Podcasts about lower makefield

On March 11, 2020, Newtown Township passed a "Love is Love" Resolution in support of LGBTQ + minority youth (read "Newtown Township Passes Revised Love is Love Resolution"; http://bit.ly/PatchLoveislove). This resolution was inspired by State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, who has attempted to get his LOVE is LOVE Resolution passed by the PA Senate for the last 3 years without success. Mr. Santarsiero attended my Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting on March 7, 2022, and informed us that he is in the process of getting a state grant that will help fund the Rainbow Room in Doylestown AND bring a NEW Rainbow Room in our area – probably in Lower Makefield, the home turf of  Dave Bria who was an inspiration for Newtown's Resolution. Recall that the Rainbow Room in Doylestown was started seven years ago by Planned Parenthood as a resource and meeting place for LGBTQ+ youth. With a second Rainbow Room in our area will make it easier for local LGBTQ+ youth to take advantage of this facility.

Twenty years have passed since Judi Reiss lost her 23-year old Son, Josh, in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Despite her heartbreak, the Lower Makefield resident has persisted on, and spoke with KYW Newsradio's Hadas Kuznits about finding strength and peace in Josh's memory, all while keeping her family together and serving her community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tara and Michael Bane had bought a house in Lower Makefield and were building their lives together when he went into work at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He never came back. Instead of crumbling or turning to anger, Tara channeled her grief into building the Garden of Reflection in Yardley and helping others through her art therapy practice, Blue Sky Therapy Center. Tara talked with KYW Newsradio's Hadas Kuznits about the 20th anniversary of 9/11, remembering Michael, and how she learned to keep living after tragedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now that we’ve finished the first quarter, it’s time for a market update for Bucks County, as well as for the individual markets in Lower Makefield, Newtown, and Upper Makefield Townships. Let’s start by looking at Bucks County as a whole, since there are many more transactions there than in the other individual markets. First, there is a lack of inventory in Bucks County compared with the end of last year’s first quarter. There are nearly 20% fewer homes on the market this year. So the big question is, “What does that mean as far as pricing?” The average sold price throughout the county is 6% higher year over year. This is the greatest price increase we have seen since the crazy market dynamics of 2005. But is this going to continue? We’re currently concerned about rising interest rates, which are about a point higher than they were at this time last year. Meanwhile, we are at a historic low for the number of closed transactions, which is down about 7% through the first quarter. Pending sales, which are a reliable, forward-looking statistic, are also down.  The average days on the market is much lower this year, as well. Homes are selling faster than they did in 2017.  Inventory levels, which we call the absorption rate, are considered balanced when there is a six-month supply of homes. Currently, there is only a little over 4.4 months throughout the county. How does Bucks County compare with the individual markets I mentioned before? The storyline is consistent. These are much smaller sample sizes because there aren’t as many listings or closings in these individual markets. “Inventory levels, which we call the absorption rate, are considered balanced when there are six months of inventory.” In Lower Makefield Township, there are 40% fewer houses on the market right now than there were last year. Closings are also down, but the average sold price was relatively stable through the first quarter.   Average sold price, on the other hand, has gone up by about 4% year over year in Lower Makefield. However, we see the same low inventory as in other markets, with only 3.7 months of supply in the area.   In Newtown, we see very similar inventory levels. Supply is down 14% to just three months of inventory. Closings are also down.   These numbers are all consistent with what we saw in 2005 and 2006. Moving on, let’s discuss Upper Makefield. Upper Makefield always displays an interesting set of statistics because of the high number of luxury homes. In fact, 51% of the houses on the market in Upper Makefield are over $1 million. These prices cause the homes to take longer to sell. Inventory is down by about 37% in this market, but the number of closings and settlements are around the same as they were last year at this time. With about seven months of inventory in Upper Makefield, their market is more balanced than certain others, overall.  If you have any questions about the market or are considering buying or selling, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

