OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS! — Mortgage rates are near historic lows!

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS! — Homes are more affordable than they have been in
years!

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS! — 5% “Friends and Family” commission rate to sell
your home … PLUS, $1000 toward your settlement
costs!!

If you are considering selling and/or buying a home, Opportunity could be knocking for you.

As a seller of your Liongate home, you can expect good response. Liongate is a sought after community. Seventeen homes sold in Liongate in the past 12 months. Six two bedroom homes sold for a median price of $199,250. Eleven 3+ bedroom homes sold for a median price of $229,900. We expect to see 20 sales in Liongate in 2011.

As a buyer, mortgage rates are still near historic lows. Currently mortgage rates are about 5%, up from the historic lows of 4.5% or less, but obviously still a tremendous rate. We expect mortgage rates to tick up in 2011. Home prices have dropped in the last couple of years (as we all know), such that homes are more affordable now than they have been in years! Again, we expect home prices to rise slightly in 2011.

The last couple of years have been tough, economically, especially for homeowners. The members of The Kim Wood Team want to do what we can to make 2011 the year we all move forward. We are offering a limited time, special rate to all Liongate homeowners PLUS we will pay $1000 toward your closing costs if you list your home with us! If you buy a home in the local area (with one of us assisting as your buyer’s agent), we will pay $1000 toward your closing costs on that home as well!

To learn more about our SPECIAL RATE, email us (Inquire at TheKimWoodTeam dot com) or call (484 876 1256) now before this Opportunity stops knocking.

Tom

Well, there is little doubt the tax credit provided a fairly significant boost for the real estate market, the Liongate Community included.  As real estate professionals, we have noticed a “slowdown” since the credit expired April 30.  This was not unexpected as it was fairly obvious that a number of May/June buyers moved their purchase earlier to take advantage of the tax credit.  We expect this to resolve itself in the very near future.  In fact, I have noticed an increase in buyer interest in the last couple weeks.
 
So what about our area of specific interest, the Liongate Community.  There were 10 homes sold in Liongate in the last six months.  Not bad, but most of that time was during the “tax credit period”.  SINCE THE TAX CREDIT EXPIRED, 2 homes have gone under contract.  Bottom line, the Liongate Community experiences a fairly steady demand.  Yes, there was an uptick in activity during the tax credit period, a slowdown immediately following (May), but homes are still selling in Liongate!
 
Currently there are 8 townhomes listed for sale.  If you are considering selling your Liongate home, now might be a good time to give The Kim Wood Team a call.
 
For a slightly broader “look” at the real estate market surrounding the Liongate Community, check out John Lauber’s excellent analysis of the Uwchlan township posted below.

What a great question we were asked today on our Live Chat….

Has anyone ever used a fireplace insert in Liongate?

Have you ? Any input ? Leave a comment or if you’d like to answer anonymously you can, just send your answer via email. If you have any questions you would like answered… just ask! We’ll try our best.

Today I started my run from sidewalk end at Eaton Court.

Look right and you will see the bridge and basketball court.
Look left and you will see the pond with the fountain.
I decided to turn left and managed to keep my shoes dry as I ran to the left of the pond and around the edge to a cul-de-sac at Pickering Pointe and continued to Davis Road.

Davis Road has hills and special meaning for me. “The Barn” is where my daughter and son-in-law lived for a few years. If you look closely, you will see deer all around the property at any time of the day or night. The first year they lived there, my son-in-law won a medal at Run for Life in Downingtown at Good Neighbor Day. He credited it to the hill training as their routine running routes.

At the stop sign on Upper Pine Creek Rd, I was just short of a mile according to my Forerunner. I turned left on Upper Pine Creek Rd continued on that tree lined road until the stop sign on 401 where I turned around. The sight of the strong horses and running creek on my left give me the energy I need on the way back. When I see a deer on my run, I consider it a wonderful gift and it is one of the few times I will stop during my run. I remind myself to enjoy the moment of nature and scratch my time. I encourage you to do the same. I told myself I was almost there the entire way up the hill on Davis Rd. It doesn’t look as steep when you drive it. I was very happy to turn left into Pickering Pointe and coast down the hill to the cul-de-sac to return to the end of the sidewalk at Eaton Court. 3.35 miles.

Where do you enjoy running? Biking? Walking? If you’d like to get creative in your routes, and you don’t have a GPS to track your distance, some people like MapMyRun.com.

