Brigita's Blog: June 2009

Here is what's happening in our area:

Recommendation:

If you're buying a home, it is important that you work closely with a highly-motivated agent who understands what's going on with the real estate market and local economy.  He/She will be able to advise you on how to get the most for your money and what homes you may want to avoid, as there are homes on the market that are not priced at their fair market value.

If you're selling your home, it's also important that you work closely with a highly-motivated agent who understands what's going on with the market and local economy.  Your goal is to net top dollar - which you may not achieve if you over price or under price your home.

Contact me in case you want a free consultation on whether it's a good time to buy or sell and what factors to consider so that you don't under price or over price your home.  Please don't hesitate to contact me by telephone or email - even if all you have is a question.

Brigita McKelvie, REALTOR, e-PRO, GRI
Residential Rural and Horse Properties
Keller Williams Real Estate
Office: 610-867-8888    Cell: 610-393-9424
E-mail: brigita@brigitamklv.com

Sunday, I had the pleasure of volunteering at Burgundy Hollow Horse Farms Horse Trials.  The weather that day was perfect for it with partly sunny skies, temperatures in the 70's with a slight breeze. 

Let me explain what horse trials are for those of you that are not familiar with it.  Horse trials is just like 3 day eventing, involving the 3 phases of riding: dressage, cross country and stadium jumping.  The only difference is that it is held in 1 day instead over 3 day span.

My job that day was to fence judge 2 fences on the cross country course.  Fence judging is really a very simple job.  Even those without horse experience are able to do it.  Just set up a chair near the fence(s) you are judging, but not too close.  Sit far enough away that you will not interfere with the horse and riders, but close enough that you can see if the pair jump the fences, have refusals or if horse and/or rider have a fall.

The horse and riders leave the start gate at 2 minute intervals so as not to interfere with each other.  Sometimes it can be rather boring just sitting there waiting for the next horse to come through.  Where I was positioned, I was able to watch the dressage phase in between riders. 

The upper level horses cleared the fences I was judging, but some of the lower level/beginner horses had some refusals.  At least we had no casualties.

It was quite a relaxing day.  If you are interested in having a relaxing day and feel like doing something out of the ordinary, come out to the next horse trials at Burgundy Hollow.  The best thing is: no experience necessary.  The next event at Burgundy Hollow will be July 26th. 

Hope to see you there!

Saturday, a craft sale was held on the lawn of the Whitfield House and Museum in Nazareth, PA.   It was a gorgeous morning and my husband and I walked around to see.  There were many tables set up and many crafts.

Some were selling jewelry, art work, woodwork, home made sauces and jellies and baked goods.  At one table, a Native American was selling hand made Native American Flutes and drums.  He even played some of them.  They have such a mellow sound.  At another table, a vendor was selling handmade wooden plaques which were in 3D.  I have never seen such artwork and it was beautiful.  I almost bought one.  (A horse head, of course.  What else?)

In addition to the crafts, food was available on the premises, such as hot dogs, home made fudge (mmmmm), and even the ice cream truck was there. 

While walking around, music was playing.  It ws a local brass band.  If you wanted to, you could bring your own chair and just sit and enjoy the food and music. 

If you brought the kids, there was even an area for them to play and be entertained.

During this whole event the museum was open for a reduced admission rate of $1 that day.  It had been a long time since we had been in it and decided to tour it.  All I can say is Nazareth has a lot of history behind it.

Overall, there was a little something for everyone that day to enjoy.  I hope to come back again to this event next year.

Earlier this week, I wrote that I had passed my exams for my GRI (Graduate, REALTOR Institute) designation.  This is a major achievement for me. 

So, what exactly is GRI designation?

A GRI is a professional designation from the Pennsylvania REALTORS Institute.  The GRI designation is a nationally recognized mark of achievement in the resl estate profession.  This designation is awarded after completing 90 hours of classroom instruction, covering subjects including contract law, professional standards, sales and marketing, finance, and risk reduction.  Individuals completing the program learn the fundamentals of brokerage and other areas of real estate specialization, allowing them to better serve prospective clients and customers.  The courses are taught by leading real estate instructors from around the region.

