According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, both foreclosures and bankruptcies are down in the region!

Continue reading to learn more about what this may mean for area home buyers.

Pittsburgh PA Real Estate

Here’s the lowdown on foreclosures on the Pittsburgh area real estate market:

• Between 2009 and 2010, bankruptcy filings in Western Pennsylvania fell from 13,552 to 13,117.
• And between October 2010 and October 2011, bankruptcy filings fell from 1,058 to 843.
• From January to October 2010, there were 3,014 homes lost to foreclosure in the Pittsburgh region.
• Comparatively, there were 2,157 homes lost to foreclosure during that same period in 2011.
• Nationally, home foreclosures dropped 31 percent between 2010 and 2011, from 3.31 million in 2010 to 2.27 million

Pittsburgh PA Homes

There are many possible explanations for why the region is seeing a drop in foreclosures.

One possibility is that fewer people are having to go into foreclosure since more and more banks are offering loan modifications at the request of the national government.

For instance, the Home Affordable Modification Program has been helping those homeowners whose monthly mortgage payment exceeds 31 percent of their gross income with loan modifications for years.

As of September, 856,974 homeowners nationally had received a permanent modification through HAMP.

Currently, about 16,642 Pennsylvania homeowners had received a HAMP modification, with 1,848 of those coming from the Pittsburgh metro region.

On average, those homeowners that use a HAMP modification receive a median savings of $278 each month.

Another possibility for why foreclosures are falling in the area is extended unemployment benefits.  These benefits give residents more confidence that they can ride out the storm and keep their home after all.

Whatever the reasoning behind it is, the recent decrease in Pittsburgh area foreclosures is great news for area home sellers.

That’s because a disproportionate amount of foreclosures on a housing market tend to drive down values.

This makes it more difficult for home sellers to get the price they want for their home.

So as the number of foreclosures on the Pittsburgh real estate market start to dry up, sales prices will likely start climbing.

Pittsburgh PA Properties for Sale

For more information on how foreclosures may be affecting your Pittsburgh area home sale – or for tips in general about how to effectively navigate the Pittsburgh real estate market, contact me, Jim Dolanch.

While you’re at it, make sure to check out some of my helpful Pittsburgh home selling resources, such as:

• For Sale By Owner
• 10 Common Seller Mistakes
• Free Home Evaluation

Until next time,

Jim

According to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the sale of $1 million-plus homes has been steadily increasing in the area.  And those numbers are expected to continue rising!

Continue reading to learn more about this developing trend on the Pittsburgh housing market.

Pittsburgh Real Estate

Here’s what the latest Pittsburgh housing market data from RealStats recently revealed:

• From January to October 2011, 58 houses sold for $1 million or more in the five-county Pittsburgh region.
• Comparatively, 55 homes sold for $1 million or more in all of 2010.
• And in 2009, only 44 homes sold for $1 million or more during the whole year.
• In recent years, 2006 and 2007 saw the highest number of sales of new and existing million-dollar homes with 64 and 62 respectively.
• Since 2000, 508 homes have sold for $1 million or more in the 5-county Pittsburgh region.
• Allegheny County saw the most sales with 402, followed by Westmoreland, Washington and Butler counties with 41,32 and 29 $1 million sales respectively.

Experts say there are a number of reasons why the sale of $1 million homes in the area is increasing, including low mortgage rates and low profit margins for builders.

Whatever the reasoning is, the recent trend is good news for home sellers in all price range.

After all, the more million dollar home sales there are, the higher the median sales price will be in the region.

With a higher median sales price, home sellers will have more freedom to set the price they want on their Pittsburgh area home.

Pittsburgh Homes

If you’re considering listing your home on the Pittsburgh PA market, contact me, Jim Dolanch.

As your Pittsburgh REALTOR, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have as well as provide you with such helpful home selling resources as:

• Free moving kit
• MOVA Assessment
• Before you list

Until next time,

Jim

Continue reading to see just how much better the Pittsburgh real estate market is doing compared to other market and why now is a great time to be a Pittsburgh home seller.

