yourself to indulge in the deliciousness of a cup or cone at home on Sunday evening. You’ll think about the ritual all week long and may even enjoy Sunday nights a little bit more!

Note: If ice cream isn’t your thing, find something that is! Maybe it’s a Sunday night hot wings tradition, or brownie night. Whatever the treat is, make sure it’s something you truly enjoy.

3) Buy Time

According to the article, people with “free time” are more likely to exercise, do volunteer work, and participate in other activities that are linked to increased happiness.

But who has enough time when chores aren’t done, dinner isn’t made and emails aren’t read? We get it. To give yourself some breathing room, hire help! You work hard for your money, and money can be used to buy “free time,” by outsourcing the demands of daily life such as cooking, laundry, cleaning, and even grocery shopping.

Hire a Pro. First, think about the task that makes you die a little inside when you do it. That may be laundry, or it may be cleaning the toilet. (Everyone has a most-hated task!) Then, visit Angie’s List to find a pro that will take that task off of your hands.

The key here is to not waste your newly created free time. Fill the minutes or hours you would have spent doing the deed with something that will make you smile, like volunteering or reading a book to your kid.

4) Pay Now, Consume Later

Thanks to credit cards, many Americans are on the “enjoy now, pay later” train. Switch it up! Delay can enhance pleasure not only by providing an opportunity to develop positive expectations, but also by enhancing what is called the “drool factor.”

Think about bacon and a dog. If you give a dog bacon without any build-up, he’ll enjoy it, sure, but if you wait and hold it out, he’ll drool and beg for it. You want to drool to really experience pleasure.

So, do this:

Save for Something Awesome. This is the one exception to the “don’t buy things” rule. For example, if you’ve been daydreaming about an X-Box, start a savings plan to help you buy it. It doesn’t matter if you have money in the bank that wouldn’t be dented with the purchase right now – the point is to make you wait!

So, say you want the X-Box, which costs about $400. Lay out a savings plan - say $20 a week - and ceremoniously place the $20 in an envelope or special savings account. When you have enough cash, buy the box! The anticipation you’ve felt bringing the item home will make it that much sweeter.

5) Invest In Others

There’s a reason gift-giving is considered a love language. According to the article, people who spend money on others are measurably happier than those who spent money on themselves — even though there were no differences between the groups at the beginning of the day! So make someone else smile and you’ll feel the effects, too.

Here are a few ideas:

Do Their Chores. We love this idea, because it’s free to you! If everyone in your household has different chores, surprise a loved one, roommate or friend by taking care of their task. Don’t let them know it’s happening! Just do the dishes, take out the trash or walk the dog and then casually mention it when they begrudgingly move to do their chore. They’ll be pleased, you’ll feel happy and everyone wins.

Bring Home a Treat. At the end of a long day, chocolate is always a good idea. Next time you head home from work, grab a sweet treat to surprise a loved one or roommate. It doesn’t have to be expensive - a $1 REESE’S from the gas station will do! Then, as they eat their treat, sit with them and talk about their day. (Or if it has been awhile, their week.) They’ll feel appreciate and you’ll get all of the feels, all for less than the price of a cup of coffee.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Speaking before Congress this week, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said that a rate hike is a "live possibility” next month, if the economy advances as Fed officials expect. Fed officials meet again on Dec. 16.   

A couple questions: What's a “live possibility” as opposed to a dead possibility? What are Fed officials' expectations for the economy? It's all a black box really; something for them to know and for us to find out later. As is so often the case, Fed officials rarely enlighten when they try to explain. 

What do the traders think? They seem to have bought into Yellen's rhetoric, as equivocating as that rhetoric might be. Traders in federal funds rate future contracts are pricing these contracts with a 60% probability the Fed will raise interest rates next month.  A week ago, the probability was at 30%.  

So is it likely the Fed will raise the fed funds rate for the first time in over nine years? More important, is it likely mortgage rates are going to rise, and keep rising? 

We'll stick to our guns: We've been saying since January that a fed funds rate was unlikely in 2015. That said, the next time around is the last chance for us to be proven wrong. Fed officials might do something just for appearances. After all, they've been leading the market on for the entire year. A rate increase has always been just around the corner. Sometimes you do something just to save face. 

Mortgage rates appear to be pricing in the potential for an increase. For most of last week, rates held steady, and even drifted slightly lower. This week has produced a noticeable move higher. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is near a 30-day high. Despite the rise, the 30-year loan is still regularly quoted below 4%. That could change over the next month, or even the next week. To err on the side of caution, more lenders could continue to price in a rate increase. 