A happy, healthy New Year to you all! With this new year came a new tax bill that has everyone buzzing. Today, I wanted to talk about what effects this new law will have on the real estate market in Bucks County. To preface the discussion, I’m not a tax lawyer or an accountant, so in order to understand how exactly you’ll be affected the changes, it’s critical that you talk to a CPA or tax attorneyfamiliar with the law since it won’t affect everyone the same way. The most important changes as far as homeownership goes relate to the state and local taxes. There is now a $10,000 limit on state and local taxes, which will impact people in higher tax brackets like our neighbors in New Jersey. Another key change is that mortgage interest deductions are capped for new mortgages only. This means that existing mortgages will go unaffected. The cap is now set at $750,000, so anything above that is non-deductible. “In a weird way, the tax bill could be helpful for the real estate values in Bucks County.” The National Association of Realtors has suggested that in some high-tax states, there could be as much as a 10% reduction in values. In a weird way, this could be helpful for the real estate values in Bucks County, Lower Makefield, Yardley, Newtown, Washington’s Crossing, and Upper Makefield. After the tax bill was passed, I received four or five calls from homeowners from the more expensive areas of New Jersey saying that, because of the bill, they’d be looking to move out of the state. In general, Bucks County is the less expensive area to live in. If you have any further questions about this or other real estate topics, feel free to reach out to me. I’d be glad to speak with you.

The real estate world of Bucks County has been very interesting. Today, we compare the countywide market figures to some of the individual markets within the county.Buying a Bucks County area home?  Perform a full home search Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price EvaluationIt’s an interesting year in the real estate world of Bucks County. The number of homes for sale is down 14% at the end of the third quarter compared to last year. That’s a pretty significant change in terms of how many houses there are on the market.We’ve seen more significant price appreciation throughout the county this year than we have in any year since the real estate decline of 2007 to 2009. The average price of a house sold in Bucks County has increased 4.5%. The other dynamic that’s interesting is that we’ve actually seen fewer homes on the market, and the number of transactions closed is actually higher—about 3.2% more homes settled. To put that in perspective, that number represents about 5,644 houses that have actually closed in the county.The average days on market is 58 days. This is a countywide figure, and some of the individual markets within Bucks County were a little bit different.What’s going on in Lower Makefield Township compared with the county? Well, the inventory level in the township is actually down over 24%, which is a really significant decrease in the number of houses that are on the market. The average sale price as of the end of the third quarter is up 5.8%, a little more than what we see in the countywide figure.We’ve seen more significant price appreciation throughout the county this year than we have in any year since the real estate decline of 2007 to 2009. The big takeaway for Lower Makefield is that there’s only 4.9 months of inventory on the market right now. We consider the market to be balanced when there are only six months of inventory, so it means it’s a seller’s market if you’re looking for a house in Lower Makefield.The difference between the days on market for Newtown Township and the countywide figure is really pronounced. Believe it or not, the inventory is down 40% compared to this time last year. There were 112 houses on the market in Newtown last year, and this year there were 67.There’s only a 2.9-month supply of inventory, which wouldn’t indicate that the dynamics are favoring sellers.Another interesting dynamic in Newtown is the average sold price as of the end of the third quarter is only up about 1.2%. The average days on market is 39 days.For Upper Makefield, the dynamic is similar but skewed by the number of houses that are on the market for over $1 million. Inventory is down about 7%. However, there’s about a 10.7-month supply of inventory due to the number of high-priced homes there. In fact, there’s an almost 19-month backlog of inventory specifically for houses priced over a million dollars.The takeaway is pretty similar to what we’ve seen through the year: low inventory with prices somewhat appreciating at a level we haven’t seen in awhile. It can be challenging for buyers, but anecdotally, I would say I’ve seen activity drop over the past several weeks with my listings. It will be interesting to see how that plays out statistically.If you have questions, shoot me a text or an email. I’d be happy to speak with you.

