Real Estate Information Archive

When you think about preparing for an emergency, we’re sure you and your family are well taken care of. But if you count pets as part of your family, you need a specific plan catered just for four legs.

Pets have their own specific needs, even in times of disaster. And first responders are obligated to help people and may not even have training in animal rescue and handling, which means you need your own pet-friendly action plan in case of emergency. Here are some guidelines to follow to make sure your pets are prepared.

Display Rescue Notifications

Get a Rescue Alert sticker for your home. This will help emergency responders identify the pets you have in your home. Best of all, the rescue alert notification is free from the ASPCA.

Keep Pets Calm

Make sure your pet feels safe during a storm. Prepare a smaller area for pets, such as the bathroom or a covered crate — with all their favorite toys and extra bedding — where they can hide and feel safe. Also, close curtains or shades and play classical music or turn on a white noise machine. For super nervous pups, invest in a ThunderShirt, which offers a calming pressure.

Watch Exits Carefully

If your pet seems nervous during a weather-related disaster at home, be sure to watch entrances and exits. Make sure your skittish pets can’t dash out the door.

Prepare An Evacuation Kit

Prepare an evacuation kit so you have everything you need in a disaster. Some things to include:

• A pet first-aid kit and guide book (ask your vet what to include)
• Three to seven days' worth of canned or dry food
• Litter and disposable litter trays or paper towels
• Liquid dish soap and disinfectant
• Disposable garbage bags
• Non-breakable pet feeding dishes
• An extra collar or harness, and leash
• Toys and chew toys
• Photocopies of medical records and a waterproof container with a two-week supply of medicine
• Bottled water (at least seven days' worth for each person and pet)
• A traveling bag, crate or carrier
• Flashlight and backup batteries

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.

Earlier this year, we said that we expected the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to rise to 5%. For a while, we appeared clairvoyant. Rates took flight in May and continued to gain altitude through August. Many credit-market participants were expecting the Federal Reserve to begin tapering support for low interest rates beginning in September, thus rates ran up in anticipation of the event.

But as September approached, we become more circumspect on the Fed actually tapering. The economic data were simply too negative, pointing to continued low job growth and low inflation – two variables that carry considerable weight with the Fed. We even came out and predicted that the Fed was unlikely to begin tapering. We were one of the few market watchers who expected quantitative easing – purchases of mortgage and Treasury securities – to continue unabated.

Many market watchers now expect the Fed to begin tapering early next year; we're not so sure. Unemployment remains stubbornly high and economic growth remains stubbornly low. Little progress has been made on either front for most of 2013. By all indications, we don't expect much progress to be made in the near term.

In other words, we expect the Federal Reserve to continue to keep mortgage lending rates low. Of course, we can't say they will remain low through 2014, but we see them remaining low through at least the first quarter.

In the recent past, we've said that there was little impetus for the rate on the 30-year loan to fall meaningful lower. We'll amend that to say that we wouldn't be surprised to see 4% – a meaningfully low rate – on the 30-year loan before the end of the year.

Courtesy of 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.

You may have bought an older home for its history and character, but that character can come with a few maintenance surprises. If your house is over 35 years old, you could be dealing with unique issues that don’t plague the newer-house crowd. Fortunately, these issues are easy to deal with if you know the warning signs.

Note: If your home was built before 1950,  it’s considered “Pre-War,” and was built with materials like wood, masonry and stone. Contact a professional before doing any major repairs to make sure modern materials will work for the job.

Here are 5 home maintenance curveballs you could be facing in an older home:

1. Pre-1940s: Grade Issues and Moisture Problems

Before the 1940s, moisture issues were typically dealt with by simply building the house off of the ground – typically about 24 inches up. Over time, however, a house can level and can now be sitting firmly on the wet, moist ground. These grading issues can lead to leaks and other moisture problems. If you haven’t had your home’s grade inspected by a professional, doing it now could save you from costly repairs in the future.

2. Pre-1940s: Steel Pipes

Steel pipes were common in pre-war homes, but they are susceptible to rust, clogging, bursting and low-water pressure (a.k.a. a huge headache for you). Professionals recommend a pipe replacement if you have steel plumbing. It sounds like a big job, but it’s better to change them out now than deal with any moisture problems or a burst pipe fiasco!

3. Pre-1960: Drafty Windows

Before the mid-century modern craze took flight, windows were typically made from wood, which means they frequently become drafty. These leaks could be costing you big bucks on your energy bill, so do a thorough window inspection to make sure air isn’t sneaking in (or out).