Homes for Sale in Allegheny County

Here’s an overview of the current state of the national housing market:

• From October 2010 to 2011, home values fell by 5.1 percent, to $147,900.
• Since the national housing market’s peak in May 2007, home values have fallen by 23.7 percent on average.
• Some real estate experts are predicting that home values will continue to fall by another 2 to 4 percent before the end of 2012.
• In October, homes nationally were foreclosed on at a rate of 8.1 per 10,000, which represents a decrease from the year before when the rate was 10.7
• Also during the month of October, the share of foreclosure resales in the market was 19.4 percent.
• According to Zillolw, 61 of 156 metropolitan areas saw a decrease in home values on a monthly basis.
• About 39 metropolitan areas saw an increase in home values on a monthly basis.
• And about 22 areas saw no change at all in their home values.
•  Only 10 metropolitan areas saw home values increase on an annual basis.
• Of the 25 largest metro areas, Pittsburgh was the only market that saw year-over-year home value increases.
• And of the 25 largest metro areas, Pittsburgh and three other areas were the only ones to see monthly appreciation.

Here are some housing market statistics specific to Pittsburgh:

• Home value in October 2011: $106,500
• Month to month change: 0.1 percent increase
• Year-over-year change: 0.4 percent increase
• Homes foreclosed: 2.7 of every 10,000 homes
• Foreclosure resales: 8.5 percent

Listing Your Pittsburgh PA Home

Given the recent market data, the Pittsburgh PA real estate market isn’t in nearly as bad of shape as other major markets in the country.

That should be comforting words for those home sellers who may be feeling a little discouraged about national housing market news lately.

For expert advice on how to effectively market your home on the Pittsburgh real estate market in this economic climate, contact me, Jim Dolanch.

I’ll also provide you with a number of tools to help you get the best price on your home in as little time as possible.  These include:

• Before You List
• 10 Common Seller Mistakes
• Free home evaluation

Until next time,

Jim

Not only did home sales increase but so did the median sales price in the city.

Continue reading to learn more about what the latest data on Pittsburgh real estate activity revealed.

Pittsburgh Area Properties

The end of 2011 proved to be rather favorable to Pittsburgh area home sellers, as evident by data recently released by RealStats, a real estate information company:

• During the month of November, home sales in the area increased by 10.7 percent when compared to November 2010.
• There were 1,803 home sales in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler,  Washington and Westmoreland counties in November.
• In 2010, there were 1,629 home sales in the same area.
• In Allegheny County, home sales jumped 15.7 percent year-over-year.
• Home sales increased anywhere from 5 to 7 percent in Beaver, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
• The average sales price in the five-county area increased by 2.5 percent year-over-year, to $154,924.
• Meanwhile, the median sales price fell by 0.1 percent during the same period, to $119,900.
• Sale of existing homes increased by 11.3 percent year-over-year – from 1,486 to 1,654.
• And in November, new home sales increased by 4.2 percent year-over-year – from 143 to 149.
• The average new home price increased by 10.8 percent year-over-year – from $295,497 to $327,543.
• And West Penn Multi-List reported that the number of home sales in the area increased by about 14.9 percent year-over-year – from 1,359 to 1,562.

Listing Your Allegheny County, PA Home

As you can see, now is a great time to be a Pittsburgh area home seller.

With home prices steadily increasing, sellers are gaining more and more bargaining power when it comes to getting the price they want on their Pittsburgh home.

To learn more about how you can use current market conditions to your advantage as a home seller, contact me, Jim Dolanch, today.

While you’re at it, be sure to check out some of my helpful home selling resources:

• MOVA Assessment
• 10 Common Seller Mistakes
• Moving kit

Until next time,

Jim

While this isn’t exactly good for those home owners who plan to stay in their home for a while, it is great news for those thinking about listing their home on the Pittsburgh area real estate market.

Continue reading to learn more about what these area experts recently predicted about property values in Allegheny County.

Pittsburgh Properties for Sale

Allegheny County recently mailed out new assessments to about 130,000 property owners in the city of Pittsburgh this week.

Here’s an overview of what these reassessments tell local residents:

• The median home price in Pittsburgh increased by 49 percent between 2001 and 2011.
• In Allegheny County, the median home price increased by 42 percent during that same period.
• Overall assessed value in Pittsburgh increased from $12.9 billion to $19.2 billion.
• Meanwhile, overall assessed value in Allegheny County increased from $60.3 billion to $85.6 billion.
• The reassessment is expected to drive up real estate taxes in about half of Pittsburgh’s 32 wards.
• And in the remaining 16 wards, real estate taxes are expected to go down.

