HBA Newswatch
February 28, 2008
POPULATION GROWTH CONTINUES TO FUEL COUNTY DEVELOPMENT
By Betsy Gilliland
Housing developments seemingly are sprouting up all over Chester County. There is a reason for that perception.
"Development is everywhere," said William Fulton, Chester County Planning Commission executive director.
The greatest development challenge facing the county, he said, is encouraging growth in appropriate areas.
"About 85 percent of the plans we're reviewing are either consistent or somewhat consistent with the Landscapes map," said Fulton.
Landscapes, the county's comprehensive plan that was adopted in 1996, offers a framework to reduce sprawl and to encourage development where infrastructure already exists.
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TOLL BROS. POSTS FIRST-QUARTER LOSS
Alan J. Heavens
Inquirer Real Estate Writer
Although he's seeing "glimmers of hope," Toll Bros. Inc. chairman and chief executive officer Robert I. Toll isn't willing to predict an end to the current housing downturn that chopped his first-quarter revenue 23 percent from a year earlier.
The Horsham-based builder yesterday reported a $96 million loss for the three months that ended Jan. 31, reflecting worsening conditions in most of the company's markets around the country.
Total revenue for the quarter was $842.9 million, compared with $1.09 billion a year earlier. The first-quarter backlog of unsold homes was 42 percent lower, however, at $2.40 billion, compared with $4.15 billion, the company said.
New-home inventories across the board continued to fall in January for the 10th straight month, even as sales nationally dropped 2.8 percent from January 2007, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.
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IS IT WISE TO USE BUILDER'S MORTGAGE FIRM?
By David Myers; On Real Estate
DEAR MR. MYERS: Our area has several newly constructed homes, and builders are cutting their prices and offering lots of other good deals to sell them. We are negotiating to purchase one of the new homes, and the developer is offering to give us $7,500 in free upgrades - but only if we agree to use the builder's own mortgage company. Isn't it illegal for a builder to require a buyer to use its own bank in order to finance a purchase? ANSWER: Yes, it's illegal for a builder to demand that a prospective buyer use a specific lender in order to purchase one of its homes.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM SEEKS APPLICANTS
By Cheryl Allison
They say success breeds success, and that's exactly what Lower Merion Township hopes will happen with the second offering in its Affordable House Purchase Program.With a family happily at home in the first property it made available in 2007 on Bryn Mawr's Markee Terrace, the township recently announced that the application process is now open for a home in Ardmore.
The twin home is located on Spring Avenue and offers three bedrooms, with a possible fourth bedroom in the finished attic, one bathroom and a basement.
Convenient to downtown Ardmore, it has off-street parking and a good-sized yard.
According to Lower Merion Community Development Technician Kathy Morris, who oversees this and other homeowner assistance programs, the house is in "very good shape." Work is under way to complete some minor repairs, and the heating system is being replaced. But, essentially, as soon as a qualified buyer can be found, it will be ready for move-in day.
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Did you see something we missed? Please forward any news stories we may have missed to kirab@builderpa.com and it will be added to the next issue of Newswatch.
