Lancaster PA Real Estate Blog

This week has been a down week for blogging as I made my move to Lancaster's hot new Coldwell Banker brokerage, Coldwell Banker Select Professionals.  The management there were awesome to deal with in the discussions and I'm incredibly excited at the possibilities to grow in many ways there.

What's the skinny?  Well, I'm going to be wearing two hats for Coldwell Banker here in Lancaster County (and beyond). 

1)      Marketing guy - the owners of the franchise were looking to take their company to the next level in the realm of web marketing, so they thought of (little old - emphasis on old) me.  I'll be helping grow the already wonderful presence of Coldwell Banker in new ways in our Central PA footprint, and help market new offices as we open them.  This is right up my alley, for those of you who know me - I live and breathe the marketing stuff.

2)      Agent in demand - more of what I had at my last company, and better!  Coldwell Banker is the oldest and most respected name in Real Estate, and the most respected name in Central PA.  I'm excited to bring the latest technologies to my real estate clients, as well as those of you looking to relocate to the Lancaster area.  As you can see from my website, I'm still the same (old) Jeff, but comfortably settling into a new home!

I'll be developing and expanding my website page for Coldwell Banker Select Professionals, if you're interested.  This week has been hectic moving things and setting up shop in the new digs at the company's incredible new building at 1000 North Prince Street in Lancaster City.  The company's IT manager is a whiz and has thought of everything, so the electronic transition has been superb.  Today was my first full day around the office, and the staff there are all intensely professional and friendly.  The three owners of the brokerage are available and helpful, zipping here and there throughout the day to meet with agents & staff while handling business issues on their cell phones.  The whole scene is reflective of what you see happening around Lancaster City & County - a new breed of professional with a great combination of real-people skills and electronic savvy.  It's a very motivating atmosphere.

Business continues as usual, and the clients are calling.  There are lots of homes to show.  Call me today to talk about YOUR personalized real estate needs! 

Some of you who have been reading this blog might remember our incredible natural childbirth story from last June after Ephrata Hospital and Aetna failed us miserably.  The midwife who (literally) saved the day for us went on to suffer at the hands of the PA Board Of Medicine in court for months, as they tried to "make an example" out of her so as to put a damper on the growing homebirth movement in Pennsylvania.  Our family attended a rally held for Diane in December of last year.  Well, I'm extremely happy to report that Diane Goslin of Lancaster County has won a complete reversal of the "charges" against her in Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court!  Here's the press release, courtesy of Pennsylvania Families For Safe Birth:

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In a stinging blow to both the Pennsylvania Medical Board and the Pennsylvania Medical Society, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reversed all three rulings the PA Board of Medicine had issued against Diane Goslin:

     - The Cease and Desist Order;

     - the $10,000 fine for the unlicensed practice of medicine; and

     - the $1,000 fine for the unlicensed practice of midwifery. 

Pennsylvania midwife Diane Goslin may now legally attend births.

PA Commonwealth Court Justice Friedman opined that "practicing midwifery cannot be construed to be the same as practicing medicine..."  Therefore, the court reversed the egregious and erroneous PA Board of Medicine ruling. 

Additionally, the Court found that the PA medical"Board deprived [Diane Goslin] of due process" rights as required by Pennsylvania law. 

The Court further pointed out that the 1985 PA Nurse-Midwifery Act, "...authorizes the Board to impose penalties only upon persons who practice as a nurse-midwife without a nurse-midwife license."  Goslin practices as a Certified Professional Midwife.

PA Commonwealth Ruling 


News Releases

Harrisburg News

Philadelphia News

York Daily Record
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You can read more about homebirth and the grassroots movement at the Save HomeBirth web site 

All Susan and I can say is "woohoo" for Diane!

Oh, and by the way Carys is doing wonderfully & is getting her first tooth at 11 months...

Interesting Stat - National Association of Realtors membership declined in the first quarter of 2008 by:

102,403

That's a big drop!  For those of you bloggers out there, that's over a 100K less competitors to worry about...

Here's a couple of appropriate quotes for real estate pros and consumers alike, taken from some recent surveys of the business media:

I don't publish the comments from my client feedback surveys enough, I've decided.  You'll note from my blog that I don't "toot my horn" too much.  Today, though, I thought I would share a comment on a survey received yesterday from a Philadelphia customer buying in Lancaster City:

"Jeff was my third Real Estate Professional that I worked with this year. It was like night and day comparing Jeff to my previous experience with the other Professionals, he was certainly several notches above the others!"

Cary - Philadelphia

I really appreciated this feedback - it reminds me again that it's a competitive business full of professional competition.  I love a challenge!  In fact, I'm working on a website right now to show off the services I offer home sellers that are tops in the market...more on that later.

