Annual coat drive to benefit Family Services

The Montgomery County Association of Realtors is hosting its annual coat drive to benefit Family Services of Montgomery County as part of its annual Realtors Reach Out campaign, a month-long statewide initiative recognizing the volunteerism and service efforts of Realtors.

During October, Realtor and affiliate offices throughout Montgomery County are collecting winter coats for infants through adults.

Coat collection boxes are at the following locations through Nov. 6:

• BHHS Fox & Roach, 1600 N. Bethlehem Pike, Ste. 100, Lower Gwynedd

• BHHS Fox & Roach, 721 Skippack Pike, Ste. 100, Blue Bell

• Coldwell Banker Preferred, 686 Dekalb Pike, Ste. 102, Blue Bell

• Coldwell Banker Preferred, 1207 Fayette St., Conshohocken

• Danella Realty, 470 Norristown Road, Ste. 100, Blue Bell

• The Davidson Group, 4060 Skippack Pike, Skippack

• Freestyle Real Estate, 1723 Swamp Pike, Gilbertsville

• GMH Mortgage, 625 W. Ridge Pike, Bldg. C, Ste. 100 Conshohocken

• Keller Williams, 910 Harvest Drive, Ste. 100, Blue Bell

• Keller Williams, 625 W. Ridge Pike, Bldg. F, Conshohocken

• Keller Williams, 601 Bethlehem Pike, Bldg B #100, Montgomeryville

• Long & Foster, 860 Penllyn-Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell

• Long & Foster, 123 N. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington

• Montgomery County Association of Realtors, 470 Norristown Road, Ste. 300, Blue Bell

• The Real Estate Professionals, 842 Farmington Ave., Pottstown

• Re/Max 440, 423 N. Main St., Doylestown

• Re/Max 440, 4092 Skippack Pike, Skippack

• Re/Max Action Realty, 1126 Horsham Road, Maple Glen

• Re/Max Central, 731 Skippack Pike, Bldg. 1, Blue Bell

• Re/Max Central, 1110 N. Broad St., Lansdale

• Re/Max Ready, 527 Fayette St., Conshohocken

• Re/Max Reliance, 504 Harleysville Pike, Souderton

• Re/Max Services, 794 Penllyn-Blue Bell Pike, Ste. 120, Blue Bell

• Weichert, 581 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell

• Weichert, 41 E. Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting

MCAR has a long-standing tradition of giving back to the community where its members live and work. In fact, over the years, MCAR has donated thousands of dollars and time to these local programs.

“Family Services is a natural fit for MCAR’s charitable endeavors. The Realtors of Montgomery County are proud community residents, employers and employees and have a vested interest in providing time and resources to agencies that enhance their community,” explained Eric Rehling, 2017 MCAR president.

In 2016, 26 offices participated in the coat drive, resulting in 36 large moving boxes containing more than 1,000 winter coats for infants through adults. In 2016 and 2017, all boxes were donated by Clemmer Moving & Storage, which also will facilitate the pickup and delivery of the boxes at the end of the drive.

Gail Fusco, MCAR chief executive officer, said, “We’re so proud to be able to participate in programs like these that have direct, positive impacts on our community. It’s what keeps us coming back to do more.”

Weichert recognizes local office for sales success

John Bilek, regional vice president of Weichert, Realtors, announced the Jenkintown office was recognized for sales success in September.

The office led its Weichert sales region in resale listings for the month. The region is composed of locations throughout the Main Line, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania and New Castle County in Delaware.

In addition, sales associate Jeffrey Chirico from the Jenkintown office was recognized for his individual achievements in September. As a top producer, he led the region in resales for the month.

Bilek also announced the Blue Bell office was recognized for industry success in September.

The office led its Weichert sales region for resales, resale revenue units and resale dollar volume.

In addition, Shelia Banner, manager of Weichert, Realtors’ Blue Bell office, announced five sales associates were recognized for their outstanding performance in September at an office level. Michael Blum, Jean Bucksar, Nanci Kane Troxel and Jordan Mariano had the most listings during the month, while Jori Broad led the office in sales during the month.

Much of Philly real estate market sees increase in sale prices

Despite inventory remaining low in the greater Philadelphia real estate market, many areas experienced increased median sale prices. The region’s market remains healthy overall, according to the Long & Foster Market Minute reports. The Philadelphia region includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

The number of homes sold varied in the Philadelphia real estate market in September, with home sales rising by 3 percent in both Bucks and Delaware counties. Other areas experienced decreases of 4 percent to 13 percent.

Median sale prices increased in most parts of the region, including by 13 percent in Chester County and by 12 percent in Philadelphia County.

“Like many of our markets, Philadelphia experienced some variation in September, though median sale prices in the region did well,” said Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “The local market continues to perform well even though the Philadelphia area is experiencing many of the same challenges with low inventory as other markets.”

Active inventory fell throughout the Philadelphia region in September. In Bucks County, inventory fell by 21 percent, while it decreased by 20 percent in Philadelphia County.

Homes in the area sold in about six to eight weeks on average.

Scott cautioned homeowners planning to sell that they should be as proactive as possible when it comes to preparing their home for the market.

“Just because inventory is low and average days on market are low doesn’t mean that all homes will sell quickly,” Scott said. “Property owners looking for a fast sale still need to make sure their home is in good condition and priced right for the neighborhood, which is where a good agent can be invaluable. An expert in real estate will invest the time, effort and energy in understanding the dynamics of each market on a hyperlocal level.”

For buyers trying to purchase properties in areas where competition is high, Scott said agents should be more inventive in creating inventory opportunities than in the past. That includes reaching out to the owners of listings that expired in previous years to see if they are still interested in selling and using property records to research homes and write to the owners to see if they might consider selling.

“In this age of technology, social media and digital presence of properties, there is a need to return to the fundamentals,” Scott said. “Agents can connect consumers in the marketplace while being a trusted adviser, helping to educate clients and assist them in interpreting market information. While regional data can provide good insight, it’s really a starting point in the research process for buyers and sellers.”

The Long & Foster Market Minute is an overview of market statistics based on residential real estate transactions for more than 500 local areas and neighborhoods and over 100 counties in eight states. The easy-to-read, easy-to-share reports include information about each area’s units sold, active inventory, median sale prices, list-to-sold price ratio, days on market and more.

Information included in this report is based on data supplied by TREND multiple listing service and its member associations of Realtors, which are not responsible for its accuracy. The reports include residential real estate transactions within specific geographic regions, not just Long & Foster sales, and they do not reflect all activity in the marketplace. Information contained in this report is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, should be independently verified and does not constitute an opinion of TREND or Long & Foster Real Estate.