The real estate world of Bucks County has been very interesting. Today, we compare the countywide market figures to some of the individual markets within the county. Buying a Bucks County area home? Perform a full home search Selling your Bucks County home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation It’s an interesting year in the real estate world of Bucks County. The number of homes for sale is down 14% at the end of the third quarter compared to last year. That’s a pretty significant change in terms of how many houses there are on the market. We’ve seen more significant price appreciation throughout the county this year than we have in any year since the real estate decline of 2007 to 2009. The average price of a house sold in Bucks County has increased 4.5%. The other dynamic that’s interesting is that we’ve actually seen fewer homes on the market, and the number of transactions closed is actually higher—about 3.2% more homes settled. To put that in perspective, that number represents about 5,644 houses that have actually closed in the county. The average days on market is 58 days. This is a countywide figure, and some of the individual markets within Bucks County were a little bit different. What’s going on in Lower Makefield Township compared with the county? Well, the inventory level in the township is actually down over 24%, which is a really significant decrease in the number of houses that are on the market. The average sale price as of the end of the third quarter is up 5.8%, a little more than what we see in the countywide figure. “WE’VE SEEN MORE SIGNIFICANT PRICE APPRECIATION THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY THIS YEAR THAN WE HAVE IN ANY YEAR SINCE THE REAL ESTATE DECLINE OF 2007 TO 2009.” The big takeaway for Lower Makefield is that there’s only 4.9 months of inventory on the market right now. We consider the market to be balanced when there are only six months of inventory, so it means it’s a seller’s market if you’re looking for a house in Lower Makefield. The difference between the days on market for Newtown Township and the countywide figure is really pronounced. Believe it or not, the inventory is down 40% compared to this time last year. There were 112 houses on the market in Newtown last year, and this year there were 67. There’s only a 2.9-month supply of inventory, which wouldn’t indicate that the dynamics are favoring sellers. Another interesting dynamic in Newtown is the average sold price as of the end of the third quarter is only up about 1.2%. The average days on market is 39 days. For Upper Makefield, the dynamic is similar but skewed by the number of houses that are on the market for over $1 million. Inventory is down about 7%. However, there’s about a 10.7-month supply of inventory due to the number of high-priced homes there. In fact, there’s an almost 19-month backlog of inventory specifically for houses priced over a million dollars. The takeaway is pretty similar to what we’ve seen through the year: low inventory with prices somewhat appreciating at a level we haven’t seen in awhile. It can be challenging for buyers, but anecdotally, I would say I’ve seen activity drop over the past several weeks with my listings. It will be interesting to see how that plays out statistically. If you have questions, shoot me a text or an email. I’d be happy to speak with you.

I want to take a moment to pause and reflect on that tragic day that changed our lives forever, and to honor those we lost on 9/11/2001.Looking to sell your Bucks or Montgomery County home? Get a free home value report.Looking to buy a Bucks or Montgomery County home? Search all homes for sale.On the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, I want to pause for a moment to reflect and the day that changed our lives forever. I also want to take some time to remember those who lost their lives on that tragic day. My thoughts and prayers are with their families, the survivors, and the first responders who rushed in to help. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, the survivors, and the first responders today. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were the deadliest terror attacks on U.S. soil. 2,977 people died in the attacks, and our community was hit hard by the loss of nine souls from Lower Makefield and 18 souls from Bucks County. If you are looking for more ways to observe the 16th anniversary, you can go to the Garden of Reflection in Lower Makefield, which is the official Pennsylvania memorial to victims of the 9/11 attacks. There will be a few special events there for the 16th anniversary. For more information on the Garden of Reflection, click here.At 8:30 in the morning, a remembrance ceremony will mark the chronological events of that tragic day to remember and honor those we lost with music and prayer. At 7:00 p.m., there will be a candlelight service. As we walk forward together, we work together. The Garden of Reflection is located at 1950 Woodside Road in Lower Makefield, Pennsylvania. If you are using GPS, you may need to enter “Morrisville,” Yardley,” or “Newtown” to get there. There is also the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. You can purchase tickets to attend up to six months in advance. Again, my thoughts and prayers are with the survivors, victims, first responders, and their families. Thank you for taking a moment out of your day to pause and reflect with me.