by rtdosen | Aug 6, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
A Mid-Year Review for Chester County Real Estate By Ryan Dosen The first half of the year is in the books and the Chester County real estate market appears to be doing pretty well. The sales numbers for Keller Williams Brandywine Valley are up significantly from last year and my real estate team just had its biggest month on record. However, our business represents a relatively-small-but-growing subsection of the entire market. And you know what they say about appearances. They can be deceiving. So let’s not make any assumptions. Let’s take a step back and look at the mid-year numbers for Chester County’s real estate market. Home Settlements Up 12.3 Percent Suburban West Realtors Association reports that Chester County year-to-date home settlements are up 12.3 percent so far in 2015. June home settlements in Chester County were actually up 13.4 percent from last June’s numbers. June was Chester County’s biggest month for home settlements in 2014, with 677 total units changing hands. This June easily topped last year’s high and the market is well ahead of last year’s overall pace. Pending Home Sales Up 17.9 Percent According to Suburban West, Chester County pending home sales (homes that are under contract, but not yet settled) for the month of June were 12.7 percent higher in 2015 than in 2014. The year-to-date pending home sales numbers are even better. Pending home sales in Chester County for 2015 are almost 18 percent higher than they were at the same time last year. With the number of homes under contract for settlement being significantly higher this year, we will continue to...
by rtdosen | Aug 6, 2015 | Ryan Dosen Real Estate Articles
5 Things to Know about the Second Half Housing Market By Ryan Dosen Half of the year is in the books and we are seeing many promising signs for continued improvement in the real estate market. With the back nine still left to play, National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun recently released NAR’s second half forecast and discussed a few interesting things we all should know about the current and expected conditions of the economy and housing market. Here are the highlights…. 1. Home Sales Hitting Pre-Recession Highs As discussed in last week’s column, pending contracts to buy existing homes have hit a 9-year high, new home sales have hit a 7-year high, and housing permits to build new homes have hit an 8-year high. Existing-home sales also recently hit their highest mark since 2009, when the homebuyer ($8,000) tax credit had been in place. Though the credit is no longer in place, the economy has improved and the market is rebounding nicely. This return to pre-recession levels of activity is definitely a positive sign for the housing market. 2. GDP and Jobs Growth Expected, Despite Sluggish Wage Growth Yun forecasts that GDP will grow by 2.5 to 3 percent in the second half, allowing for more job creation. He also says that a total of 2.5 million net new jobs are likely to be created this year. While expecting solid job growth in the second half, Yun warns that part-time jobs are too high and that incomes are rising at a “sluggish” 2 percent rate. However, he also forecasts that wages should rise...
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