Next Saturday, July 11, you can get the feeling of a peloton whooshing by (multiple times) in the West Chester during the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium. This event just keeps getting better. Starting with amateurs at 5pm, riders will race for multiple laps past the start/finish line at Iron Hill Brewery downtown. There are tons of great spots along the mile loop to catch the action as the guys and gals go flying by at 30+ miles per hour. Even the kids can participate between races in special rides just for them (scheduled at 5:45 pm).

If you’re lucky, you can go really Euro and possibly get a table at one of the restaurants along the course where you can watch the race while you enjoy a meal.

Fun times you don’t want to miss. I’ll be there with camera in hand again.

Photo courtesy of Me

Related posts:

1. Rolling through Chester County
2. Happy July 4th Chester County
3. Get out and play at West Goshen Park

Here’s to a happy and safe 4th of July. Be careful in your travels. Watch the kids around home fireworks (or attend one of the many fireworks displays in the area) and please don’t drink and drive.

Have a great weekend!

Martin’s Tavern photo by John Lauber, on Flickr

Related posts:

1. Happy July 4th Chester County
2. Happy Memorial Day
3. Happy Halloween

As I stated in this prior post, I’m one of those homeowners affected by the Williams Pipeline project. At the time of that post they had not begun work behind me. While they haven’t started digging behind me, they certainly have been driving along the pipeline, building a temporary “road” using railroad ties. I find the process very interesting.

They have begun digging in the field adjacent to my development. We’ve seen them bringing out the old pipes and, while not underground yet, placing the new pipes along the line. I can say for myself, that while we certainly see and hear the work, it has not been too much trouble. Of course, they’ll be digging sometime this month directly behind and my opinion may change.

Here’s one more picture of the work.

Related posts:

1. Williams Transco pipeline work has started

Boy does time seem to fly. I can’t believe we’ve already finished half the year. Here’s how the numbers look for June (and looking at the slides below the last 2 years) in Chester County.

The first number that jumped out at me for June was the large increase in homes under contract for June. I’m going to make an educated guess that the number is too high. I hope I’m wrong, but it seems awfully high. Numbers are still be entered for June, however. I’m going to do a larger breakdown of the Chester County market later this month (so subscribe now if you haven’t). Checking these numbers directly in the MLS (I use a tool that does more number crunching than our MLS) the units under contract are closer to 416, not 908.

The other numbers look more in line with the my MLS numbers, so let’s look at those. Days on market crept up a bit, as did sold and average prices (from May 2009). New listings tapered a bit as we June begins our annual summer slow down. What has this done to the absorption rate? Well because the number above is a bit high, I’m using a more realistic number of 12 months of inventory. Yes, that’s a higher than last month, but as I said before it’s expected as we slow during the summer. Looking at the sales board in my office, there are no shortage of homes going under contract. I still see homes, priced correctly for today’s market, selling quickly.

As I said above, look for a greater breakdown later this month of home sales in Chester County. If you would like statistics for your township, etc. feel free to contact me. I have many ways to break the data supplied down further.

See the charts below for more detail about the last 2 years in Chester County.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for June 2008
2. Chester County Stats – June 2008 Mid-Month Check
3. Chester County Real Estate Statistics for March, 2009

Here’s the real estate numbers for Downingtown in May, 2009

As you can see the numbers didn’t change too much from April to May in Downingtown. The average and median sold price as did those same numbers for a year ago. The number of properties under contract also stayed the same, though that number is down from a year (and two years) ago. New inventory also remained the same. So what has that done to the absorption rate? Nothing really. It remained at 8 months of inventory which with the exception of January (14 months), has remained about average. Days on market has inched up, but we are heading into the summer months which is a traditional slow down.

Want even more numbers to dwell over for Downingtown? Then check the slides below. Would you like numbers like these for your town, area, etc? Then feel free to contact me and I’ll get them to you ASAP.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for May 2009
2. Exton PA Real Estate Statistics for March 2009
3. Chester County Real Estate Statistics for March, 2009

Here are the real estate statistics for May, 2009 in the West Chester zip codes (19380, 19382):

West Chester, PA continued it’s steady sales rate from April, 2009 into May. The number of properties under contract remained about the same. They did sell a bit faster than prior months, but inventory levels didn’t take a significant dip as more homes came on the market. What did this do to the absorption rate? Not too much, rising to just under 9 months of inventory. Since January, the average absorption rate for West Chester is just above 8 months of inventory (8.12 to be exact). The number of sold listings remained the same with a small increase in days on market for those, while median and average prices dipped slightly though they remain fairly steady since January.

For more detailed charts regarding West Chester, see the full charts below. If you would like statistics like these for your market, just contact me and I’ll be to get them to you.

Related posts:

1. West Chester Market Statistics for April 2009
2. Chester County Statistics for May 2009
3. Downingtown Real Estate Statistics for May 2009

I live very close to the Williams Pipeline station on Bacton Hill road. I’m also one of the many residents in Chester County who will have trucks, etc. running near or in their yard as Williams replaces a pipe with a larger 36″ pipe. Well the trucks have definitely moved in and the work has definitely started. From the information they’ve sent to me directly, they will be coming through my section by next week. Unless they dig fast, I don’t see that really happening, but they have definitely started work through our neighborhood.

pipeline work

pipeline path

Related posts:

1. William’s Pipeline work digs on
2. Friday’s Ride
3. Bloodwork isn’t so bad

Here’s the latest real estate statistics for Chester County for May 2009.

As you can see, the units sold in May picked up compared to April in Chester County. That number is still down compared to last year, but we have seen a steady rise since the beginning of the year. Average and sold prices have remained pretty consistent throughout 2009. Units under contract continues to rise, especially as first time buyers have jumped off the fence with the government’s first time buyer credit. This will allow those people selling these homes to move on to their next home.

What has the increased units sold and under contract numbers done to the absorption rate? It’s reduced it even further to just below 9 months of inventory. As a reminder, a “normal” market is considered between 5 to 8 months. As we hit the summer months we will see a bit of a slow down, but I’m expecting steady sales, especially in the first time buyer market.

Feel free to contact me if you would like similar information for your area.

If you want even more detail, the graphs and numbers are below:

Related posts:

1. Downingtown Real Estate Statistics for May 2009
2. Chester County Statistics for June 2009
3. Chester County Real Estate Statistics for March, 2009

To all our troops, both present and past, we thank you for your service to our country. Have a safe holiday everyone.

Photo courtesy psilver via Flickr

Related posts:

1. Happy Memorial Day
2. Happy Fourth of July
3. Happy Thanksgiving

Here’s the latest real estate numbers for April 2009 in the West Chester zip codes.

As you can see, West Chester continues to remain on steady sales rate. Prices over 2 years have held their own. Sold home prices continued about the same for both median and average prices. Homes under contract decreased slightly from March into April. Days on market went down below 100. New listings also increased slightly as well. What effect did this have the West Chester absorption rate? Well it did increase to just under 8 (7.7) months of inventory. Which, when compared to Chester County, is better than the average for the county. Homes priced correctly and in good condition are still moving pretty quickly. In some cases, we are seeing multiple offer situations. It’s nowhere near the “boom years” of recent past, but there was a little too much going on then. As we get into summer, we will see a slow down starting around this weekend as school lets out and people start taking more vacations.

Want even more details and to check out the numbers yourself? See the extended charts below:

Related posts:

1. West Chester Statistics for May 2009
2. Chester County Statistics for April, 2009
3. West Chester Statistics – April 2008