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Franklin County, PA Real Estate News

By Keith Landis, Pennsylvania - "Your Pennsylvania Mortgage Source"
(Keystone Home Finance - NMLS#834342 - Conventional - FHA - VA -USDA - Jumbo Programs - Direct Phone 412-726-1654)
Looking to buy a home in Franklin County, Pennsylvania? You might want to make a quick check to see if you and the property are eligible for a Pennsylvania USDA Mortgage, also known as a Pennsylvania USDA Rural Development Loan. Here's Why...  USDA home loans offer a few benefits that other mortgage programs cannot match, including no down payment and financed closing cost. If the home appraisal allows, the closing costs can also be wrapped into the mortgage resulting in no money needed at the closing table. USDA is the only mortgage program that allows for all closing costs to be financed into the loan amount on a home purchase.  Interest rates for USDA mortgages are comparable and often lower than the low fixed rates of Conventional, FHA and VA financing. The USDA Mortgage program doe...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
FRANKLIN COUNTY REAL ESTATE - DECEMBER 2013 Home sales in Franklin County Pennsylvania turned in a strong finish in December, at least when compared with December of 2012. One hundred homes changed hands, up 17.7%, while the dollar value of homes sold was up 24.1% to $16.3 million, and the median sold price, at $150,000, was up 11.1% from $135,000 last year. Average selling prices increased 13.2% year-over-year for detached homes and declined 7.9% for attached houses, reflecting continued weakness among condominiums and three bedroom town homes. The average sold price of attached two bedroom homes, mostly one-level towns and duplexes, was up nearly 20% to $149,365. Meanwhile, the average sold price of detached homes of four or more bedrooms was $250,091, the highest average seen in the ...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
FRANKLIN COUNTY REAL ESTATE - OCTOBER 2013 Home buyers have continued to enjoy an edge over sellers in Franklin County PA this fall. While the pace of sales has slowed in recent months, the inventory of homes available for sale has increased, putting a damper on prices locally. The number of homes for sale has been going up since March and last month stood at 904, a 9.3 month supply and 8.5 percent more than in October of last year. This situation favors buyers; a balanced market, in which neither side has an advantage, would have five to six months of inventory. Home settlements in the county numbered 97 in October 2013 (also the lowest level since March) compared with 95 for October 2012, a slight increase. Nationally, existing-home sales (excluding new homes) fell 3.2 percent in Octo...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
FRANKLIN COUNTY REAL ESTATE - SEPT 2013  For September 2013, the housing market in Franklin County, PA rolled along with mostly minor changes from the prior month and the prior year as well. The story in Washington County, MD was quite different, however, as a trend that began in May accelerated in September. In Franklin County, the number of homes sold (settled, not merely under contract) was 120, down 4.0 percent from 125 in September 2012. Active listings—that is, homes available for sale—plumped up 5.8 percent to 894, from 845 last year. The average days-on-market for the homes that sold was 122, an improvement from last year of nearly nine percent. Exactly 100 of sold homes were detached; the rest were duplexes, town homes and (1) condos. Now, the trend in Washington County, Maryla...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
Market summary – August 2013 Sales in August jumped up nearly a third from a year ago, but what this means going forward is unclear. One month’s results in a small market—or even a big market—do not a trend make. Indeed, unit sales have been up most months in 2013 from the year earlier, but sales were down in March, May and June. So what’s going on? Well, maybe the 152 homes sold in August, up 31% from 116 last year, changed hands because of better weather this summer, or greater consumer confidence, or compelling Realtor® TV spots. Or, it could be that the sudden bump-up in home loan rates in May and June prompted more buyers to enter the market then, and we are seeing results now. In any case, the dollar volume of sales for August stood at $24.6 million, up 33.2% from August 2012. New...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
How are property taxes figured in Franklin County, Pennsylvania? Here's a primer. Property taxes are levied in two pieces, ‘local’ and ‘school’. (MRIS, our multiple listing system, or MLS, does not have fields labeled as such, so the school tax is in the ‘special tax assessment’ field.) The local tax is billed in March for that calendar year, and it contains these components: County – 25.65 mills (per $1,000 of assessed value; figures are for 2013) Library – 1.05 Township or Borough – five of the 22 jurisdictions levy no property tax; the rest charge anywhere from 0.4 to 27.26 mills, with the boroughs being at the upper side of that range.   School tax is billed in July for the school fiscal year that begins July 1 and ends the following June 30. Many districts have a "Homestead and Far...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
Where has the summer gone? In two weeks, school starts up again. In July, a sudden increase in mortgage rates caught the real estate world by surprise. Other than that, the homes market in Franklin County, Pennsylvania continued its march forward, with unit sales up nearly 10% from July 2012. Average and median sold prices also were up, at 2.9% and 4.6% respectively. The number of new listings in July was a healthy 209, up 18.8% from a year ago, but this was more than offset by stronger demand so that the active listing count, at 843, was down 2.8% from last July’s level. That’s a six-month supply at the current sales level, which is considered to be a balanced market (in which neither buyers nor sellers have an advantage.) Detached homes generally have been more in demand this year tha...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
