Too often, the focus of a real estate deal is whether it gets done or not. There are times deals get done at the expense of everyone's happiness and sanity. The lesson is that a deal's success relies on how satisfied a client is no matter how the sale turns out. I have often said that "Habit" and "Ego" can be the greatest enemies of a good idea. I was soundly humbled and reminded of my words during a recent real estate transaction. The Story It was a happy day for my sellers and me. We received a full-price offer on their home. There were a couple of things to consider - a mortgage commi ..read more

The real estate industry has an ongoing problem with transparency, especially regarding representation and sales commissions. November 2020, the Justice Department filed an Antitrust Case against the National Association of Realtors® to Repeal and Modify Certain Anticompetitive Rules. Let's have a look at the outcome and how it may affect consumers. When something seems more complicated than it should be, there is often an underlying purpose. Ever since I can remember, there has been confusion about who represents who in a real estate transaction. If that weren't enough, try and figure ou ..read more

It is that time again - A new year is upon us, so we reflect on the year that was 2020 and see what it can teach us about 2021 and beyond. Without further adieu, let's have a look at the numbers. Available Homes For Sale (Inventory) To have a housing market, you need houses that are for sale. Over the past several years, the inventory of available homes for sale has crept ever lower. In 2020, 6,056 homes hit the market, which was less than the 6,450 listed for sale in 2019. The low volume of listings paired with high demand forced home values to climb. According to Bright MLS statistics ..read more

We have all become very aware of how great real estate photos help when marketing a home for sale. Those same photos can also help keep a home sale moving in the right direction. The internet has certainly changed the way Realtors® market homes. The internet has had a tremendous impact on real estate photography. It was not that long ago when a home buyer came to a real estate office to comb through questionable black and white home photos in an MLS book looking for one that they desire to tour. Today that same home buyer can get on their computer or mobile device and see many color photo ..read more

In real estate and other businesses, we often depend on relationships to get things done. 2020 Has undoubtedly put pressure on many of those relationships. It is essential to remind ourselves that forgiveness, empathy, and compassion are crucial to what really matters. Recently, a good friend of mine, who is also my go-to mortgage lender for over 27 years, shared some interesting insights. He said that people throughout his mortgage firm were literally at each other's throats daily. The managers were spending their day issuing group emails to personnel, encouraging them to be civil. In my ..read more

The mantra of real estate value has always been "Location ~ Location ~ Location." While this is still true, Declutter ~ Declutter ~ Declutter may not be far behind. It is no mystery that most homeowners have lots of stuff. As the years march by, their homes get filled with things they may never use again but have too much sentimental value to be cast away. Most Berks Countians would agree that we are a sentimental bunch and tend to keep things we know should have been discarded years earlier. Now it is time to sell that Berks County home, but there is one problem - You cannot find it thro ..read more

Every four years, we Americans vote to see who will hold the highest office in the land. It is interesting to look back and see how the Reading-Berks real estate market has fared since the last election. Please note: this is a non-partisan statistical look at local home sales figures and in no way an endorsement of any political party or campaign. The passage of time seems to happen without notice. Occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays are reminders of the special events of our lives. Then there are those events that do not occur yearly but over broader lengths of time. On ..read more

Be careful how much you depersonalize your home when preparing to sell your home. You could be sending the wrong message. Getting a home ready to be seen by the masses is no easy task. It’s important everything looks good and is working properly. I think most would agree that a clean, well-decorated home will sell for more money in less time. But is there more to it than that? Maybe so. Homeowners preparing to sell often ask me what they can do to enhance or improve their property. Most times they are already aware of the many tasks they need to perform to present their home at a higher ..read more

Three quarters of the year 2020 have passed. It is now October and time to look at what has happened in Reading, PA, and Berks County real estate and see what fortunes quarter-four may bring. To say 2020 Has been interesting might be the understatement of the year. As real estate goes here in the Reading-Berks area, the story continues to be the low inventory of available homes and its effect on prices. January 2020 started pretty benignly with the median home sale price pegged at $160,000. Roll the calendar to September, and the median price ballooned to $196,500, an increase of 22.8 ..read more

Signing documents has never been a favorite activity for most people. I think homework may even rank below signing documents. The 10 page, 21 section, 253 questions Pennsylvania Seller Property Disclosure Statement offers home sellers the task of doing both. Picture the unwitting home seller in a dark smoky room with a bright desk lamp glaring down on them as the document completion interrogation ensues. What do you know about your home? What do you remember? Do you actually live here or not? Tell us everything you know then sign and date the bottom of each page, please! Okay, enough with th ..read more