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Harrisburg, PA Real Estate News

By Jeff R. Geoghan, REALTOR, Marketing Manager
(Coldwell Banker Realty)
I had the opportunity to visit the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg Pennsylvania yesterday - it's located in Reservoir Park, just off of Route 83.  I was impressed by the size of the place - I understand that the collection and museum came largely from Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed's efforts during the 1990's. We toured the museum's displays, which were decent but a bit hard to follow.  The layout was largely a timeline from the end of antebellum times to the westward expansion of the 1880's.  The museum's marketing pieces claim that it's the only museum dedicated to the entire Civil War in the country.  Quote: "The only museum in The United States that portrays the entire story of the American Civil War. Equally balanced presentations are humanistic in nature without bias to Uni...
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By Coldwell Banker, Select Professionals
(Coldwell Banker Select Professionals)
PRICE AND SALES SHOW STRENGTH AMID DECREASESSales decrease at slower pace; Median price remains strong, says local Realtor association... HARRISBURG (July 10, 2009) – The median home-sale price in the South Central Pennsylvania area decreased slightly in the second quarter of 2009. According to statistics from the Central Penn Multi-List, Inc., the median home-sale price in the second quarter was $164,767 – a 1.9 percent decrease from the $168,000 median home-sale price in the second quarter of 2008. “Once again, our area median price is holding steady,” says Frederick L. Briggs, president of the Greater Harrisburg Association of REALTORS®. “While we continue to see substantial drops in price in other areas of the county, South Central Pennsylvania homes are maintaining their value.” Th...
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Old Lenker Manor Swim Club LIVE ON-SITE REAL ESTATE AUCTION SATURDAY JULY 25th HIGH NOON50 PROPERTIES SOLD FROM 1 LOCATIONOld Lenker Manor Swim Club N 40th St - Francis L Cadden Parkway Swatara - Harrisburg, PA 17111 Property Previews Lots & Land may be previewed during daylight hours Click here for a complete List Terms: $1,000.00 (One Thousand Dollar) Deposit Per Lot to Bid 10% Buyers Premium added to high bid & paid to seller $595.00 Processing Fee Per Property 15-Day Closing by August 10th Property Sold AS-IS WHERE IS FREE & CLEAR OF BACK TAXES OR MORTGAGES AUCTION TERMS This property to be sold at PUBLIC Auction A 10% Buyers Premium will be added to the high bid ALL BIDDERS MUST REGISTER TO BID or Your bid may not be qualified $1,000.00 "Hard Money" Deposit to be applied towards c...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
If you're feeling like the technology boom is driving you out of the business, take a small step back in the technology evolution time-line. First of all, I'm so glad you found this article. Be sure to visit ActiveRain often and sign up for weekly updates. Before the advent of Facebook and My Space, and Twitter, and whatever...we all read the professional journals; REALTOR® Magazine, the local and state association news letters, national trainers' and coaches' journals and stuff our brokers copied and put in our mail drawers, etc.  Well, they stll exist, just in other forms. Here's a great way to keep your head above water in the flood of technology aimed at the rush to market to the next generation of consumers...whatever we are calling them now. I subscribe to several Real Estate trai...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
Wow, where have I been all month. My new role at our firm has me hopping lately. So I'm back with some more simple advice. Measure the important activities and take responsibility for the things within your control. (Ok Jim, sounds simple but what are you talking about...?) I see the business process like this; 1) You'll only get paid when you conduct a settlement, 2) You'll only get to settlement when you write an offer or take a new listing, 3) You'll only write an offer or take a new listing when you're face-to-face with a client, 4) You'll only get face-to-face with clients if you've called prospects and made appointments, 5) You'll only have prospects to call if go out and prospect for leads. Steps 1, 2, & 3 are not within your control; buyers and sellers will decide when to settle...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
I did a real short version of this yesterday in our sales meeting and some of my agents wanted me to write about it so the could go back to it from time to time, so here's my thoughts... 1 thing that matters to our income 3 things we should measure every day, week, month... 5 fundamental processes in our business   The ONE thing, you can't earn an income unless you write contracts...sales contracts or listing contracts. So what ever else you did yesterday won't contribute to your bottom line like meeting with someone and writing a sale or a listing. That should be your number 1 priority every day: "who can I meet with to write a contract today?" Managers measure company dollar, closed sales and overall income. Agents should measure something else every day; number of appointments, sales...
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By Coldwell Banker, Select Professionals
(Coldwell Banker Select Professionals)
After making the decision to buy a home in the Harrisburg PA area, many buyers are surprised by the amount of work required for a successful closing. To ensure that you are prepared to close on the home, you may want to develop a checklist of necessary steps with your Coldwell Banker real estate agent. As you prepare to complete the sale and move into your new home, consider the tips offered here concerning the most important tasks facing homebuyers. After you have filed your loan application and placed a deposit on the home, your mortgage lender will provide you with an estimate of closing costs. As the amount provided by the mortgage lender is merely an estimate and can change prior to closing, you are allowed to inspect all the loan documents the day before closing. Once you have con...