Experts say that those areas that have seen the most dramatic improvements and developments over the last decade can expect to see the greatest increase in property taxes.

Selling Your Pittsburgh PA Home

People’s reactions to a recent property reassessment can vary widely depending on whether they’re a  home buyer, home owner or home seller.

For home buyers, an increase in value means that they may have to pay more for their dream Pittsburgh home.  For home owners, it means they may have to pay more on their annual property taxes.

But for home sellers, it’s great news because it means they can list their home for a higher price than before the reassessment.

For more information on how to use the recent property reassessment to your advantage as a home seller, contact me, Jim Dolanch, today!

Until next time,

Jim

After all, both home sales and home sale prices have increased recently.

But a healthy real estate market doesn’t guarantee any homeowner a favorable outcome on the Pittsburgh  real estate market.

That’s why they must take additional steps to ensure their home is well-prepared for being shown on the market.

Continue reading to discover tips on how to successfully stage your Pittsburgh home today.

Pittsburgh, PA Homes

Here are some minor steps you can take to ensure a favorable outcome on the Pittsburgh real estate market:

• Suggest day showings:  There are shorter days in the winter and less sunlight in general.  Yet it’s sunlight that will showcase your home’s beauty the best.  Thus, try to have showings during the daytime.

• Use plenty of interior lighting as well. Make sure prospective home buyers can easily appreciate the finer features in your home by turning on plenty of lights – even inside the closets.

• Make sure parking is available. You want home buyers to be as comfortable as possible when looking at your home.  If they have to trudge through snow to reach your front door or park a block down the street, they may not form a good first impression on your home.

• Make sure your home smells fresh.  Homes can feel stuffy in the wintertime because of constantly running heaters and the lack of fresh air coming in.  Thus, consider getting a furnace to help keep air circulating throughout the house and try to avoid using overwhelmingly strong home aromas.

• Don’t Make it Too Hot in Your Home.  Given how cold it can be in Pittsburgh during the winter, it’s not uncommon for home owners to blast their heaters.  But if you make the home too warm, it can feel stuffy and uncomfortable for visiting home buyers. Aim to keep the temperature around 65 degrees.

• Don’t be Afraid to Use Holiday Accents: A few appropriately place holiday decorations can really liven up a room and make it feel more warm and inviting.  Just make sure you don’t

• Remain Optimistic.  If you’ ve been trying to sell your home for a while, we recommend that you not give up.  Generally speaking, home buyers during the winter months are more likely to buy a home since they’re considered more serious home buyers.  After all, who would want to navigate the real estate market as a home buyer during the busy holiday season unless you WERE serious about buying a home?

Pittsburgh Real Estate for Sale

If you’re trying to sell your Pittsburgh area home, I hope you found the above suggestions helpful.

And if you would like help selling your home for the best price possible and in as little time as possible, please don’t hesitate to contact me, Jim Dolanch.

As an experienced Pittsburgh REALTOR, I’ll provide you with even more tips on how you can enjoy a favorable outcome on the local housing market.

For now, make sure to check out some of my home selling tools, including:

• Moving kit
• 10 Common Seller Mistakes
• FREE MOVA assessment

Until next time,

Jim

After all, the summertime is generally the busiest time of year for housing markets around the country.

But as I mentioned in a previous blog, the home buyers who ARE navigating the market during this time of year are serious about finding a home.

And your home for sale may just be the right fit for them.

The key to optimizing your chanc of selling your home in the time you want to is staging your home for success.

Continue reading to learn more about how to prepare your Pittsburgh home for buyers.

Pittsburgh Area Properties for Sale

Here are some tips on how to stage your home to ensure that it leaves the best impression on home buyers:

• Make Minor Repairs:  In order to ensure that you get the best price for your home in as little time as possible, you’re going to want to make sure your home is in pristine condition.  Thus, before you start having any showings, give your home a mini-makeover.  This may include fixing a leaky faucet, replacing a burnt out light bulb or repairing the crack in your bathroom tile.

