Residential markets in Philadelphia, PA and its surrounding suburbs tend to be more conservative. Our local market has seen its share of price increases over the past couple of years however, at a lower rate than other parts of the country. We are not insulated from downward market conditions, but a more controlled upswing often translates into a less severe downswing. It’s important to recognize that national news coverage of the housing market does not necessarily reflect local activity. The Philadelphia area has many submarkets. These submarkets may include specific counties like Montgo ..read more

Because of current COVID-19 concerns, many prudent appraisers, and property owners are not completing appraisals with a traditional, interior walk through. In many cases, state and local “shelter in place” orders don’t permit this type of appraisal. In response to these restrictions, appraisals completed with an exterior only viewing of the home, and even appraisals with no physical visit to the property (often called “desktop appraisals”), are emerging as viable alternatives. In this blog post, I will examine the strengths and weaknesses of these appraisal products. One might wonder how an ap ..read more

There are several reasons why someone may want to get a real estate appraisal: Buying or selling a property: If you are buying or selling a property, an appraisal can help determine its fair market value, which can be useful in negotiations and setting a listing price. Financing: If you are financing your purchase or refinancing your existing mortgage, your lender may require an appraisal to ensure that the property’s value is sufficient to secure the loan. Estate planning: If you are planning your estate, an appraisal can help determine the value of your property for tax purposes or for divi ..read more

The spring real estate market is quickly approaching. This can be good news for both buyers and sellers. The summer months typically bring higher sale prices to sellers. It also brings a better selection of homes to buyers. To illustrate seasonal variances, I will use statistics from Montgomery County, PA. I reside in Montgomery County and complete many house appraisals in this county. The graph below charts median sale prices for homes in Montgomery County, PA over the past 10 years. Regardless of overall trends, this chart shows a definite drop in median sale prices during the winter months ..read more

The past couple of years have been crazy! We have seen a combination of few homes offered for sale, and strong buyer demand. Buyers have had difficulty finding a home to purchase at any price. The result has been rising home prices. Recent increases in mortgage rates have reduced some demand. The higher cost of financing a home pushed some buyers out of the market. High home prices are even higher when you factor in financing costs. A key statistic is the inventory of homes offered for sale. Appraisers look at this as a gauge of the home market’s health. Months of inventory reflects how many ..read more

Every appraisal order begins with a customer consultation. This is an in-depth discussion of the home, and the purpose of the appraisal. Any method of communication can be used for this step of the process. The purpose of the consultation is to find out how the appraisal can help you. The consultation will aid in the understanding of the intended use of the appraisal. Different uses have different reporting requirements. An appraisal used to settle an estate often needs a value estimate as of the date of death, rather than the current date. Even if this period is short, the valuation date ..read more

We’ve all seen recent news articles about the slumping residential real estate market. These articles mostly reflect national trends. Real estate is very local, so let’s take a look closer to home. I have chosen to focus on Montgomery County, PA, an area I work heavily in. The first thing I will examine is the volume of current listings. This will help show us where the market is at. Is it a sellers’ market with a lot of buyers competing to purchase just a few, scarce listing, or is it a buyers’ market with numerous sellers trying to attract just a hand full of buyers? You can see in the abov ..read more

People are often asked what town they live in. In the Philadelphia suburbs, this question is more difficult than it appears. How this question is answered can have a large impact on the appraisal of your home. Pennsylvania is divided into 67 counties. The role of the county includes services such as law enforcement, judicial administration, public health, property assessment, community colleges, and public libraries. The county also has taxing authority. At a more local level, the state is subdivided into 2,561 municipal corporations. With the exception of the Town Of Bloomsburg, these munic ..read more

For this market overview I will get even more local. One of the key factors driving suburban residential real estate markets is the school district they are located in. I will examine the Colonial School District. Communities located in this district include: Plymouth Meeting, Conshohocken, Lafayette Hill, and portions of Flourtown and Fort Washington. The chart below shows the median sale price of a single family residence in the Colonial School District over the past year. Sale prices have remained relatively stable. Let’s look further to see how homes in the Colonial School District com ..read more