That said, we don't see rates continually ratcheting higher, even if the Fed does raise the fed funds rate. For one, the increase will be no more than 25 basis points. What's more, 2016 is an election year. Fed officials are reluctant to raise rates when the two major political parties go to battle. The Fed wants to remain as politically neutral as possible. Therefore, whatever occurs on Dec. 16 could very well hold over the ensuing 12 months. 

The impetus is for mortgage rates to move higher over the next 30 days, but we don't think they will move egregiously higher. However high rates rise, Dec. 16will likely be the high-water mark. After Dec. 16, we could see rates drift lower again.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Most Everything Down

A slow week on the news front, and what little news there was wasn't especially good. 

Initial indications show that economic growth in the third quarter was nothing to write home about. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth posted at 1.5% on an annualized rate. This is considerably slower than the 3.9% growth posted in the second quarter. Admittedly, economists weren't expecting much – most expected growth to post lower than 2% – but what we got was even lower than most estimates. 

Residential investment was the noticeable bright spot in the GDP numbers. Investment continues to trend positively, having increased 6.1% for the third quarter. That said, we still need more of it. Residential investment currently runs at 3.5% of GDP. Historically, it runs between 4% and 5%. 

GDP growth could be crimped further by fewer home sales. The Pending Home Sales Index dropped 2.3% in September. The drop was due primarily to one of our frequent laments: Insufficient starter housing and starter housing that's expensively priced. The dearth of lower-end sales is pulling down the overall index. More important, it continues to pull down first-time buyers. 

Finishing the trifecta, mortgage applications posted lower last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that both the purchase and refinance indexes fell 1%. Given the recent uptick in mortgage rates, we don't expect to see a pickup in activity when the MBA reports for this week. Still, application activity all around remains significantly elevated compared to this time last year. 

But will mortgage application activity remain elevated? The Federal Reserve is once again front-and-center and could alter the current market dynamic. We explain below.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

According to a recent BrightNest survey, almost 60% of people sleep in dirty linens – they don’t wash their bedding every week.

Doesn’t seem like a big deal? Keep this in mind: You spend 1/3 of your life in bed. Some of those times you’re probably naked. Nakedness leads to excess dust. And excess dust means you could be shacking up with as many as 10 million dust mites.

That’s a little gross in general, but these mites can also ruin a good night’s sleep by triggering allergies. And your bed isn’t the only place in the boudoir collecting dust!

Make sure you always get a great night’s sleep by cleaning the following 8 spots:

1. The Bed

If you do nothing else on this list, get in the habit of washing your sheets every week.

Like we said before, between catching Zs and making whoopee, your bed is a dust mite paradise because they love the dead skin you’re shedding. To keep dust mites at bay, wash your sheets once a week on high heat.

Tip: If once a week is a lot to handle, try lining your bed with a hypoallergenic mattress protector under your regular sheets. This will provide an extra barrier between dust mites and those delicious dead flakes falling off of your body.

2. Houseplants

There are a lot of advantages to having houseplants in the bedroom (Don’t believe us? Here are eight of them!) But, there are also a few drawbacks. Namely: Dust. To keep your plants dust-free, take your plant outside and give it a light, warm shower with the hose every few weeks.

3. Dresser Drawers

Most people have at least one "miscellaneous" drawer. Stuff goes in, but nothing comes out! To keep dust from piling up inside these catchalls, rotate your drawers like the tires of a car every 2-3 months. While the drawers are out, throw out any items you haven't worn (or seen!) in the past six months.

4. Blinds

Fact: Blinds do two things well. Keep out light and collect dust. Blinds can be tricky to clean because they’re ultra-thin. Instead of half-cleaning them with a dry duster, grab a baby wipe. With the wet cloth in hand, rub your hand along the length of the blind. (It helps if you put on a little Beyoncé.) Tip: Check out some more ways you can use baby wipes around the house.

5. Ceiling Fan

Have you checked out the top of your ceiling fan lately? It can turn into a dust haven, especially during the winter. Tip: If your ceiling fan is directly above your bed, take your sheets off of the bed before you dust. That way, you can vacuum any fallen dust off the mattress.

6. Window Screen

If you ever open your bedroom window to air things out, you should also clean your screens every 3-4 months. Nothing crazy: just remove the screens, run the vacuum hose over them, and then wipe both sides down with a damp dust sheet. Tip: If you're vacuuming near a window anyway, why not run the hose over the screens for a mini-dusting?