I'm proud to be involved in a unique community outreach using some of our cutting-edge Real Estate technology!  Here's our press release:

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Citizens Community Bank Mortgage Division located in Lititz Pennsylvania and Jeff Geoghan, Realtor with Long and Foster Real Estate of Lancaster, PA, is offering the families in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that have family members serving overseas in our Armed Forces a special free gift.  CCBMD wants to help keep these families in touch with their loved ones by using cutting-edge video technology at their disposal.

Military families are welcome to schedule an appointment to come into CCBMD’s Airport Road office and record a three to five minute “Message to our Military” video on CCBMD equipment. A video link will be sent to their loved ones overseas via email.  The link that the soldier can click on will play the video as many times as they wish.

“We are always trying to give something back to our community” says Jeff Geoghan, who is helping promote the unique opportunity.  “With this ‘Message to our Military’ concept, Gary and his team can help local friends and families communicate in a more personal manner with loved ones overseas over the Memorial Day Holiday and beyond.” 

Gary Thomas, Branch Manager at CCBMD said, “We have been sending out our Wednesday Tips, a video post card, going on two years now. We send these to all of our clients, friends, families and realtors. The video post cards have a weekly tip for the viewers and many say they love to watch them each week because of my bad acting. All I know is that they are a lot of fun doing them and the readership is unbelievable.”  Also, we are currently offering Free Healthy Credit/ ID Theft services to community members.  This is a way to improve credit scores and help those who may be struggling to get approved for a mortgage.

Geoghan recalled “Gary came to me with the idea of using this technology to help the families in Lancaster County that have loved ones serving our country abroad, and I saw the potential to promote the use of business technology to help the community in a tangible way.  I imagine that it can get pretty lonely when you are so far away. What we’d like to do is to offer this to more counties in time, then eventually the entire state.”

Here’s how it works: To send a free video to a family member that is serving our country in the armed forces, call Citizens Community Bank, Mortgage Division at 717-569-8005 and ask for Gary Thomas or email gthomas@ccbloans.com.  Put “Message for our Military” in the Subject line. Schedule a time to come to Citizens Community Bank office at 180 W Airport Rd. Lititz, Pa 17543.  In addition, Jeff Geoghan is promoting the program on his popular web daily www.LancasterCountyBlog.com.  Both Gary & Jeff look forward to helping send loved ones a personalized one-of-a-kind message from their families. Please have a valid email address of the proud veteran when scheduling the appointment.  To view a sample video, go to www.Lancastermortgagelender.com and click on the “Message to our Military” flag.

Gary Thomas is a  locally recognized mortgage expert who is exceptional with  “credit repair”. Gary Thomas a Mortgage Expert at Citizens Community Bank Mortgage Division with 18  years of experience and specializing in working with “credit challenged buyers” his company has assisted many of clients achieve homeownership. If you would like more information or schedule a FREE “Healthy Credit ID Theft Program” please contact Gary Thomas at 717-880-7678 or email him at gthomas@ccbloans.com.

Jeff Geoghan MBA is a Lancaster County Realtor, speaker and author of LancasterCountyBlog.com, a daily local real estate news site.  He is an East Petersburg Borough Councilman and involved community member focusing on Green Real Estate, sustainable living and historic preservation.  To work with Jeff Geoghan for home buying or selling call 717-799-0851 or info@yourlancasterhome.com.

As 2007 came to a close, more than 52,000 Pennsylvania homeowners were in some part of the foreclosure process, according to recent survey results by the Mortgage Banker's Association.  These numbers put Pennsylvania in the top 10 foreclosure states nationally.  Since 23% of loans statewide between 2005-2006 were subprime, analysts expect the foreclosure trend to continue into the next two years.  In fact, One in 46 Pennsylvania homeowners are expected to face foreclosure during that time period.

Almost as telling is the number of PA homeowners who will feel the effects of the foreclosure trend.  39% are predicted to feel a pinch in their home values as foreclosure properties pop up in their neighborhoods, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts Assessment.  The average loss to home values is estimated at $4,000.  On the local government front, $6.6 Billion will be lost from the tax base, also impacting the homeowner who isn't in foreclosure by limiting municipal projects and budgets.

So how is Pennsylvania responding to the foreclosures in Lancaster and throughout the state?  As I've posted in past articles, Pennsylvania was one of the first states to create a Homeowners Emergency Assistance Program, or HEMAP.  The state has been tweaking that program to tackle assistance for financially-based foreclosures rather than illnesses, etc. The program connects homeowners with financial counselors and addresses payment issues.  In addition ot HEMAP, the state offers two refinancing options: REAL (Refinance to an affordable loan) and HERO (Homeowners Equity Recovery Opportunity program) (link to PHFA page here)Under HERO, Pennsylvania homeowners have the opportunity to obtain 100% financing as a replacement for their existing loan; the PHFA (Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency) actually purchases the loan from the lender and modifies the terms to help keep the consumer in their home.