Market summary – June 2013 At the mid-point of this recovery year, we’d hope to see the homeownership train chugging along the track toward a stronger market - for those selling, at least. Well, let’s see: In Franklin County, the average and median prices of homes sold in were up in June from the previous month and the previous year. The median sold price for the first six months of 2013 was up 3.5%, to $150,000, from the same period in 2012. New pendings, homes placed under contract during June, were up a healthy 11.5% over June 2012.  More sellers dipped their toes in the marketplace in June. New listings totaled 232, up 3.6% from May and a substantial 24.7% from June 2012. However, the total number of active listings, at 853, was down about 3.8% from a year ago and remained the lowes...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
INTEREST RATE ALERT – 6/20/13 Interest rates on home loans have gone up sharply in the last two weeks and continue to rise.  The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee met on June 18-19, and the result of their meeting was to spook the interest rate market, causing rates to increase at least an additional .25% yesterday.  Rates continue to climb, and conventional rates have reached  4.5% as of today.  Market watchers expect that rates will continue to rise over the next several weeks as the Federal Reserve works to unwind the quantitative easing (or QE) that they have had in place the past few years to keep the economy afloat.    What does that mean to us?  It means home buyers might not be able to afford as much house as they were pre-qualified for a few short weeks ago.  On a $200,00...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
Market summary – May 2013 By now, everybody knows that the national housing market is in recovery (read: rising prices in virtually every city.) But, we aren’t that concerned about the market in Sacramento or Denver, are we? We want to know what’s happening in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. This spring in Chambersburg (and all of Franklin) the story seems to be one of ‘two steps forward, one step back.’ Market indicators are trending positive, as expected given the national picture, but there’s back-sliding here and there so that overall growth in sales and prices remains clear and yet modest. Let’s start with prices: The average sold price in Franklin County has been rising from a low of less than $135,000 in February to $169,217 in May 2013, nearly 11% above the figure for May 2012. H...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
We heard previously that USDA was planning to make properties in the borough of Chambersburg ineligible for USDA Rural Housing financing. Now, we have received word from USDA that they are going to put these changes on hold indefinitely, so we will continue to fund USDA loans in the borough of Chambersburg. Also, interest rates remain outstanding! For the ideal FHA/VA/USDA purchase loan, the 30-year fixed rate with no points today is 3.125% That is NOT a typo, it’s 3.125% for a 30-year fixed-rate purchase loan! Conventional is slightly higher at 3.25%, but it's still insanely low! Fifteen-year fixed rates are even lower, with FHA/VA/USDA at 2.375% and conventional  also at 2.375%! There is absolutely no reason anyone who can qualify for a mortgage should not be trying to buy a house imm...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
Was it the long, hot summer that took some of the wind out of the real estate sails locally in August? Sales in August, 2012 continued to strengthen overall, both in Franklin County, PA and neighboring Washington County, MD, but in detail the results were a mixed bag. The number of homes sold in Franklin, at 116, was off 10.1% from August 2011 and down by a wider margin, 11.5%, just from the previous month. Home sales so far in 2012 still were running 6.9% ahead of 2011. In Washington County, only 107 units sold, down 15.1% from last August, on higher dollar volume. In Franklin, the dollar volume of sales was down nearly 6% in August from last year. At the same time, average and median sold prices increased in August, modestly in Franklin County (up 4.6% and 2.5%, respectively) and dra...
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By Keith Landis, Pennsylvania - "Your Pennsylvania Mortgage Source"
(Keystone Home Finance - NMLS#834342 - Conventional - FHA - VA -USDA - Jumbo Programs - Direct Phone 412-726-1654)
Looking to buy a home in Franklin County, Pennsylvania? You might want to make a quick check to see if you and the property are eligible for a Pennsylvania USDA Mortgage, also known as a Pennsylvania USDA Rural Development Loan. Here's Why...  USDA home loans offer a few benefits that other mortgage programs cannot match, including no down payment and financed closing cost. If the home appraisal allows, the closing costs can also be wrapped into the mortgage resulting in no money needed at the closing table. USDA is the only mortgage program that allows for all closing costs to be financed into the loan amount on a home purchase.  Interest rates for USDA mortgages are comparable and often lower than the low fixed rates of Conventional, FHA and VA financing. The USDA Mortgage program doe...
Comments 0
By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
For all number crunchers out there, here's what happened in Chambersburg and Franklin County, PA during September 2011. Basically, the positive trends of the past few months continued in September, adding weight to the argument that the real estate market in Franklin County is recovering, albeit slowly. The number of homes sold in September, 120, was up 20% from a year ago, and the dollar volume of sales was up by nearly 17% to $19.7 million for the month. New listings were up modestly versus September 2010, but the number of active listings was down 11.3% to a 9.1 month supply at the current rate of sales. This is a big improvement compared with last year at this time, when over a year's supply of homes clogged the market. Total pendings (homes under contract but not yet sold), which h...
