If you are thinking about saving on a project, or looking for do it yourself ideas. I can send you both through a program with the National association of Realtors and Lowe's
Friday, January 17, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Development News
My offer to charity.
South Whitehall--
Jaindl Land development plans to build 144 condominiums & 48 town homes for 55+ year old residents. In addition, there will be 49 half acre to 2.5 acre lots.
Rutz Farm Plans
Reaction: Looking at the sketch plan provided by Lehigh Engineering for the development, it does not seem that it includes enough detention basins for storm water management. Typically, developers in these meetings ask for more then they intend to get approved. As the process proceeds the planning commission will negotiate criteria for the development that will likely reduce the number of lots. This can range from sidewalks to municipal infrastructure that will be required in conjunction with the development.
News Story
Center City Allentown-
ThinkLoud is perhaps bringing a "House of Blues" style venue to center city Allentown. Really good read here in the Morning Call
Email me if you would like details.
South Whitehall--
Jaindl Land development plans to build 144 condominiums & 48 town homes for 55+ year old residents. In addition, there will be 49 half acre to 2.5 acre lots.
Rutz Farm Plans
Reaction: Looking at the sketch plan provided by Lehigh Engineering for the development, it does not seem that it includes enough detention basins for storm water management. Typically, developers in these meetings ask for more then they intend to get approved. As the process proceeds the planning commission will negotiate criteria for the development that will likely reduce the number of lots. This can range from sidewalks to municipal infrastructure that will be required in conjunction with the development.
News Story
Center City Allentown-
ThinkLoud is perhaps bringing a "House of Blues" style venue to center city Allentown. Really good read here in the Morning Call
Email me if you would like details.
Ginger Marinated Crusted Shrimp with Honey Citrus Charred Scallions
My offer to Charity
Adam Gluskin’s ---- Ginger Marinated Crusted Shrimp with Honey Citrus and Charred Scallion
Adam Gluskin’s ---- Ginger Marinated Crusted Shrimp with Honey Citrus and Charred Scallion
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
- 4oz. Jumbo Shrimp
- ½ Medium sized ginger root (minced or processed)
- 2oz. Sesame oil
- 4oz. Vinegar (rice wine, apple cider, or white)
- Tbsp. S+P
- 1 ½ tsp. Crushed red pepper
- 4oz. Almonds (pulverized)
- 1 Egg
- 2 Scallions
- ½ of a Lemon
- 4oz. Butter
- 2oz. honey
Marinade Directions:
Mix ginger, sesame oil, vinegar, s+p and tsp. of crushed pepper together and let shrimp sit in the mixture for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Crust Directions:
Pull shrimp from marinade and dry off. Mix egg with a little water to form egg wash. Dip shrimp in egg wash and dredge in pulverized almonds. Set aside.
Cooking Directions:
Heat skillet to about 350F. Place scallions on dry hot skillet until charred and place aside. Put about 2oz. butter in skillet. Saute the crusted shrimp until an internal cooking temp. of 145F. In still hot pan, put the rest of the butter, the lemon juice, honey and remaining red pepper (to taste). Stir until together and cook until thickened. Plate the shrimp, drizzle the sauce over top and garnish with Scallions. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
The CRIZ and FEDeX
Offer to Charity
I want to share two significant announcements that the Lehigh Valley has witnessed over the past two weeks. I will do so by sharing some important information about each project
Announcement #1
CRIZ= City Revitalization and Improvement Zone will happen in a 130 acre area surrounding the Martin Tower.
-$350 Million Dollars in projected economic developments
-A Bass Pro Shop is said to be in development at the Ole #2 Machine shop in Bethlehem.
-A Hotel
-A Conference Center
-High Rise buildings by Lehigh
-Current Mayor Bethlehem Mayor Callahan projects about 3000 construction jobs and 4000 permanent jobs. The timeframe for these jobs is unclear.
Reaction: Bethlehem City Proper has about 74,982 people living it. I am not entirely sure what the exact boundaries of the city proper include. That being said, the number of permanent jobs added to this 130 acre tax zone will be about a 5% increase in proportion to the population of Bethlehem. 9% if one includes the temporary construction jobs.The unemployment in Northampton County is about 7.4% according to the bureau of labor. Presuming the same rate in the Bethlehem City, one can see how these additional jobs will help the area from a number's perspective.
There are more details about a few of the project proposed in the sources I used for this post.
Source for information comes from the Morning Call and the Express Times
Announcement # 2
FedEx is planning a 175 million dollar development of 253 acres around Allen Township near the Lehigh Valley Airport. This should bring about 800 new jobs to the area. I do not believe this includes construction jobs, this development site could be established by 2015, which would be impressive expediency for development if this happens.
Reaction: This will likely be a significant change for the mainly rural area of Allen township. Change can be difficult but it will add a lot of new neighbors and bring a lot of tax dollars to the municipality. The new municipal building for Allen township is just down the street from this proposed project and this gives the corridor a nice symmetry of private and public building working in the same area.
Source for information: Mcall
I want to share two significant announcements that the Lehigh Valley has witnessed over the past two weeks. I will do so by sharing some important information about each project
Announcement #1
CRIZ= City Revitalization and Improvement Zone will happen in a 130 acre area surrounding the Martin Tower.