I have now joined a select group of approximately 4,579 residential specialists in Pennsylvania who have earned the GRI designation.

The Pennsylvania REALTORS Institute, the education arm of Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS, exists to educate practitioners about real estate practices that affect them and their clients, and to enable them to become more competent.

Members of REALTORorganizations at the local state, and national levels are privileged to use the REALTORdesignation, which distinguishes them from non-member brokers and salespersons and indicates that they subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics.

As you can see, it is a lot of hard work and studying to earn a GRI designation, but it is well worth it. 

A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.  She says she's going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.

The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce.

The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the title and everything checks out.  The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.

The bank's president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan.  An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.

The loan officer says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled..  While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire.  What puzzles us, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"

The blonde replies... "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"

 (Finally a smart Blonde joke.  Bet you didn't expect that!)

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God ... 

and then wonder why the world's going to hell. 

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.

Or is it scary?

Funny how someone can say "I believe in God" but still follow Satan (who, by the way, also "believes" in God).

Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Funny, isn't it?

Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.

Are you laughing?

Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.

Are you thinking?

Tuesday, May 9th, was Bethlehem Sands Casino's Grand opening celebration.  Even though the casino has been open since May 22nd, it kicked off it's official opening at the former Bethlehem Steel's site.

Instead of a ribbon cutting ceremony, a torch was used to cut the ceremonial steel chain to the shrill clanging of a 650-pound whistle from the SS Normandy, a French cruise liner whose salvaged whistle was used to mark shift changes at the steel plant - at just about 1 o'clock.

Gov. Rendell and company and local luminaries were on hand to dedicate the slots parlor, which had 60,000 visitors its first three days and saw $18 million in wagering the first day alone.

The Sands already has drawn patrons from the Mount Airy Resort Casino in the Poconos, which is about 40 miles away.

The ceremony also featured three longtime workers - now in their 70's - who used to work at the steel plant that stood on the site.  The new casino is on the original steel-making structures that made up Bethlehem Steel, which closed its local operations in 1998.

The Blue Man Group performed their 7 minute show.  In addition to their trademark paint-drumming, the trio with blue painted faces also used gears, wheels and springs from the Old Bethlehem Steel Plant to play their music.

The casino helped to increase statewide gross slots revenue by nearly 18 percent last month - to $178.4 million - compared with May 2008, according to the state gaming board.

From May 22 to May 31, Sands Bethlehem grossed nearly $10.7 million in slots revenue.

The money is used to reduce local property taxes, to boost horse racing purse money, and to fund economic development projects in the state.  Also, a portion of the money is returned to local and county governments that host the casinos. 

Governor Rendell said he could think of no other industry in Pennsylvania that has created jobs.  Since August, the state has lost 600,000 jobs. "This new entity is creating 1,000 jobs in the toughest economy since the Great Depression," the governor said.

The construction of the hotel plus a shopping mall near the casino is expected to resume at the end of the year.  Construction was halted in November due to the slowing of the economy and debt problems for the Las Vegas Sands.

Looks like

The May 2009 Market Update for the Lehigh Valley, PA just came out with the statistics and it is looking good.

During May 2009, 442 sales were reported, up about 8.9%, from April 2009 at 406.

The average sales price for May 2009 was up by approximately 2%, at $202,000, from April 2009 of $198,000.

The average time on the market for properties sold during May 2009 decreased to 83 days, as compared to April 2009 at 86 days.

In May 2009, 6 newly constructed homes with 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths were sold at the average price of $464,000.  That is an increase as compared to April 2009 of the average sales price of $431,000.

May Sales Distribution:

Sale Price                                   Number of Sales

under $70,000                                    32
$70,001 - $100,000                             26
$100,001 - $150,000                           90
$150,001 - $200,000                          115
$200,001 - $250,000                           72
$250,001 - $300,000                           39
$300,001 - $350,000                           31
$350,001 - $400,000                           15
$400,001 - $450,000                            9
$450,001 - $500,000                            4
$500,001 - $600,000                            6
$600,001 - $700,000                            1
$700,001 - $800,000                            2
$800,001 and above                             0

Looks like the real estate market is rebounding.