Real Estate Ramblings

I have a condo listing at 16th & Brown here in Philadelphia (click here for details) that is a prime example of the deals available to first time buyers with decent credit in this market. It's a fully renovated unit with an asking price of $199,900 and the seller is willing to give up to a 6% sel...

This week, Chris Pummer at Marketwatch.com did a great 3-part series on using self-directed IRA's to invest in real estate which you can read here. I've long thought that this is an excellent way to diversify your retirement savings away from the typical stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and tie yo...

One of my consulting clients asked me to put together a one-page summary of current trends in the overall real estate market. It was a good exercise for me to try to condense so much information into a few bullet points and I thought I might as well share it with anyone else who's interested. Che...

This NY Times article about banks walking away from foreclosures brings to the forefront what may turn out to be one of the longer-lasting problems created by the foreclosure crisis: messy, tangled titles. When banks walk away from a foreclosure their mortgage lien remains on the property's title...

I'm reading that the bid-ask gap between buyers and sellers is slowly narrowing, which is certainly what needs to happen in order for real estate markets nationwide, and here in Philly too, to get back to a state of normalcy. While the bid-ask gap is usually portrayed as a two-sided disconnect be...

Check out the new blog that I am contributing to at http://llenrock.blogspot.com. It covers all types of commercial real estate trends, news and issues and we're always open to receiving comments, feedback, and ideas for future posts.

More proof that the investment market in Philly is red-hot even with the national economy melting-down all around us (if you believe the media hype that is). I just put a property under contract that was on the market exactly one week, and that sold for 11% over asking price with multiple (5+) of...

How many times have I heard my investor clients say "I'd like to buy this house but I'd really LOVE to buy this whole block!"? I hear it all the time! In Philadelphia making a good real estate investment is just as much about the block, street and neighborhood that you buy into as it is about the...

This article in today's New York Times highlights some of the ways in which Pennsylvania, and especially the Philadelphia region, is bucking the national economic downturn. I just wish they'd come up with a good use for that $400 million budget surplus, I could name them a few...  http://www.nyti...

I sent this out as an email to all my past and present clients this week to give them an update of the developments I'm seeing in the Philadelphia real estate market. If you have any questions about Philly please give me a call! Just writing to give you a quick update on Philadelphia's real estat...