Frozen Yogurt Shop Opening in Former Ritz Camera at 9th and South

It looks like a Berry Sweet Frozen Yogurt plans to open up in the shop formerly occupied by Ritz Camera.  I haven't been able to find any more details, but the shop should be a welcome addtion to the busy intersection.

Philly Has a Tool Library

The Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition opened a shop in 2008 where homewoners can check out the tools they need to do basic home repairs and maintenance.  For just $20 annually members have access to over 2100 tools.  The Library is open evenings during the week and during the day on Saturday.  Check out their website and blog at http://www.westphillytools.org/.

CNN Model Does Remarkably Well in Housing Market Predictions

In 2006, CNN Money did a story ranking the top 299 housing markets according to how overvalued they were.  It could be inferred that those markets would see significant downward price adjustments these last few years.

Many Florida markets topped the 2006 list.  Las Vegas also ranked high on the list with a prediction of being overvalued about 50 Percent.  Florida and Vegas are now notorious for the steep housing declines that happened over the past four years.  In the 2006 report Philly was predicted to be overvalued about 15%.

This year CNN released new rankings showing the adjustments to the 300 or so markets and new average home values.  Many of the Florida markets did adjust down roughly the amounts they were predicted to be overpriced.  The same happened with Las Vegas.  Many Florida markets and Las Vegas are actually now undervalued.  Philly is also now on the undervalued list with a prediction of the market being undervalued about 3 percent.  The new rankings are great news, for many markets, if they are as good a predictor as they were in 2006.  While five years ago people would have been disappointed to be told their home values would only increase a few percent over the next few years, I think many Philly homeowners would now be happy with a slight increase in their home value.

 The new 2010 report did have bad news for homeowners in some markets.  As I blogged last week, attention is on Atlantic City.  This report predicted a 30% overvalue in its home values.  Ocean City, NJ was also on the list and predicted to be around 25 percent overvalued.

Philly Condo Market Booming

There was a large increase in condo sales during the last quarter.  The inquirer did a recent story on the Philly condo market in which they said "Condo sales in Philadelphia nearly doubled from the first quarter of this year to the second, and the numbers were better than at any time since the housing downturn began here in August 2007."

Most people think of first time home buyers as the one's buying condos in the big city, but in Philly, many of the new condo owners are retirees choosing Philly as the destination for their carefree years.

Philly Home Buying Hurdles

One of the biggest hurdles in the home buying process is the mortgage commitment.  Both established homeowners and first time buyers are having difficulty getting the mortgage in order before closing on the home.  MSN outlines 6 new hurdles for home financing.
1.  Higher credit score requirements

2.  Greater scrutiny of income and assets

3.  Ever-changing borrower requirements

4.  Home appraisals are coming in low

5.  Fewer opportunities for small business owners and independent contractors

6.  Condo purchases face additional tests

These problems seem to be confounded when a buyer is trying to use an internet lending company or out of state company.  Sellers are actually rejecting offers with buyers pre approved through an internet lender because of concern the deal will not close. There is a lot of value of knowing the loan officer and being able to get in touch with him/her easily. 

A.C. Trouble

The awful real estate woes of Las Vegas are drifting eastward to the other gambling hot spot.  Forbes named Atlantic City 1st in thier ranking of "tomorrow's real estate trouble spots.

The Full List of Trouble Spots:

10. Salisbury, Md.,
      Equilibrium Home Price: $131,902.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -8%

9. Eugene-Springfield, Ore.

    Equilibrium Home Price: $180,210.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -8%

8. Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, S.C.,
    Equilibrium Home Price: $215,054.00, 12-month  Price Forecast: -9%

7. Salt Lake City, Utah
    Equilibrium Home Price: $190,599.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -10%

6. Flagstaff, Ariz.

    Equilibrium Home Price: $219,260.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -13%

5. Bellingham, Wash.

    Equilibrium Home Price: $230,024.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -9%

4. Glens Falls, N.Y.

    Equilibrium Home Price: $177,003.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -11%

3. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash.

    Equilibrium Home Price: $189,818.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -9%

2. Provo-Orem, Utah

    Equilibrium Home Price: $136,247.00, 12-month Price Forecast:-12%

1. Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J.

    Equilibrium Home Price: $159,117.00, 12-month Price Forecast: -9%

Walking in Philly

One of the biggest benefits of living in Philly is the convenience.  I am a Philly transplant from a Midwestern city with a driving culture.  I find myself constantly trying to explain how fantastic a walkable neighborhood is to people from home.  Apparently more and more people are coveting walkable neighborhoods and The Wall Street Journal published A Walker's Guide To Home buying.

Here are some walk scores for Philly neighborhoods:

19130's walk score: 91 "Walker's Paradise"
19123's walk score: 94 "Walker's Paradise"
19106's walk score: 100, "Walker's Paradise"
19107's walk score: 97, "Walker's Paradise"
19102's walk score: 98, "Walker's Paradise
19103's walk score: 98, "Walker's Paradise
19147's walk score: 94, "Walker's Paradise"
19146's walk score: 63, "Somewhat Walkable"
19148's Walk score: 78 "Very Walkable"
19145's Walk score: 80 "Very Walkable"