Property appraisals ain’t what they used to be
Due to federal regulatory changes and back-end activities by large lenders, the appraisal industry has fundamentally changed, and the effects can have far-reaching consequences.
Lancaster housing group expands
The past few months have been busy ones for Housing Development Corporation. MidAtlantic, bringing a major expansion and a name change to the 40-year-old Lancaster nonprofit.
The group, commonly known as HDC, employs 130 people and it owns and manages roughly 3,000 affordable rental-housing units in 11 Pennsylvania counties.
A major part of that tally, as well as geographic reach, is thanks [...]
Boomer effect
Members of America's largest generation, the baby boomers, are about to butt heads with their children, known as Generation Y or the millennials. Now that the latter is grown, it has nothing to do with family arguments about curfews or video games.
The silent majority in commercial buildings
I worry about the state of our building industry. Our buildings account for 40 percent of the nation's energy use, yet we don't have a strong standard for measuring and, consequently, improving performance. Despite studies indicating great potential for reducing our buildings' collective appetite for a volatile energy supply, the LEED rating system has proven more publicity stunt than reliable ene[...]
Capitol View developer gets third trial continuance
The federal trial for David Dodd, the developer of the failed Capitol View Commerce Center in Harrisburg, has been continued for a third time, said Heidi Havens, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
GreenWorks looks to move to Midtown Harrisburg
GreenWorks Develoment plans to sell its headquarters building on Front Street in Harrisburg and move to Midtown, where it is leading a redevelopment wave.
Government intervention does not drive real estate – economic growth does
I was having lunch with a Pennsylvania state representative last week, and he asked me, "What can the legislature do to help residential real estate?"
NAR chief economist: Problems persist for housing market
The economy's growth continues to be "sub-par" because of large companies sitting on profits, small businesses and construction firms failing to get loans and extremely tight mortgage underwriting practices, a national real estate official told York County business leaders.
Watching for revival
The speed of Fulton Financial Corp.'s redevelopment of a half-acre of downtown Lancaster property will be determined by how quickly the economy improves, the Lancaster-based financial firm said.
Fulton, parent company of Fulton Bank, purchased a building and adjoining parking lot on East King Street last year.
Agents: Rates trigger commercial relocations
Interest rates on commercial loans are expected to increase as early as next year, and that has motivated developers to move forward with projects and made other property owners put their buildings on the sales market, regional commercial real estate agents said.
Some developers have waited for the economy to improve to develop projects, said Drew Bobincheck, an agent with Landmark Commercial R[...]