It’s that time, the holiday decorations and lights are coming out of the boxes! A lot of the Liongate residents have already hung the lights…. wonder who was first? We should have had a contest for that.

With the first snowfall happening today, it was a beautiful drive around the circle of the community before the snow was trodden with all of the footprints of the smiling faces playing in the white stuff.

Are you a homeowner or renter in Liongate with a holiday display you’d like to show? Send us a picture via email and we’ll post it. Don’t forget when you adorn your unit with decorations to look over the rules of the Home Owner’s Association – there are some restrictions to what you can and can not include.

Chester Springs’ Liongate Community is well laid out with cul de sacs around the perimeter of a semi circle off of Uwchlan Avenue (Rt 113). There are some roads that are in proximity for some turnpike noise, but many also have the benefit of large areas of common grounds and a small lake. The interior units also share a small playground. You will go bump! bump! bump! with the speeds down, which hopefully keep vehicles slower to watch for the walkers, runners, and children playing.

A map of Liongate from Google helps show the layout….

View Larger Map

Are Houses Selling?

Short answer is absolutely!  This should not be surprising to the folks who call Liongate “home”.  The Chester Springs community in Chester County enjoys a picturesque setting with an “alpine village” feel.  The two and three bedroom townhomes are spacious and can accommodate versatile lifestyles. The location near the intersection of Rt 113 and Rt 100 is convenient to all major transportation routes (including SEPTA), dining facilities from all the major fast food names to exclusive restaurants, all types of shopping from Exton Mall to trendy Mainstreet, and the acclaimed Downingtown School District.  For these and many other reasons, Liongate homes enjoy a fairly constant demand regardless of the overall real estate market.

Currently…

The number of homes sold in Liongate has averaged 20 to 25 homes each year over the past five years.  This year, thus far, 17 homes have sold.  There are 6 homes presently offered for sale.  Of those, 2 are under contract/pending meaning if all goes as planned these homes are sold.  I have little doubt that by the end of the year, homes sold will easily make the average 20 to 25.

If you have questions about the real estate market in general or Liongate specifically, please email or call (610) 692-6823.  We track the national market through our association with the National Association of REALTORS(R) but more importantly, we do local real estate every day.  We know what is happening locally and we always have time to answer your questions or just talk.

Let us know what you think about this site.  Check back periodically as we plan to address topics such as “How has the value of Liongate properties fared in the latest real estate crisis”.

Tom

Is the Market picking up?
Are Homes Selling?

The answer is “YES” ! Real Estate Market Statistics is very local. At the time of this post, here is the latest activity for Liongate Community according to the MLS.

Currently there are 6 Townhomes listed for sale in the MLS within the Liongate Community*. The average list price is $218,417 and the average time the property has been marketed is 74 days.

14 Townhomes sold within the Liongate Community* in the past 12 months with an average sold price of $214,387. The homes were being marketed on average of 69 days.

*Agents who are not thorough and don’t include the neighborhood specifically in the listing do not allow for people to search by neighborhood. (This includes buyers, not just other agents). This information does not include any listings or sold properties that are excluded from listings in the MLS.

Chester Springs featuring Liongate

Picture this…..

It’s 10:00 AM on a perfect summer day, the birds are chirping and the smell of fresh cut grass along with the warm embrace of the sun intrigue your senses. In the distance, you can see friendly folk walking their dogs, jogging, or just enjoying the sunshine. Small groups of children are happily at play and you think to yourself is this for real?

This is usually my experience when I visit Liongate. These reoccurring stereotypical communal activities in the Liongate community are for real; despite the fact some would think they only exist in 1950 television shows. If you visit the Liongate community I can almost guarantee you will see some of these “not-so-common” (in this day and age) activities.

You might ask yourself what makes this little cookie cutter community worthy of an entire blog dedicated to it?

A neighborhood just isn’t what it used to be. The relationships that neighbors used to share seem to be slowly fading. That’s one of the benefits of living in a community such as Liongate, it may not have tons of land but it has a certain vibe that’s hard to come by nowadays. I don’t live there personally, but when I do visit it seems like the relationship and connection does exist.

So all you Liongate residents, be proud of your established and commendable community!

I challenge all of you to implement some of the forgotten common courtesies that neighborhoods used to have. Wave to your neighbors, entice conversation. You might be surprised what you find.

Photo by Nate Shealy