4. Pre-1970s: Fuse Boxes Instead of Circuit Breakers

Older homes typically have fuse boxes instead of circuit breakers, and some even have more than one fuse box. If this is the case in your home, do a thorough test so you know which box controls which area of the house. Also, always have extra fuses handy in case of a power outage. Fuses are inexpensive and can be found at any hardware store, so it’s best to stock up now before the lights go out!

5. Pre-1978: Lead Paint

In 1978, the U.S. government banned lead in paint, but before that, lead was used in almost all home paints. If you have an older home, it’s extremely important to check your home for lead-based paint, especially if you have children. Lead-based paint is dangerous if ingested, and has been linked to numerous health issues in children including nervous system damage, learning disabilities and slow growth. In adults, lead poisoning can cause irritability, nerve damage and a low sperm count. So make sure your home has been checked!

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.

We long for a return to a normalized mortgage and housing market; that is, a market before the housing boom and bust. We certainly aren't there on the mortgage side, where a normalized market would be characterized by higher lending rates, more private-market participation, and less-restrictive lending practices.

Housing is a different story. We thought we were moving toward normalization, where owner-occupied buyers' share of the market was growing. It appears we jumped the gun.

The latest data from RealtyTrac show investors are still very much in force. Institutional investors, in particular, remain a major market player. Institutional investors – REITs, private equity, and hedge funds – accounted for 14% of all sales in September, up from 9% in August. Their activity is reflected in the percentage of all-cash purchases, which represented 49% of all residential purchases in September, up from 40% in August.

Of course, we have nothing against investors, but institutional investors are a new phenomenon. In the past, investors in the single-family rental market were primarily individuals or small partnerships. In recent years, billions of dollars of institutional money has flooded the market.

Institutional investors have certainly impacted prices. We suspect their money has also lead to increased price volatility. This is something to consider should you read of institutional money entering or leaving your particular local market. When institutional money enters a market, prices can move meaningfully higher. And the opposite is true when it leaves – prices can move meaningfully lower.

Courtesy of 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.

Slowing But Still Steady

More evidence points to slowing home-price appreciation. The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) latest data show home prices rose again in August, but the rate of increase slowed. Prices rose only 0.3% in August compared with 0.8% in July, which had been revised down from 1%.

We've been warning for some time now that the pace of home-price appreciation will likely abate. Double-digit annual price increases are unsustainable for simple economic reasons: Rising prices reduce demand. At the same time, rising prices draw in more supply, which presents more buying options and more price competition.

Supply is certainly on the rise. After trending lower through 2011 and 2012, the inventory of homes for sale has trended mostly higher through 2012, according to NAR data. We shouldn't be surprised, then, that homes are appreciating at a slower rate.

As for mortgage rates, they continued to trend lower this week. Bankrate.com's survey shows the average rate on the conforming 30-year fixed-rate loan at 4.27%. Freddie Mac's survey puts the average at 4.13%.

For the past month, we've been saying we expect the 30-year loan to fluctuate between 4.25% and 4.50%. We are obviously at the lower limit of that range, and we we don't expect rates to go much lower.

We say that because credit markets are already factoring in no tapering for the immediate future. This means most market participants don't expect the Federal Reserve to reduce its monthly purchases of Treasury notes and bonds and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) this year. The good news of continued Fed support is factored into today's mortgage rates.

Unless the economy materially worsens or the Fed ramps up its monthly purchases even more (which is unlikely), there really is no impetus for mortgage rates to fall much further. Indeed, the odds favor rates rising, because as soon as the Fed announces it will begin tapering, rates will rise. Keep in mind, the Fed will have to taper one of these days.

Of course, the rate itself is only one variable in the cost of a mortgage loan. Fees are another variable, and they could be on the rise. New rules on ability to pay are slated to hit the mortgage market in January. Unless something changes between now and then, fees borrowers pay will certainly rise because costs to lenders will rise.

To be sure, lenders are fighting back with a lobbying effort, and they appear to be making inroads. But we can never be sure in matters of politics. So the bottom line is the risk of waiting for something better tomorrow outweighs the benefit of acting on today's known lower-rate, lower-cost mortgage.

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.

Between planning Halloween costumes and buying candy for trick-or-treaters, it can be tough to squeeze the creation of super crafty Halloween décor into your schedule, too. Don’t be scared of winding up with the least decorated house on the block – we’ve got you covered!