If you are in the early stages of dealing with a mortgage challenge, it pays to contact your state agency to explore your options as soon as possible.  Also, open a dialogue with your lender ASAP - accomodation programs are popping up at most mortgage servicing companies to counter the spike in foreclosure complaints.  Most of all, don't do nothing!  Those unopened bills won't go away...

If you are interested in a complete list of Lancaster County PA Foreclosures and regular email updates of homes listed by PHFA and banks, send me an email with your contact information and price ranges. 

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For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer - view some of his portfolio. Comments are welcome!

I was recently introduced to an article in the St. Petersburg Times that deals with the now-popular term "greenwashing".  It was called "'Green' Houses in Name Only?" by Chuin-Wei Yap.  I thought the author did a good job of framing the problem that is starting to crop up everywhere in real estate - sellers inappropriately identifying their homes as "green" or "energy efficient".  I loved this quote:

"As home building slumps and environmentalism becomes a business advantage, a fast-growing market for green homes is becoming synonymous with "buyer beware"

The article addressed the lack of proper oversight in "green" claims and the frustrations certifying organizations face when they see claims being made.  Since most of the oversight still is voluntary, there's nothing to stop a builder (or realtor) from making a claim that the home is energy efficient or even green-built.  In fact, we have at least one builder I know of who's labeling their homes as energy efficient (they're nothing special, and are not certified as Energy Star or better to my knowledge).  When I questioned the claim to the listing agent (in a friendly way) I got silence in reply.

"Greenwashing" is the general term for mis-representation or over-representation of a product's environmentally-friendly attributes.  Keep a sharp eye out for this trend in real estate and "buyer beware".

Here's the Lancaster Pa real estate homesales report for April 2008:

Interesting numbers!  Homes sold continued the 2008 trend of running at 25% off from last year, while new listings continued the trend of following 2007's numbers.  As I've explained each month, I believe this discrepancy is due to the lack of "easy mortgages" for the first-time, credit-challenged and no-doc homebuyer market.   Home sales have been climbing steadily all this year as the weather warms.  As I always say, "a well-priced, well-marketed home in a good location will always sell quick".  Those homes certainly ARE selling quick this month, as several of my buyer clients can attest to...

Pending listings are off slightly from last year (but up 20% from last month - encouraging!). One big stat is the huge increase in the number of expiring listings...69% up from 2007!  Wow.  That's mostly the "well-marketed" part not happening...(more on that in an upcoming article).

Active listings were up 20% from 2007 - no surprise given fewer homebuyers out there this year. 

Can you say "competition for buyers"?  That is 2008 in a nutshell.

Yes, the "gap" continues to widen.  In April it blossomed to $46,501 - one of the biggest numbers in a year.   I would say this is accounted for by the glut of higher-end homes, including new construction listings.  The good news is that the sales price is once again strongly on the rise after a falloff at the end of 2007.  You can see from the green line that sales prices are coming up in 2008.  Will we get to $208,000 this year?  Stay tuned...with the changes to FHA financing that may happen.

Just one more chart to reinforce the trends in new listings and sold homes for Lancaster County, PA.  Homes for sale, new listings are largely mirroring last year's trend (note the similarity between Feb-Apr for both years).  Again, just like the sales price curve from the last chart, total sold homes is on the rise in 2008.  

So, is the market terrible?  No way!  Are there some local challenges?  Yes, but if you are looking to sell or buy I believe this will be a good year to do so.  No Hype, just the facts!

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For Lancaster PA homes for sale click here. Jeff Geoghan is a top real estate expert in Lancaster County, PA, and an involved community member. Jeff's work has been featured in the Lancaster Newspapers, WGAL Channel 8, PA Business Journal and Wall Street Journal. Jeff's blog on Lancaster County and its homes is nationally-featured. Contact Jeff for more help with your Lancaster PA Real Estate needs. Jeff is also a photographer - view some of his portfolio. Comments are welcome!

Reports from Harrisburg today indicate that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has failed to approve the plan put forward by PPL, the area's largest electric utility, to soften the burden of the coming rate increases.

Originally slated for an approval vote 4/9, the issue was tabled by the PUC.  For the commission's 5/1 meeting the review and approval failed to even make the agenda.  A PUC official issued a statement saying that the commission was reluctant to act ahead of Pennsylvania Lawmakers, while another commissioner issued her own statement expressing her disappointment at the commission's inaction.

Go figure! A virtual monopoly tries to give their ratepayers a break by offering a prepayment program, and the state stonewalls it.  I posted about the first round of rate hikes back in August of last year...and it's only going to get worse.  Much worse. 

Here's a link to my discussion about Ed Rendell's new budget items for energy conservation.  Meanwhile, PPL posted earnings of $260million in earnings for the first quarter of 2008, vs. $203million for 2007.  Hmm.