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By Everard Korthals, Mountain Realty
(---Preferred Lifestyle Advisors---)
Motorama 2009 is one event you don't want to miss. What makes Motorama so unique is the diversity in Auto Racing which speaks to people of all ages. You will see kids as young as 4 and adults as old as 40 racing. There is something for everyone. Today is the last day to attend this great 2 day event, so hurry and join the other 50,000 people at MOTORAMA 2009; THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE EAST!! Racing vehicles: Remote Control Cars Go-Karts BMX  Portarcycles Quads Trailriders Import Cars Street Bikes Dirt Bikes and more... Tuner War 2009: (Saturday Only) At the Tunerwar Expo Hall custom racecars display their Hi-Tech Goodies in the F$ Challenge Show Competition. You will see close to 300 cars displayed, with some of the best state of the art Technology and racing equipment. Check out the 20...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
Over the years I've found that there are big ideas that can transform your business-many of them you can find right here on activerain. But there are also the little things that make your career zip along like a finely tuned engine; I like the little things. I have always used a journal, since the days before I got into real estate I searched for a day planned that complimented my style and thought processes - but nothing worked. So I started making my own with a simple standard sized wire bound notebook. These are very cheap and very adaptable, but most of all they are very effective for many things, A couple days ago I got a call from someone and I wrote the message into my journal for that day. Then as we traded calls over a couple days he stopped giving me his number in his messages...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
When I was a new agent my coach used to tell me all the time "just grind it out, there's business on the other side." What he was trying to tell me was that after I created a smart and strategic busines plan I need to not only execute it but continue to execute it; keep grinding it out. Keep making 30 to 40 calls, keep walking through neighborhoods, keep knocking on fsbos doors; keep doing the things I'm getting tired of doing. After a couple months of doing the work of practicing real estate you will get tired of it, but that's the work that seperates us from the folks who are no longer enjoying this business. Tom Hopkins says all the time that "real estate is the highest paid hard work and the lowest paid easy work" that we can choose. And we do choose it every day. So, remember to co...
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By Jeff R. Geoghan, REALTOR, Marketing Manager
(Coldwell Banker Realty)
Listen to this article as an audio podcast. As a longtime member of the Green Building Association, I'm glad to bring this event to my blog readers. MEASURE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT - TWO SEMINARS ON FEBRUARY 25, 2009 LUNCHTIME SEMINAR AND EVENING SEMINAR PLENTY OF FREE PARKING AT HACC MIDTOWN CAMPUS IN HARRISBURG Join us to learn how to measure your carbon footprint at work and at home, and how to decrease it.   The lunchtime seminar will start at 11 am, and will include a light and healthy lunch. Following the seminar, at about 1 pm, interested participants may tour the building, the recently renovated Evangelical Press Building in Harrisburg's revitalized Midtown area. Registration for this seminar is $20.   The evening seminar, which begins at 6:30 pm, will include a light and healthy ...
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By Coldwell Banker, Select Professionals
(Coldwell Banker Select Professionals)
Here's a look at Home Sales & Prices in Harrisburg PA.  Homes for sale in this area largely include Harrisburg City and the Pennsylvania Capital area.  These statistics are from 2004-2008 of residential homes listed on the Central Penn Multi-List, which covers Dauphin, Perry, Cumberland Counties: Notice how the sales peaked in 2006, but the listings peaked in 2007.  2008 Home Sales dropped to 2003 levels.   Here's a look at the average prices of Harrisburg PA Homes during the 2004-2008 period: Note that the average list price of Harrisburg Homes that actually sold (the dark blue line) corresponds closely to the average sold price.  There's a bunch of reasons for that.  What's really interesting, though, is the average listing price of homes that did not sell.  Take a look at the green l...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
Follow up, follow up, follow up! I used to work for a guy who loved to stump us with questions about sales skills to kick off that part of his meetings. I remember this because it used to frustrate the heck out of me, but I remember one that stuck with me. What's the most important part of any follow up system? Establishing when the next call will be. Here's the trick. High tech or low tech, it doesn't matter what you use, as long as it works for you. I'll give you the example that worked for me. When it came to active leads and client follow ups I used simple 3 x 5 cards. On one side was the name and some information along with the phone numbers i needed. On the back is where I wrote the date for the next call and notes after the call. It looked a little like this... 10/3 - get them in...