Here are five no-hassle Halloween decorations you can make in five minutes flat:

1. No-Carve Mummy Pumpkin

Materials: medical gauze, googly eyes, scissors and spray adhesive

This year, skip the knives and transform your pumpkin into an easy-to-make mummy. Wrap gauze (cheesecloth or toilet paper work, too) around your pumpkin, pop some wiggly eyes on it, and that’s it! Tip: To help the gauze stick, give the pumpkin a quick coating with the spray adhesive between each mummy layer.

2. Acorn Pumpkins

Materials: acorns, orange acrylic paint, paint brushes and a fine-tipped permanent marker

This project is great for kids! Send your little ones out into your yard to gather acorns. Once you have a nice collection of acorns, remove all of the tops. Now it’s pumpkin time! First, paint the acorns orange and let them dry completely. Then, use the marker to draw jack-o-lantern faces on the acorns. You’re done! Place them throughout your home for some finishing touches on a Halloween display.

3. Bleeding Candles

Materials: a set of tall, white candlesticks, and one small, red candlestick

Cast a creepy glow over any room with this twist on regular candles. With a little red wax, you can give the illusion that your candlesticks are dripping blood. Place the white candlesticks in holders, and light the red candle. As the red candle wax begins to melt, tip it over the white candles. When the red “blood” will drip down the sides of the white candlesticks. Tip: Prevent a Halloween disaster by doing this over a kitchen sink or outside, and be careful not to burn yourself!

4. Glow-in-the-Dark Ghosts

Materials: white balloons, a permanent marker and a few green glow sticks

Want a last-minute, frightfully fun door decoration? First, crack and shake a few green glow sticks so they’re lit up, and then put them inside of the white balloons. Blow up the balloons and tie them closed. Then, carefully draw ghost faces with your permanent marker. Attach the glowing ghosts to your front door or tie the ends with a string to hang them from your porch railing.  

5. Candy Corn Centerpiece

Materials: one glass jar or vase, flowers or lollipops and a bag of candy corn

Is something missing from your dinner table – say perhaps, a perfect (and effortless) Halloween centerpiece? Dump the candy corn into the jar or vase, then add fall flowers or lollipops to the candy to secure them in place. Tip: You don’t have to use candy corn for this! Ghost-shaped Peeps, black licorice and gumballs all work well.

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.

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.

Whenever we buy an asset, our natural desire is for that asset's value to appreciate. The faster it appreciates, the better we like it.

There is something to be said for slow and steady, though. When prices appreciate at a slower pace, they, in turn, lead to a wider, more stable market. We say that because the faster an asset's value appreciates, the faster it reduces the pool of potential buyers. The market, in short, becomes less inclusive, and frequently more volatile.

In addition, double-digit annual price gains have significantly lowered affordability. The Wall Street Journal reports that h ousing affordability hit a four-year low in August. The strong price gains we saw during spring and early summer pushed more homes out of the reach of more people.

This latest data suggest we could see a temporary slowdown in new and existing home sales in the waning months of 2013. Slower sales growth and lower price-appreciation should help recalibrate the market with more realistic exceptions. This is a good thing. As we noted last week, a return to a normalized market is the goal, and the sooner we get there the better. Courtesy of 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.

Time to Exhale

It appears a disaster was averted: The debt ceiling was raised and the federal government won't default on its debt.

We can't say we were surprised at the outcome. We mentioned last week that we thought a default was unlikely. The money was always there to make interest payments and to pay off maturing debt. In addition, there are too many politically connected constituents – banks not the least of them – for politicians to allow a default.

We also noted that “shutdown” was a misnomer. Over 80% of the federal government was still up and running. Unfortunately, the portion furloughed impacted the mortgage market. Applications for government-sponsored loans dropped by more than 7% last week. Conventional activity was similarly limited due to delays in verifying income with the tax collectors. With everyone back to work, mortgage lending should ramp up and loans should be approved in a more timely manner going forward.

When the political imbroglio began a few weeks ago, we noted that we expected the rate on the conforming 30-year fixed-rate loan to hold within a 4.25%-to-4.50% range. That's been the case. This week, Bankrate.com's survey showed the rate on the 30-year loan averaged 4.42%, while Freddie Mac's survey showed it averaged 4.28%.

We expect rates to remains staid for the next week or so. Some of the government departments furloughed were responsible for producing economic data. Since the furlough, there's been a dearth of insight into the state of the economy. That will soon change over the next week, and we should begin receiving an influx of scheduled data in short order.

