Mortgage Rates Still Below 4%, For Now!!

Mortgage Rates Still Below 4%, For Now! Image courtesy of cooldesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For the third consecutive week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped, offering home buyers a chance to lock in lower mortgage rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s largely predicted move to raise federal funds rate later this month.

Freddie Mac reports the following averages with national rates for the week ending Dec. 3:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.93 percent, with an average 0.6 point, dropping from last week’s 3.95 percent average. Last year at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.89 percent.
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.16 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.18 percent average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.10 percent.
• 5-year hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.99 percent, with an average 0.5 point, falling from last week’s 3.01 percent average. A year ago, 5-year ARMs averaged 2.94 percent.
• 1-year ARMs: averaged 2.61 percent, with an average 0.3 point, rising from last week’s 2.59 percent average. A year ago, 1-year ARMs averaged 2.41 percent.

Source: Freddie Mac

Broomall PA. Fire Company’s Santa Claus Tour 2015

Broomall PA. Fire Company’s Santa Claus Tour 2015

Dates, Times & Locations

Tuesday, December 15th, starting at 5:15 PM
All streets North of West Chester Pike, all streets in the borders of West Chester Pike, Lawrence Rd., Sprould Rd. & Springfield Rd.

Thursday, December 17th, starting at 5:15 PM
All streets in the borders Cedar Grove Rd., Rt. 252 & Sproul Rd., Lawrence Park, including
all Lawrence Rd. cul-de-sacs.

Sunday, December 19th starting at Noon
All streets in the borders of Media Line Rd., West Chester Pike, Springfield Rd. & Cedar
Grove Rd. & Rt. 252

Note: Dates & Times subject to change based on weather & emergency calls.

Shrinking Shopping Malls Get Re-imagined

Shrinking Shopping Malls Get Reimagined. Image courtesy of erge Bertasius Photography / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As the number of visitors to U.S. shopping malls continues to shrink, developers are finding new purposes for the large retail complexes. An overbuilding of American shopping centers has pushed a wave of retailer bankruptcies which forced landlords to re-imagine their properties beyond a shopping center, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal.

Shopping malls are being converted into everything from apartments, offices and industrial spaces, to parks and playgrounds.

For example, the Highland Mall in Austin, Texas – the city’s first enclosed shopping complex – is being converted into a 600,000-square-foot structure for Austin Community College that will have classrooms, lab space, and a culinary arts center.

In York, Pa., developers have eliminated about 50,000 square feet of retail space to create an open-air plaza at West Manchester Town Center, which reopened last year.

Retail centers exploded a few years ago but the recession of 2007-2009 left many retailers vulnerable, according to the CoStar Group. Since 2008, only one mall with at least a million square feet of leasable space has opened in the U.S., according to Green Street Advisors, which tracks the retail sector in real estate. Over the decade ending in 2005, on the other hand, 54 such properties were built.

While shopping malls are closing, online shopping is exploding – more than doubling its share of all sales from 2008 to this year.

Source: “Shrinking U.S. Shopping Malls Get Makeovers,” The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 24, 2015)

Why Your E-mails Really Go Unanswered

Why Your E-mails Really Go Unanswered. Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Just how fast should you expect a response to your e-mail? A new study examines the response time to learn more about e-mail behavior.

USC Viterbi School of Engineering recently looked at more than 2 million users who exchanged 16 billion e-mails over several months. The researchers discovered some of the following patterns:

• Responses usually come within an hour: Due to mobile devices, about 50 percent of e-mail replies were sent in less than 60 minutes, the study found.
• Your e-mail isn’t likely to get a response after 48 hours: Researchers also found that if your e-mail hasn’t been responded to, you’re unlikely to get a response after 48 hours. If the recipient is going to reply, they will likely do so within a day or two of receiving your e-mail.
• Millennials respond among the fastest: Those between the ages of 20 and 35 have an average response time of 16 minutes (the second fastest behind teenagers, who respond within 13 minutes or less, on average). Response times tend to rise to 24 minutes for those between the ages of 35 to 50 and individuals over the age of 50 take an average of 47 minutes to reply. However, older adults were found to write longer messages compared to younger individuals, according to the study.
• Women take longer: Women tend to take longer to craft a response – about four minutes longer – than men.

“If you’ve been emailing someone back and forth for a while – perhaps a potential prospect – there are some telltale signs that the emails have fizzled,” writes Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and the author of “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do,” at Forbes.com. “Initially, users mimic one another when it comes to the length of an email. So if you’ve written five paragraphs, expect a similar length e-mail in response. Users usually stay synchronized until the middle of the conversation. So when the other person’s emails start to change, it could signal they’re growing less interested in continuing the conversation. A delay that lasts longer than usual most likely signals the conversation is over.”

Also, Morin notes that the best time to e-mail someone is during normal workday hours, most notably during the morning hours. E-mails received during the weekends and in the afternoon are more likely to get shorter replies.

Source: “Waiting for a Reply? Study Explains the Psychology Behind E-mail Response,” Forbes (Nov. 28, 2015)

Which Street Name Is Worth More?

Which Street Name Is Worth More? Image courtesy of scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A home owner’s street name may have value in itself. Realtor.com® pitted male street names – such as the Jacksons, Grants, and Coopers – against female street names – the Pearls, Elizabeths, and Roses – to determine which street name could hold more value.

Realtor.com®’s research team evaluated property values on female and male streets over millions of for-sale listings at realtor.com. They found that there are more properties on male streets than female-named streets. However, properties on female streets were found to be more valuable.

Streets with human names have less expensive properties compared to all streets. Realtor.com®’s team speculates that could be due to the fact many of those streets with human names tend to have older houses.

The median year of construction for homes on male streets is 1970; the median year for female streets is 1981.

The following are the top 10 most expensive female street names based on median home values:

• Magdalena: $389,900
• Isabel: $370,500
• Heidi: $349.692
• Serena: $339,900
• Madeline: $329,500
• Dolores: $325,000
• Alexandra: $324,500
• Abigail: $320,000
• Molly: $319,500
• Melinda: $312,500

Now, onto the males: The following 10 are the most expensive male street names based on median home values:

• Francisco: $399,900
• Raphael: $399,900
• Evan: $319,500
• Sebastian: $318,000
• Kent: $305,000
• Marco: $300,000
• Jeffrey: $299,000
• Rocky: $290,000
• Cliff: $284,000
• Matthew: $280,000

Source: “Grant Street vs. Ashley Road: Who Wins the Battle of the Sexes in Street Names?” realtor.com® (Nov. 16, 2015)