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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