Lehigh Valley Real Estate Blog, Home Buying & Selling Information

Festivals in Lehigh Valley over Memorial Day Weekend

As we move into the Memorial Day weekend, let's not forget the true meaning of the holiday and say a prayer or take a moment of silence for those who died protecting and preserving the freedoms we enjoy.

One of the largest festivals going on in Lehigh Valley this weekend is Mayfair.

Mayfair is held at Cedar Beach Park (east of Cedar Crest Boulevard on Hamilton Street in West Allentown). Mayfair runs from Thursday 05/22/08 to Monday 05/26/08.

The offical website for Mayfair is: www.mayfairfestival.org (at last check this site was down due to exceeded bandwidth). The festival has activities for all ages including magic shows, puppeteers, story tellers, wandering minstrels, dancers, art exhibits, local and national musical acts, hands-on crafts demonstrations, and culinary delights.

There is another large festival going on in Pen Argyl at Weona Park this weekend. As I've been driving throughout the valley, I have seen signs in many municipalities for events happening this weekend.

Have a safe holiday!

Beauty and the Beast by the PA Youth Theatre

The Pennsylvania Youth Theatre in Lehigh Valley is currently running the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast. 

I accompanied my 4th grade daughter on a field trip to see the production. Knowing the quality of the PA Youth Theatre, I was looking forward to it.

I wasn't disappointed. The performance was excellent.

A few years ago, I saw the Disney version (at Disney World in Florida) and today's show was of the same quality or better. The quality of the set, the costumes, the music and choreography was truly superb.

The PA Youth Theatre is a non-profit organization geared towards promoting the arts to children whether performing or enjoying the production from the audience point-of-view.

The PA Youth Theatre performs at different venues throughout the valley. The Beauty and the Beast performance was located at the Scottish Shrine Masonic Temple on Hamilton Boulevard in Allentown.

Scottish Shrine Masonic Temple, Allentown PA

Some of the upcoming performances for 2008-2009 are A Christmas Carol, Charlotte's Web, and the Wizard of Oz.

More entertainment and recreation throughough Lehigh Valley can be found at: www.LehighValleyRecreation.com

A Great Baseball Night in Lehigh Valley with the Iron Pigs at Coca Cola Park

I had the pleasure this week of attending my first Lehigh Valley Baseball Game at Coca Cola Park, the home of the Iron Pigs. It was a Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. office outing.

The Iron Pigs had a great game and won the game in the top of the 9th inning.

We were all yelling "Oink, Oink" by the end of the game! If you were there I am sure you would have joined in.

It was exciting going for the first time. Getting into the stadium was easy and we tailgated in the parking lot for about an hour before-hand...with the grill.

During the game, everytime the Pigs made a run they launched t-shirts (from a large sling-shot) into the crowd. I almost caught one.

All-in-all it was great time. The tickets were cheap, at $9.00 a piece, and the stadium gave the same feel and excitement as attending a major league game. My children had a great time!

Are Home Prices Going Up or Down in Lehigh Valley?

Last week, The Morning Call had an article from the Associated Press in the Business section stating that home prices were expected to decline 5-7%. Four days later, The Morning Call had an article stating that home prices in April rose on average 3.2% in the Valley. Talk about mixed signals!

If I were a Lehigh Valley home buyer or seller, I would be scratching my head thinking "What do I do?". The result? Nothing. The home buyer and seller are in a holding pattern.

Some home buyers are looking for that special house, but at their price. Some home sellers are refusing to list their house (which may be the perfect house for the buyer) because they feel that buyers are offering ridiculous offering prices. Both situations are common scenarios in this market but there are many others.

What I know is that a buyer that offers $20,000 less for a house one week (and not get it) may offer full price for a house the following week.

Also, the home seller that turns down the offer for $5,000 less in week one of the listing may be accepting an offer for $10,000 (or more) less a few months later.

The divergence of the buyer and seller in a typical market is sometimes hard enough to come to a happy middle ground. The mixed signals over the housing market plus the price of gas and concern over job losses have added more insecurity to the home buying process. The margin for what a buyer is willing to pay versus what a seller is willing to accept has grown.

A lot depends on buyer and seller motivation. A motivated buyer will make a worthwhile offer when the correct house is found. A motivated seller will accept the realistic offer rather than dig in their heels and get offended. The professional real estate agent should be continuously educating the buyer and seller on what is going on with the current market...not the national media's take on what is going on.

Lehigh Valley Home Buyers and Home Sellers

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the different types of home buyers and sellers that are doing real estate transactions in the Lehigh Valley.

Home Sellers

- Relocating due to a job transfer (RELO company may be involved and offsetting some of the costs)
- Interested in moving but only if they can get "their" price
- Moving up to a larger home (growing family can dictate urgency)
- Downsizing to a smaller home (maybe to get rid of large mortgage or current home too large)
- Trying to sell before home goes into foreclosure, typically need a certain price to pay off mortgage
- Getting divorced, need to sell off assets
- Investor selling their property

Home Buyers

- First Time Home Buyer (living with parents or on their own)
- Relocating to area due to job transfer (RELO company may be involved and offsetting costs)
- Want to live in Lehigh Valley even though job and or family are in NY or NJ
- Want or need a larger home
- Want a smaller home
- Want to move into 55+, a Condo, or Ranch
- Interested in buying a home but only if they can get a "good deal" on it
- Investors looking to fix and resell a property or rent-it out

Wow, take a home buyer that wants a good deal and attempt to purchase a house from a home seller that will only sell if they get their price and you have a no-win situation.

Is this the common scenario? No, but I think the above lists point out how every situation is unique and handled differently depending on the knowns and un-knowns.