In the meantime, the Federal Reserve offered some insight into the state of the economy this past week. Not surprising, nothing has really changed: Economic growth remains sluggish. In the Fed's Beige Book, a report released every six weeks, worlds like “modest” and “moderate” peppered the text, as they have in previous releases for much of 2013.

Of course, the private data providers continued to function. On that front, FNC's Residential Price Index shows housing prices moved higher by 0.6% in August to post the 18 th month of consecutive gains.

We've been warning over the past month that the strong price gains we've seen over the past two years will soon abate. Looking ahead, we expect price data providers CoreLogic, Case-Shiller, and Zillow to start reporting slower month-over-month gains.

A point worth emphasizing is the hotter the market, the greater the likelihood of reduced price growth. Another point worth emphasizing – one we've emphasized previously – is that slowing price growth isn't bad. We want to get back to the way real estate has historically functioned in most markets – slow, steady, with low volatility.Courtesy of 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.

Close your eyes. Picture your dream bathroom. What do you see?

Do you know how much it would cost to make your vision a reality? Can you really afford heated flooring and double sinks? What about a claw-foot bathtub? The answer is YES – if you budget properly!

No matter what your perfect bathroom includes, this guide will help you decide where your dollars should go. So, stop daydreaming and start budgeting!

Before you begin, nail down the total dollar amount you’re comfortable spending. Remember, 40-50 percent of a remodeling budget is often spent on labor and installation costs. Here is a good way to break down the other 50 percent of your costs:

Spend 20% on Plumbing Essentials

It’s important that your new bathroom is functional, so choose the best quality for the essentials – toilet, drains and showerhead. Be ready to set aside about 20 percent of your overall budget for these. Tip: Don’t forget about energy efficiency during your remodel! Look into low-flow showerheads and LED lights to save water and electricity (and money on your utility bills)!

Spend 10-15% on Surfaces

Your surfaces truly determine the "look" of your bathroom, so pay attention to the following pieces:

1. Cabinetry. We recommend spending a decent amount of your budget on solid cabinetry and hardware. Remember, you’ll be opening these babies up almost every day, so you want them to be durable!
2. Flooring. When you’re floor shopping, make sure it’s slip-resistant in some way (it will be your biggest ally against bathroom accidents)! Any other detail – color, material, etc. – is up to your personal taste. The price of flooring depends on the material, and can range from vinyl (least expensive) to stones like ceramic or slate (most expensive). Tip: For a spa-worthy addition, (or if you live in a region with incredibly cold winters), consider spending a few extra dollars on heated tile.
3. Tile.  Don’t want to break the bank on retiling your bathroom? Do this: Save the “wow” factor of fancy tile designs for areas of the room that will see the most action. For example, the sidewall of the shower doesn’t need the same type of pricey tile as your vanity backsplash.

Spend 5-10% on Countertops

Ask yourself: how many people in your household will be using the bathroom? If you have multiple people sharing one bath, you may want to opt for a low-maintenance, affordable countertop surfaces. That way, you’ll get more surface area for less cash.

Spend 5% or Less on Decor Details

When it comes down to it, the feel and look of your new bathroom will come down to the details like art and color. The easiest place to start is with wall color. For an idea on what types of paint are worth splurging on, read: How Much Should You Pay for a Can of Pain.

Optional: Set Aside an Additional 20% as a Buffer

Some remodeling projects end up costing more than their original budget. Give yourself some wiggle room! Once you have your total, add an additional 20 percent to your budget. This extra money will cover any unexpected costs.

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.

It appears investors have finally had their fill. In many housing markets, sales volume and price appreciation have been driven by investors. Their activity was reflected in a high percentage of all-cash transactions. The number of these transactions has dropped noticeably over the past few months, particularly in popular investment markets like Las Vegas and Phoenix.

We will likely see a continued decline in investor activity going forward. This means price appreciation growth will continue to slow. We've mentioned in recent months that the days of double-digit year-over-year price appreciation are nearly over. Investors were a major contributor to price appreciation; their leaving the market will surely impact prices.

This isn't bad news. Stability is an important variable in a healthy market. When expectations are calibrated to how the housing market has historically operated, more people will be willing to buy and sell a home. The market in total will become more fluid – buying, selling, and financing will become an easier and more predictable process.

So embrace slower price growth, because it ensures a more stable, more profitable market in the long term. More important, it instills less speculation and a higher degree of certainty, which is what we all want when we attempt to accurately gauge the outcome of a major purchase like a home.

Courtesy of 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.