7. Electronic Devices

Snuggling up in bed to watch Scandal or Game of Thrones on a big TV is all any of us really want, right? The last thing you probably want to do is venture behind that TV to clean. But, lurking among the wires is a lot of dust. To get rid of it, spray into your devices' cooling fans with air spray. Bonus: Not only will you eliminate dust from a problem area, you'll extend the lives of your electronic devices.

8. Closet

Your closet is like dust's cozy hideaway vacation home. During the summer, that heavy coat you’re storing in the closet is basically the equivalent of a Cancun excursion (for dust, anyway). To shoo dust bunnies away, keep your closet organized and store off-season clothes the right way.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Hooray for bumpy sweaters! Let’s put all our knitware on wire hangers and revitalize the mid-80s style of lovely shoulder pads.

Oh. Wait. Is that not a cool look anymore? Good to know. No problem, no problem at all. Switching gears…

You can get rid of sweater bumps in a snap – all you need is an ice cube and a paper towel.

Here’s how:

Save Your Sweater with an Ice Cube

When you realize you’re rocking a sweater bump, grab an ice cube. While wearing the sweater, run the ice cube vigorously over the area until the fabric is damp (but not wet). Depending on how thick your sweater’s material is, this will take 15 - 45 seconds.

Then, lightly press a paper towel or dry cloth over the wet spot, which will press the fibers back into place. As the water dries, the fibers will shrink and your knitware will return to its normal, fashionable state.

Prevent Bumps by Using Your Drawers

Ok, now that the bump-crisis has been averted, prevent future problems! Hangers are usually the problem, so clear out a few drawers and fold your wovens. If drawer space isn’t an option for you, place a shelf specifically for sweaters in your closet.

Love Hangers? Try the Bump-Be-Gone Bendable Hangers

If you can’t stomach the idea of ditching hangers, try the Bump-Be-Gone Bendable Hangers. While they’re slightly more expensive than your average hanger ($30 for a 4-pack), your clothes can hang in your closet for months without a crease or bump.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

Are you familiar with the name Hyman Minsky? We didn't think so, but the name is worth knowing. Minsky was an economist who wrote a short, but influential, monograph titled “The Financial Instability Hypothesis” 20 years ago. In short, Minsky hypothesized that the longer the good times roll, and the stronger the roll is, the likelihood for a catastrophic turnaround increases. Think what occurred to housing around 2008. 

Housing has been on a strong run for the past five years. To be sure, much of the run has been a matter of reclaiming ground lost after the housing bubble burst, but it has still been a strong run.  So, does this mean we're anticipating another housing-market correction? No, we think the market remains healthy. We don't see the speculative fervor that lead to the bubble that formed a decade ago. That said, we think it's a good idea to keep in mind where we are and where we've come from over the past five years. 

Few people were imploring people to look at housing to the degree we were post-2008. We still think housing is worth a look today. We just think it's worth being a little more discriminating while looking.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

The Best-Performing Sector in the Economy Today

Home builders are downright spunky these days. Optimism runs rampant. The latest Wells Fargo/NAHB Sentiment Index posted at 64 for October. This is the highest posting since 2005. (A posting above 50 tilts sentiment toward optimism.) Things are good today, and they're good for the immediate future. The current sales component of the index, the most heavily weighted component, rose three points to 70. This means the immediate outlook for new-home sales is strong.

As for the longer-term outlook, it looks like blue skies ahead. The permits component was up seven points to 75. This means home builders are expecting strong starts and sales for the next six months.

As for starts today, they continue to ratchet higher. Starts jumped 6.5% to 1.206 million units on an annualized basis in September. This is nearly double the number of starts we saw four years ago. Multi-family units lead the charge. They spiked 18.3% to 466,000 units for the month. The good news is that we're still seeing gains in the larger and more important single-family component. Here, starts rose 0.3% to 740,000 units.

Now, combine rising construction activity and rising sales volumes with rising stock prices, and it's easy to understand why so many home builders are so optimistic. The S&P Home builders ETF (NYSE: XHB) is up 134% compared to 73% for the S&P 500 Index over the past five years. From the depths of the recession, March 2009, the XHB is up 270% compared to 170% for the S&P 500.

On the financing end, mortgage rates continue to provide a strong tailwind for anyone looking to buy or to refinance a home. Freddie Mac's latest survey shows borrowers across the country are getting sub-3.9% on a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Borrowers who prefer a shorter-term loan are seeing the 15-year fixed-rate loan hover around 3%.