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By Fred Pickard, Hershey, PA
(Fred Pickard Innovations Realty Inc)
That's right. The Harrisburg CBS television station was placed as a home market for the Baltimore Ravens since under the NFL rules and television agreement, WHP-TV's viewing area is within 75 miles of the stadium.  Now there is some history here. When the Colts were in Baltimore, they played on Baltimore's north side at Memorial Stadium and there were thousands of Colts season ticket holders that lived in south Central Pennsylvania. The location was a fairly easy drive down Interstate 83 to the beltway and then only a ten minute drive from there to the stadium. There were quite a few busloads of season ticket holders leaving from the Harrisburg area every home game Sunday.  Well, of course, the Colts left town at 3AM on March 28, 1984 thanks to team owner Robert Irsay and his desire for...
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By Fred Pickard, Hershey, PA
(Fred Pickard Innovations Realty Inc)
One of the negatives about living in a smaller market is the lack of transportation opportunities when you just have to get out of town. The Harrisburg International Airport is a very nice facility converted from the former Olmsted Air Base with a new terminal, very long runways and short security lines. The bad part is that it can be difficult to get anywhere from here. This week, there were six airlines serving this area; Air Canada (2 flights a day to Toronto), Continental (a few flights to Cleveland and Newark), Delta (to Atlanta and Cincinnati), Northwest (to Detroit and Minneapolis), United (to Chicago and Dulles) and US Air (to Boston, Philadelphia and Charlotte). Almost all of the service is by "express divisions" of these airlines on regional jets or props. American provided se...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
Here's another in my series of ramblings that I hope will give you some ideas to increase your business - enjoy. I like mailing to my sphere, but it's important to first earn the right to ask for their business. Here's how, always give them something of value to use or share with their friends. These days everyone hears so much about how bad the market is, but no one talks about how good it is relative to those of years ago.  Everything is relative and things aren't as bad as they seems. Let me tell you why... There are three things you should tell everyone you know and tell your sphere in a series of letters. This market is great, and it's great for three target markets. First-time buyers. Interest rates are low, in some cases historically low. For young families with good credit this ...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
This will kick off this series what I call...'Real Estate 101.' You can call it the ramblings of a real estate trainer who's convinced that where there's passion and a desire for success - we can train the rest! Anyway here's my thoughts on how to be successful using Open Houses as one of many tools in your arsenal. Remember these are my opinions and you don't have to agree with them, but I hope you'll find something in here that you'll be able to use to your advantage. First of I think it's important to remember who you work for - the seller. They need to understand that these activities rarely result in a sale, but do often result in new business for you. And always be direct with visitors and ask if they are working with an agent already. As long as they are all ok with that, let's p...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
Well it's that time of year again...scary movies and stoking up the pantry with candy; and what comes along with cool weather and falling leaves? Time to work on your business plan (screams of terror from off stage...)! Why is this such a dreaded chore? Maybe we just don't understand it well enough. So many times I watched agents and managers go through this Autumn ritual with no real appreciation of what it could mean to an agents business.  This is the time we should examine the past for strengths and weaknesses, and look to the future with firm strategies to succeed. This is a process, but too many times we short cut the process by just deciding what we would like next year to be.  We say things like "I'll increase my business by 10%" or "I want to do another million in volume" or ev...
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By Cindy Stys, The Premier Equine Realty Broker
(Cindy Stys Equestrian & Country Properties, Ltd)
ATTENTION HUNTER/JUMPER TRAINERS, RIDERS & BREEDERS If you're looking to purchase a horse farm in the vicinity of Harrisburg, we have one for you. Located in Hamburg, PA only 10 minutes to Route 78, approximately 45 minutes to Penn National Race Track, 1 hour from Harrisburg and Devon (major show venues). 40 stalls (28 of which are large box stalls) conveniently attached to good size indoor arena with new footing & skylights Other ammenities include: 2 wash stalls / 2 tack rooms 2 oberservation rooms foaling stalls bathroom/laundry out door arena 14 paddocks run-in shed $878,950 The property includes a charming 4 bedroom stone farm house with slate floor sunroom, new kitchen floor, remodeled bathroom.  Other outbuildings on property including nice bank barn, newer small barn & storage b...
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By Jim Gainer
(Howard Hanna Real Estate Services)
While I listen to the debate rage on and on...I'll let my creative side develop some survival skills for what I see coming down the road. Take more listings, and take better care of the sellers. We'll see more and more sellers who have little or no equity and even less cash to be able to make repairs buyers may ask for. How do we help and protect them? Try using a pre-market home inspection. For just a little money the seller will be better prepared for negotiating with a buyer, and in some cases a buyer might not feel compelled to do their own. On thing I've seen is that on many repairs, the seller can usually get it done for a lot less if they aren't pressed for time. Then encourage them to add a home warranty to their listing. This will help them stand out from the crowd and could sa...
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