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By Peter Gibaud Team, Master Marketers. Trusted Advisors.
(BHHS Homesale Realty)
The real estate market in Franklin County, PA disappointed in March, as the modest gains posted in February were not extended the following month. Neighboring Washington County, MD fared no better, with sold dollar volume down 15.5% and similar declines in average and median sold prices. At 107, the number of Franklin County homes sold in March was two more than the 105 sold in March 2010. That was about it for the good news. Dollar volume of homes sold and the average sold price both were down by double-digits; the average sold price was down 12.7% and the median sold price was down 6.7%. Average days on market increased 40% to just over six months. There must be something positive in the numbers, right? Well, inventories continued to fall year-over-year in Franklin and Washington Coun...
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By Susan Ackerman, Associate Broker
(RE/MAX Realty Agency)
<   MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE UPCOMING NINTH ANNUAL ICEFEST IN CHAMBERSBURG, PA.    This event is scheduled for January 27th – 30th, 2011 in downtown Chambersburg. It will be the biggest and best IceFest yet! This much anticipated winter festival features live ice carving and amazing ice sculptures, food vendors, extended business hours, Chili Cook off, Fireworks on Saturday and so much more!! With more sculptures, an expanded Chili Cook-off and additional food vendors and musical acts, area residents and out-of-town visitors to Chambersburg are sure to have an exciting time. Be sure to check out the awesome 40' Ice slide. Also new to IceFest activities this year: a Scavenger hunt to be held January 30, 2011, 12 pm to 4 pm at the Kerrstown Square Parking Lot This is a FREE event.   The...
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By Susan Ackerman, Associate Broker
(RE/MAX Realty Agency)
  STINKBUG INVASION IN FRANKLIN AND CUMBERLAND COUNTIES OF PENNSYLVANIA Shippensburg and Chambersburg homes have been inundated with these nasty, prehistoric looking bugs.  They were bad last year and were around earlier this year but over this past weekend they INVADED!  The seemed to come in around our window air conditioner and according to the experts, they enter homes from the south facing windows and/or doors.  All I know is I have never seen so many of these creatures in my Shippensburg home.  They are all over our window screens, inside and outside our screened porch, and inside our house.  I spent Sunday trying to remove them, it took hours, then they were back the next day.  Experts say: "The stink bugs in question are Chinese imports, first reported in Pa., in 1996.  They pro...
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By Shelley Heck
(Pen-Mar Regional Association of REALTORS)
Hire a REALTOR® Studies show that homesellers who use a REALTOR® to represent them generally get a better price than those who sell the home themselves. REALTORS® are up-to-date on critical processes and can help keep you out of trouble. They can also help you get your home sold at the best price in the right timeframe. Equally as important, REALTORS® add objectivity to an inherently emotional transaction: the sale of your home. To locate a RE/MAX Sales Associate, visit the Find An Agent area of remax.com. Before Your Home Is Listed It's important to have your home in good showing condition before buyers start going through it. Here are some steps to take: Touch up interior and exterior paint as needed. Install new carpeting and flooring if it appears worn or dated. Make sure the front ...
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By Shelley Heck
(Pen-Mar Regional Association of REALTORS)
Contact a REALTOR® A RE/MAX Sales Associate can help you through the entire process of buying a home, starting with the mortgage and continuing right through closing - and beyond. He or she can help you shop for the best interest rate and terms and, if you wish, suggest mortgage lenders. Get Preapproved for a Loan Obtain a copy of your credit report and your FICO score and, if necessary, do what you need to do to improve it. The higher your FICO score, the better interest rate you can command. You can get this information online; your RE/MAX agent can also help you. Contact several lenders and determine which one will give you the best deal. Determine Your Price Range and Area(s) in Which You're Interested By now you should have a good idea of how much home you can afford. This helps yo...
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By Shelley Heck
(Pen-Mar Regional Association of REALTORS)
5 Steps to Buying Before Tax Credit Expires The expanded tax credit for U.S. homebuyers, which extends the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Credit and creates a new $6,500 credit for most repeat buyers, expires on July 1, 2010. As a buyer, you must be under contract by April 30 to make the deadline. This doesn't leave much time to start the buying process.To help you get in under the wire, Lisa Escue (CDPE), with RE/MAX Masters II in Grapevine, Texas outlines these steps:Step 1. Find a Local Lender You Can Talk To in PersonLocal lenders understand your market and know of loan programs that might be beneficial to you.Check with your lender on any local programs that might help with closing costs or in other ways. Even though the media have pronounced the 100-percent-financing option dead, thi...
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Franklin County, PA Real Estate Professionals