We think rates will hold these levels through November, and possibly through the rest of the year. We're sticking with our January 2015 prediction – no Federal Reserve interest rate hike for 2015. Fed officials meet next week and futures traders are betting only a 5% chance for a rate increase. Looking to December, when the last Fed meeting of the year will occur, traders are betting a 30% chance.

Getting a low-interest rate loan is nice, but it's even nicer when the process gets easier. Fannie Mae recently said that it will allow lenders to use employment and income information from a database maintained by credit bureau Equifax. For loans Fannie Mae buys, this means it won't require the traditional documentation of physical copies of pay stubs and tax data. 

Anyone considering a loan should consider acting sooner than later. Application volume has been volatile lately due to the new lending disclosure rules under TILA-RESPA. Last week, purchase activity spiked 16%, while refinance activity was up 9%. Given the expected rise in new and existing home sales, we expect lending activity to rise too.

Information provided by Jessica Regan.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

What’s better than Thanksgiving Day? You get to kick back, relax, and fill yourself to the brim with turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Then, you can flip on the football games and embrace the impending food coma. It may be awesome, but this day of indulgence isn’t free! Whether it’s triple-digit calorie counts, rage-inducing airport delays or a big bill from the plumber on Black Friday, you may be spending more than you think on Thanksgiving.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

Search all Harrisburg PA homes for sale.

When you are buying or selling property in today's Harrisburg PA real estate market, it's important to have confidence in your real estate professional. Don’s commitment as your Harrisburg PA REALTOR® is to provide you with the specialized real estate service you deserve.

When you are an informed buyer or seller, you'll make the best decisions for the most important purchase or sale in your lifetime. That's why Don’s goal is to keep you informed on trends in Harrisburg PA real estate. With property values continuing to rise, real estate is a sound investment for now and for the future.

As a local area expert with knowledge of Harrisburg PA area communities, Don’s objective is to work diligently to assist you in meeting your real estate goals.

If you are considering buying or selling a home or would just like to have additional information about real estate in your area, please don't hesitate to call me at (717) 657-8700, complete my online form, or e-mail me at don@donroth.com.

The costumes are all put away and the best of the candy has been eaten. Halloween is over. So, what are you going to do with your pumpkins? Nobody wants to be the one house on the block that lets their jack-o-lanterns rot on the stoop until Thanksgiving, but you don’t have to toss them in the garbage right away, either! Here are seven fun things to do with your old pumpkins.

Carved Pumpkins

Carved pumpkins will rot quickly, so it’s best to get them off your stoop and put them to work as soon as possible.

Compost It

Pumpkins are full of nutrients, which makes them a great fertilizer. Just make sure you remove the seeds before you add them to your compost pile (unless you want baby pumpkins cropping up in your garden next year).

Bury It

No compost pile? No problem. Simply bury your jack-o-lantern in your winter garden. It will decay quickly and enrich the soil.

Share It

You may be done with your jack-o-lantern, but the leftovers are a delicious snack for animals like deer, squirrels and birds. Place your pumpkin in a spot where you don’t mind a little wildlife activity and let the feast begin.

Uncarved Pumpkins

If you didn’t use a knife on your pumpkin this Halloween, there’s a ton you can do with it now. However, only cook and eat your leftover pumpkin if you used non-toxic paint and materials to decorate it.

Make Pumpkin Puree

This is an easy and popular pumpkin dish. Simply cut your pumpkin in half or in quarters, scoop out the seeds and guts, and place your pumpkin face down in a baking dish that’s filled with 1 cup of water. Bake for 90 minutes or until the pumpkin flesh is tender, then scoop it out and puree it in a food processor. You can use this to make pumpkin pie, cake, muffins or bread!

Eat The Seeds

If you’re looking for a healthy snack to munch on for the rest of fall, look no further than your pumpkin! All you need to do is wash, drain and toast the seeds, then add the seasoning of your choice. For specific instructions, try this recipe from FitSugar.

Turn It Into A Planter

Post-Halloween pumpkins make for a unique addition to your winter garden. To convert it, cut a large hole at the top and hollow out the center. Then drill a small hole at the bottom for drainage and fill the pumpkin half-full with potting soil. Add some seasonal plants like pansies or thyme, water thoroughly and enjoy your seasonal planter!

Prepare For Thanksgiving

One fall holiday is over, but there’s another one right around the corner. Upcycle your Halloween pumpkin by turning it into a Thanksgiving centerpiece! As long as your pumpkin wasn’t damaged or munched on by animals during its stint on your doorstep, it should last for a few months before it starts to rot. If you want to give it a nice shine and preserve it better, rub some Vaseline into a rag and buff the surface.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

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