• De-Clutterize:  There are a few reasons why you want to get rid of all the clutter in your home.  First of all, too many things in a room can take the attention away from its beautiful design and layout.  And since you’re selling your home and not your furniture, you want to make sure the room’s layout takes center stage.  Also, less clutter makes a room look bigger. And finally, a cluttered house sends a subtle message to the buyer that you may not have taken good care of the rest of the home.  And that’s a doubt that you don’t want lingering in a home buyer’s mind.

• Organize Your Cabinets and Closets:  Home sellers should do this for the same reasons they de-clutterize the home.  And this doesn’t necessarily require a lot  of work at all.  For instance, making sure that your clothes are all hanging in the same way can make a world of difference on the overall impression a buyer gets from your home.

• Don’t Forget to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal.  The exterior of a home can make or break a first impression on a prospective buyer.   So take the time to make sure your home’s curb appeal is in top condition.  Mow the lawn, Trim the hedges, give your window shutters a fresh coat of paint, etc.

• Help Buyers Visualize Themselves Living There.  Too many personal effects strewn about your home can distract buyers from visualizing themselves living there.  While subtle accents like a set dining room table or a wreath hanging on the door create an inviting warm atmosphere, you want to make sure you don’t overdo it.

 Selling Pittsburgh PA Homes

As an experienced Pittsburgh REALTOR, I’ve seen these minor home improvements pay off significantly for area home sellers.

I hope you found them helpful as well.

To learn more about the best way to navigating the Pittsburgh real estate market as a home seller, contact me, Jim Dolanch.

I’ll answer any questions you may have as well as offer you such real estate resources as:

• E-Newsletter signup
• When to list
• 10 Common Seller Mistakes
• And more!

Until next time,

Jim

But unlike many other cities, Pittsburgh has taken a proactive step in helping those homeowners faced with foreclosure, as documented in a recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Continue reading to learn more about how Pittsburgh is helping these distressed homeowners.

Pittsburgh, PA Foreclosures

The recent article that I read discussed the federal Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program, which provided up to $1 billion to a targeted 30,000 residents across the country who faced foreclosures.

According to recent statistics:

• 1 in every 563 homes in the country faced foreclosure in October, 2011.
• Nevada was the worst off, with 1 in 180 in foreclosure.
• Comparatively, Pennsylvania fared pretty well: 1 in 1,525 homes is in foreclosure
• In the seven-county Pittsburgh area, 1 in 1,973 homes are in foreclosure

But under the federal aid program, home owners could receive a forgivable loan for as much as $50,000, without having to pay anything to the government as long as they lived in the home and kept up with their mortgage payments for five years.

Thirty-two states participated in the federal program, which was part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation. Five of those states, including Pennsylvania, already had a foreclosure-prevention program.

But the program was only able to help 11,000 people, and more than 3,000 of those homeowners came from Pennsylvania.

In fact, after the state Housing Finance Agency exhausted its $103 million allocation from the program, it was able to get an extra $5 million to help even more homeowners.

Although the federal program had plenty of critics across the nation who said that the federal program was too complex for applicants and fell short of its goal, it certainly helped a good number of people in our community.

Pittsburgh Homes

Analysts credit the state’s success rate in getting foreclosure assistance to a knowledgeable state staff.

For instance, because of the state’s Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, staff members already had experiencing in foreclosure prevention programs.

Still, state staff had to work with a lot of stipulations to help home owners qualify for federal assistance.

Those filing applications for federal foreclosure prevention assistance had to qualify for about 16 conditions, including:

• At least three months of mortgage delinquency or foreclosure documentation
• Evidence that the home owner would be able to make mortgage payments within two years
• Evidence that the home owner had lost 15 percent of their income or more because of health or unemployment issues.
• An annual combined income of less than $75,000, which is about 120 percent of the area median income for a four-person household.

Although the process may have been cumbersome,  3,056 Pennsylvania home owners were accepted into the program.

The deadline for applying to the federal program was Sept. 30.

Navigating the Pittsburgh Real Estate Market

I for one am impressed that our state was able to help so many residents get accepted into this federal assistance program.

This kind of news really should be considered great news by all.  After all, that’s 30,000-plus homes that won’t face foreclosure anytime soon.

This means there will be 30,000 less foreclosed homes on the state housing market.

And as many of you know, foreclosures drown down home prices and dilute the health of the housing market.

