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Jim Cramer is Not from Lancaster!<br />

By Mark Pontz<br />

On a recent Wednesday<br />

morning, I was invited to<br />

speak about mortgages in general, and all<br />

of the mortgage news in particular, to the<br />

Rotary Club of Lancaster South. Prior to<br />

speaking, I was enjoying a lovely Willow<br />

Valley breakfast and becoming acquainted<br />

with some interesting new people.<br />

During this time a Rotary member asked<br />

me, “Did you hear what Jim Cramer said<br />

on the Today Show this morning?” For<br />

those of you not familiar, Mr. Cramer<br />

a successful stock trader, is the host of<br />

Mad Money, a stock trading and investing<br />

show appearing nightly on CNBC. His<br />

frenetic and boisterous style has attracted<br />

a strong following and the show is fun to<br />

watch if you enjoy loud, over the top,<br />

unfl inching opinions as entertainment.<br />

Apparently, when Mr. Cramer was a<br />

Today Show guest that morning, the<br />

conversation was predominantly about<br />

the Real Estate market. Mr. Cramer, in<br />

speaking with host Matt Lauer, asserted:<br />

“You should not consider buying a<br />

home for at least a year”! This comment<br />

certainly set off a lively conversation<br />

at the Rotary meeting that morning<br />

and subsequently in the media as well,<br />

prompting a return visit for Mr. Cramer<br />

to the Today Show to be challenged on<br />

his comments by several Real Estate and<br />

fi nancial professionals. Needless to say,<br />

most of them did not agree with him.<br />

That is the side of the table that I, and<br />

likely anyone who lives here in Lancaster,<br />

will sit on. Broad and sweeping<br />

comments such as Mr. Cramer’s only<br />

serve to unnecessarily infl ame people’s<br />

fears. His comments do make sense in<br />

some markets of course. Take a market<br />

such as Las Vegas, for example. In Las<br />

Vegas rampant Real Estate speculation<br />

has resulted in condominiums sitting<br />

empty, having been purchased by<br />

speculators for rapid resale at a profi t<br />

and now not able to be sold, as the once<br />

red hot Las Vegas market has cooled<br />

to normality. But, Las Vegas is not<br />

Lancaster, and Jim Cramer does not live<br />

in Lancaster.<br />

The many factors that make Lancaster<br />

such a desirable place to live also offer<br />

some insulation from the Real Estate<br />

woes being experienced by much of the<br />

nation. Strong employment, low crime<br />

rates, and a strong and growing economy<br />

keep our housing market in positive<br />

territory as much of the nation is seeing a<br />

slowdown and in some cases, a retreat in<br />

home values.<br />

What I have seen during the last several<br />

months and what my past experience<br />

indicates is that the home values in<br />

Lancaster County will remain steady<br />

with normal appreciation. Homes that<br />

were purchased in the last year or two<br />

have not only maintained their value, but<br />

have grown in value at a reasonable rate.<br />

Currently, local appreciation of homes<br />

is being seen at a rate of three to fi ve<br />

percent annually. True, for several years<br />

we were seeing greater appreciation,<br />

sometimes in excess of ten percent, but<br />

this appreciation was a phenomenon that<br />

could not sustain itself indefi nitely. What<br />

we have now is a normal market, not a<br />

slow market, just a normal market with<br />

traditional appreciation and an average<br />

amount of homes being sold.<br />

What does this mean to you if you<br />

are considering buying and or selling<br />

a home? When you are selling your<br />

home, it may be on the market for a<br />

few weeks before being sold. Again, this<br />

time frame is normal and should be of<br />

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no cause for panic. The most important<br />

factor in the new and normal market is<br />

to solicit and heed the advice of a Real<br />

Estate professional. Now is the time that<br />

properly pricing a home for sale is crucial,<br />

as overpricing can cause your home to<br />

be overlooked by potential buyers. As<br />

you are looking to purchase a home,<br />

you will likely not be competing against<br />

fi ve other offers on the home, causing a<br />

bidding war and driving the price of the<br />

home skyward. Keep in mind though,<br />

that very few homes are in “fi re sale”<br />

mode and offers that are substantially<br />

below a fair market price will likely be<br />

rejected or even left unanswered. All<br />

in all, the Lancaster County market is<br />

moving along nicely.<br />

So I will close out this issue’s column with<br />

a challenge to Mr. Jim Cramer; if you<br />

are concerned about Real Estate values<br />

Mr. Cramer, perhaps you may wish<br />

to purchase a home here in Lancaster<br />

County? Perhaps something in Bent<br />

Creek (he is a celebrity after all). <strong>FLL</strong><br />

Mark is a V.P. with Arlington Capital Mortgage<br />

on Oregon Pike in Lancaster. He can be<br />

reached at 717-475-4444.<br />

Escrow

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