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Week of April 21, 2008
Philadelphia region 1Q home prices down some, but sales dive
By: DEBORAH YAO, The Associated Press
Home prices in the greater Philadelphia region fell only slightly in the first quarter, bucking the national trend, but sales plunged by more than one-third from a year ago, a regional real estate broker reported Friday.
The 12-county area spanning southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and northern Delaware saw median prices of existing single-family homes and condos fall by 1.4 percent to $215,000, according to Devon-based Prudential Fox & Roach, the nation's fifth-largest real estate broker.
But the number of sales fell 33.5 percent, with the Pennsylvania side down 29.9 percent and New Jersey and Delaware each down 39 percent. The number of days it took to sell a home rose by 16 percent to 81.
Nationally, U.S. home sales were down over 23 percent in January and February, while prices declined by 4.6 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. March figures from the National Association of Realtors will be released Tuesday.
Ordinance would make business secret
ByTHERESA KATALINAS, Bucks County Courier Times
If an Upper Makefield ordinance is adopted as proposed, the press couldn't talk to the supervisors without “authorization,” and the “official business of all departments” would be deemed confidential unless the supervisors intended it to be public.
Supervisor Dave Kulig, who spoke out about it publicly, said the potential ordinance spells trouble. The intent, Kulig claimed, is to “stifle dissent” and “minimize information made available to anyone who disagrees with the board majority.” Kulig, with his outspoken criticisms and votes of opposition, would fit the criteria.
Calling the proposal a restriction of First Amendment rights, Kulig refused to attend an executive session to discuss the draft. That meeting was not held, officials said, and the regulation has remained on the backburner.
“This is not something that should be done in the veil of secrecy,” Kulig said of the draft ordinance. “[Township solicitor] John Rice sent a password-protected file via e-mail. The first thing I did was to remove the copy protection.”
Environmental advisory council being considered
By: CHRISTINA KRISTOFIC, The Intelligencer
Doylestown Council is considering creating an environmental advisory council to offer it advice for making Doylestown more environmentally friendly.
“When the energy and environment committee was formed last year, Melissa Bond said, "Why not an EAC?'” committee chairman Don Berk said after the council meeting Monday night. “I think a lot of us think an EAC makes sense.”
The new environmental advisory council could work in conjunction with Berk's committee or replace it; council members agreed to wait and see how everything works on the environmental advisory council before they make that decision.
The environmental advisory council would be made of one member of the borough's planning commission and four citizens who are experts on environmental issues.
It would be responsible for promoting the borough's ongoing environmental initiatives.
For several years, the borough has been working with Doylestown Township to create a bike and hike trail around Doylestown that helps residents get from place to place without the use of vehicles. It has also, through its recreation and shade tree committee, planted trees in town to create shade and absorb carbon dioxide.
New-Home Sales Fall to Low Last Seen in 1990s
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM, The New York Times
The worst days of the housing slump may lie ahead.
Buyers vanished from the housing market in March, as sales of new homes plummeted to the lowest level since the housing recession of the 1990s, the government said on Thursday.
Builders are now faced with the biggest backlog of unsold homes in more than a quarter century, a sign that home values may continue to drop.
“People are obviously reluctant to buy so long as prices continue to fall,” said Bernard Baumohl, managing director of the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, N.J. “They have no desire to buy a house that is going to be worth less two months later.”
Even those who wish to buy may be stymied, Mr. Baumohl said, as banks and mortgage lenders tighten their credit standards amid broader troubles in the economy.
Sales of new homes fell 8.5 percent, a far sharper decline than economists had forecast. The drop-off may be related to the downturn in the job market; employers shed 80,000 jobs in March, the biggest bleed so far this year.
“That has a very profound psychological impact on people,” Mr. Baumohl said. “They are not likely to make a major investment if they are uncertain about job security and income growth.”
Amid fears, well ordinance passes
By: THERESA HEGEL, The Intelligencer
Nockamixon supervisors passed an ordinance Tuesday night restricting well drilling in an effort to preserve water in the often parched township.
More than 60 people — some of them left standing — jammed into the township building for an hour-long public hearing before the vote. Most of those present supported the law, presenting anecdotal evidence of wells habitually drying up.
Residents of Frogtown Road, near Palisades High School, in particular spoke out in favor of the ordinance. One resident ticked off four wells on the road that recently had to be redrilled.
Sue Spencer, also of Frogtown Road, said experts could be found to argue both sides of the issue, but added that the homeowners were the ones with the experiences.
“That's the reality,” she said.
Members of the groundwater committee that spent years developing the ordinance also gave testimony.
Stephen Donovan, a township resident and committee member, referenced a letter from the Bucks and Montgomery County Home Builders Association that asked residents not to support the law.
The unsigned letter was sent out April 7 to a number of Nockamixon residents. According to the letter, the ordinance would lower property values in the township. It also called the law “highly restrictive” and said it wasn't “based on sound scientific principles.”
Donovan said he took exception to many of the points made in the letter.
“It is good science,” he said.
Detractors echoed many of the sentiments expressed in the HBA letter. They said the ordinance was anti-development, and one resident questioned whether the measure would hold up in court. They also said such a law would not protect homeowners whose wells went dry.
“A well is not a perpetual source of water,” said Jeff Clark, a geologist with Doylestown-based DelVal Soil & Environmental Consultants, speaking on behalf of one township resident.
Problems with wells occur whether or not there is development, he said.
He submitted several documents critiquing the township's ordinance, saying the law contained conflicting information.
Nockamixon's 30-plus page ordinance essentially prohibits drilling a well unless it can be shown that the well will meet the demands of the home(s) or business it is to serve without overstraining water supplies. A firm proposing a major subdivision would be held responsible under the ordinance for adversely impacting neighboring wells.
Studies by the groundwater committee have found that while wells in the region are drilled deep, residents are having difficulty finding water, and aquifers are not recharging efficiently.
Henry Gawronski was the lone supervisor who voted against the ordinance.
He argued that the Nockamixon's original well law was sufficient and that this new one was “too stringent” and would do nothing to safeguard residents.