Thus, we all benefit when our state residents are able to get federal assistance like this.

If you’d like to discuss this recent development further to see how it may affect you as a home seller, be sure to contact me, Jim Dolanch, today!

As your Pittsburgh real estate expert, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have as well as provide you with such helpful resources as:

• 10 Common Seller Mistakes
• Before Your List
• Free Moving Kit

Until next time,

Jim

Not only are home sales up in the region, but the average home sales price has increased as well!

Continue reading to learn more about this trend on the Pittsburgh housing market, and how much it will affect you as a home seller.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Real Estate

According to a recent article in Pittsburgh Live, home sales in the area have increased by 6.8 percent when compared to October 2010.

Here’s what else the recent data revealed:

• During that same period, the average home sales price increased by 1.6 percent
• During the month of October, there were 1,987 homes sold in the five-county region around Pittsburgh.
• In October 2010,  1,860 home sold in the same area.
• Between 2010 and 2011, the average sales prices increased from $156,382 to $158,818.
• Meanwhile, the median sales price decreased by 1.6 percent from October 2010, from $125,000 to $123,000.
• And while median home sales price fell in Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties, they actually increased in Washington and Westmoreland counties.
• In October 2011, the median sales price for homes in Washington County increased from $145,000 to $155,000, when compared year-over-year.
• In Westmoreland County, prices increased from $111,500 to $121,000.
• In Butler County, median home sales prices fell from $187,500 to $187,000.
• And in Allegheny County, median price dropped from $120,000 to $117,500.
• Although over all home sales increased year-over-year in October, new home sales dropped by 2.6 percent during that period, from 151 to 147.  Experts say a drop in new home sales is a sign that the market is rebounding.
• And in October, new home sale prices dropped from $297,059 to $289,492 year-over-year, which is a 2.5 percent decrease.
• But when you look at new home sale prices from January to September and compare it to the previous year, the price actually increased by 9 percent – from $287,156 to $313,047.

Your Pittsburgh REALTORS

While the recent data may be a bit of a mixed bag as far as real estate activity in the area, overall it seems to be suggesting that the market is rebounding, given the increase in home sales and average sales prices in the area.

But to optimize your chances of getting the price you want on your Pittsburgh home as a home seller, you’ll want to work with an experience Pittsburgh REALTOR who knows the ins and outs of the market.

Contact me, Jim Dolanch, today to learn more about how I can help you as a home seller. And while you’re at it, feel free to check out these helpful resources:

• Free home evaluation
• MOVA assessment
• Free moving kit
• And more!

Until next time,

Jim

Reassessments are important to both home buyers and home sellers.  For home sellers, the property valuation affects how high of a list price they can ask for.   For home buyers, it dictates what kind of deal they may be able to get on a home.

Recently, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had an interesting article about where the county is currently at in its reassessment process.

Continue reading to learn more!

Pittsburgh, PA Properties

A staff member with Allegheny County recently said that all property assessments for Pittsburgh would be issued by mid-December, according to the recent article.

Since the county is focusing on issuing reassessments for the city of Pittsburgh, other communities and the unincorporated parts of Allegheny County are likely to get their reassessments after mid-December.

County staff calculate the reassessments by comparing appraisers’s valuations with algorithms – a process that’s known as iteration.

According to early estimates, the reassessment is likely to shake up the local housing market at least a little bit.

Last summer, the state Revenue Department said that some Allegheny County homes are selling for about 17 percent more than their assessed value.

And county staff have said that some Pittsburgh area home owners could see as much as a 20 percent jump in their assessed value in 2012.

Not only will these reassessments have an impact on home sellers and home buyers, but home owners as well.  That’s because property valuations affect county, municipal and school taxes.

Pittsburgh PA Real Estate

Although property revaluations can be a bit complicated at times, it certainly is an important topic for anyone actively navigating the Pittsburgh real estate market.

As your Pittsburgh real estate expert, I’ll make sure to keep you posted as more information comes to light about Allegheny County’s property reassessments.

In the mean time, please feel free to browse my website for helpful real estate resources.

If you’re a home buyer, make sure to check out my Successful Home Buying and my Pittsburgh buying guide.

And if you’re interested in selling your home, I recommend you check out my free home evaluation and MOVA assessment.

Until next time,

Jim