-$350 Million Dollars in projected economic developments
-A Bass Pro Shop is said to be in development at the Ole #2 Machine shop in Bethlehem.
-A Hotel
-A Conference Center
-High Rise buildings by Lehigh
-Current Mayor Bethlehem Mayor Callahan projects about 3000 construction jobs and 4000 permanent jobs. The timeframe for these jobs is unclear.
Reaction: Bethlehem City Proper has about 74,982 people living it. I am not entirely sure what the exact boundaries of the city proper include. That being said, the number of permanent jobs added to this 130 acre tax zone will be about a 5% increase in proportion to the population of Bethlehem. 9% if one includes the temporary construction jobs.The unemployment in Northampton County is about 7.4% according to the bureau of labor. Presuming the same rate in the Bethlehem City, one can see how these additional jobs will help the area from a number's perspective.
There are more details about a few of the project proposed in the sources I used for this post.
Source for information comes from the Morning Call and the Express Times
Announcement # 2
FedEx is planning a 175 million dollar development of 253 acres around Allen Township near the Lehigh Valley Airport. This should bring about 800 new jobs to the area. I do not believe this includes construction jobs, this development site could be established by 2015, which would be impressive expediency for development if this happens.
Reaction: This will likely be a significant change for the mainly rural area of Allen township. Change can be difficult but it will add a lot of new neighbors and bring a lot of tax dollars to the municipality. The new municipal building for Allen township is just down the street from this proposed project and this gives the corridor a nice symmetry of private and public building working in the same area.
Source for information: Mcall
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Lehigh Valley Market Update January 2014
If you are looking for details about my commission split to charity, please click here.
Market Reports: I love talking about Market Reports. I have a few below that I find helpful.
1. Zillow November 2013 Review
The first report is from Zillow, I like this report because it elucidates Negative Equity and shows where the Lehigh Valley's battle with Negative Equity is juxtaposed to the rest of the country. I believe Negative Equity is one of the most compelling elements to Main Street's view on our economy, and I am excited to see the Lehigh Valley Market attempt to triumph over it.
Zillow also has a neat feature that projects 2.3% growth for the Lehigh Valley overall.
2. My Recap for the Year
Median Price- Up 11.5 % for 2013, this is a nice start to an overall recovery. The question is whether its too much appreciation too fast. Real Estate bubbles are formed by irrational exuberance. Considering the lack of the appreciation in previous years, this number feels nothing like a bubble.
Months Supply of Inventory - The supply is at 6.7 months which is down 14.9%. This is a great thing for the Valley and even better news is the MoM view is down 30.1%. About 6 months of inventory is about what constitutes a normal marketplace.
Supply and Demand- For Sale and Under Contract Homes seems to be keeping up with one another. Sold homes, meaning homes that settle, are way up; which could mean that transactions are settling quicker and this could be a referendum on the housing market being easier to maneuver.
3. Federal Housing Finance Agency
The FHFA is a pretty cool index because it only pertains to mortgage resale's where the mortgages are owned by FHFA, Freddie, and Fannie. The reason that its a different kind of index is it differentiates between cash buyers and buyer's using investor financing. Its also nice because it does a good job of comparing different metro's. The link I provided compares Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the Lehigh Valley.
4. Here is a BHHS Fox and Roach's
Northampton County
Lehigh County
I think the video reporter does a pretty good job of taking a few metrics and succinctly giving their meaning.
Market Reports: I love talking about Market Reports. I have a few below that I find helpful.
1. Zillow November 2013 Review
The first report is from Zillow, I like this report because it elucidates Negative Equity and shows where the Lehigh Valley's battle with Negative Equity is juxtaposed to the rest of the country. I believe Negative Equity is one of the most compelling elements to Main Street's view on our economy, and I am excited to see the Lehigh Valley Market attempt to triumph over it.
Zillow also has a neat feature that projects 2.3% growth for the Lehigh Valley overall.
2. My Recap for the Year
Median Price- Up 11.5 % for 2013, this is a nice start to an overall recovery. The question is whether its too much appreciation too fast. Real Estate bubbles are formed by irrational exuberance. Considering the lack of the appreciation in previous years, this number feels nothing like a bubble.
Months Supply of Inventory - The supply is at 6.7 months which is down 14.9%. This is a great thing for the Valley and even better news is the MoM view is down 30.1%. About 6 months of inventory is about what constitutes a normal marketplace.
Supply and Demand- For Sale and Under Contract Homes seems to be keeping up with one another. Sold homes, meaning homes that settle, are way up; which could mean that transactions are settling quicker and this could be a referendum on the housing market being easier to maneuver.
3. Federal Housing Finance Agency
The FHFA is a pretty cool index because it only pertains to mortgage resale's where the mortgages are owned by FHFA, Freddie, and Fannie. The reason that its a different kind of index is it differentiates between cash buyers and buyer's using investor financing. Its also nice because it does a good job of comparing different metro's. The link I provided compares Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the Lehigh Valley.
4. Here is a BHHS Fox and Roach's
Northampton County
Lehigh County
I think the video reporter does a pretty good job of taking a few metrics and succinctly giving their meaning.
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