Real estate briefs
Berkshire Hathaway honors Breakfast of Champions
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach, Realtors recently honored Montgomery County sales associates for their sales performance for June at a monthly Breakfast of Champions.
Sales associates honored were Alex Kim, Steven Kim and Beth Smith, of the Blue Bell office; Mary McNamara, Trisha Packer, Jenn Rinella, Michael Sivel and Sue Walsh, of the Chestnut Hill office; Bev Altemose, Kristina O’Donnell, and Michele Yeager, of the Collegeville office; Lisa Grater and Jacquelyn Smith,, of the Harleysville Home Marketing Center; Maryclaire Dzik, Denise Finer, Becky Krevitz and Tim Orenbuch, of the Jenkintown Home Marketing Center; and Myrna Josephs, of the Spring House Home Marketing Center.
Long & Foster team ranked among top in nation
The Art Herling Team of Long & Foster Real Estate, based in both Blue Bell and Wayne, ranked 34th among real estate teams nationwide based on transaction sides in 2016 on REAL Trends’ annual The Thousand list.
The team also earned the No. 62 spot on the list for top teams by sales volume for 2016.
Led by Art Herling, a real estate veteran with more than 37 years of experience, the team includes a number of top producing agents. Their heavy market presence in the Philadelphia suburbs has resulted in the team being ranked first among real estate groups in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
Herling said he credits the team’s energy, topnotch customer service, efficient communication, forward-thinking marketing and insider knowledge to their success.
“We are pleased to have been named to REAL Trends’ The Thousand list once again for both transaction sides and volume,” Herling said. “We continuously strive to provide each of our clients possible. with This the rankingbest serviceis a testament to our dedication to our buyers and sellers, as well as to the hard work of the entire Art Herling team of agents.”
In total, nine Long & Foster teams and two individual agents were named to the list.
The Thousand list ranks the top 250 individual agents and the top 250 teams categorized by transaction sides and sales volume and the top 50 individual agents and teams by average sale price.
“We congratulate Art Herling and his team on being named to this year’s REAL Trends’ The Thousand. This honor reflects the commitment to service, professionalism and expertise that Art and our entire team of real estate experts strive to provide,” said Gary Scott, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “It’s because of agents like these that Long & Foster is the top real estate company in the Mid-Atlantic and we’re committed to providing our sales associates and grow “The resourcestheir fact with tools, business.”thatthe they technology industryleadingso need manyto clientsin the haveArt Herlingput their Teamtrust shows their commitment to helping homebuyers and sellers succeed in achieving their real estate needs,” said P. Wesley Foster, chief executive officer of The Long & Foster Companies. “I’d like to congratulate Art Herling and his entire team on their sales success and top ranking in REAL Trends.” REAL Trends compiles rankings for the Top Thousand based on applications submitted from hundreds of sales professionals and brokerages from throughout the United States. An independent third party verifies submissions for accuracy and verifies whether an applicant is an individual or on a team. Now in its 12th year, the Top Thousand features the six total lists, the top 250 individual sales agents by both sales volume and transaction sides, the top 250 teams by both sales volume and transaction sides, as well as the top 50 individuals and the top 50 teams by average sale price.
Majority of Americans see homeownership as good investment; affordability woes remain
Eighty-four percent of Americans believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision, the highest number in 10 years. Yet six in 10 said they are concerned about affordability and the rising cost of buying a home or renting in their area. This is according to National Association of Realtors’ 2017 National Housing Pulse Survey, which measures consumers’ attitudes and concerns about housing issues in the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan statistical areas.
“This survey makes it clear that most Americans still believe in homeownership and aspire to own a home of their own. Building equity, wanting a stable and safe environment and having the freedom to choose their neighborhood remain the top reasons to own a home. Yet, Americans consider the lack of affordability as a big obstacle to ownership,” said Eric Rehling, president of the Montgomery County Association of Realtors board of directors.
Concerns over housing affordability show clear demographic divides, especially among unmarried and non-white Americans. More than 50 percent of unmarried and non-white Americans view the lack of available affordable housing as a big problem, compared to only four in 10 of married and white Americans.
Nationally, 44 percent of respondents categorized the lack of available affordable housing as a very big or big problem. In the top 25 densest markets, more than half see the lack of affordable housing as a big problem, an increase of 11 percentage points since 2015. The Montgomery County Association of Realtors states that lower-income Americans, renters and young women most acutely feel the housing pinch. There is also greater concern about affordable housing among the working class (65 percent) than for public servants such as teachers, firefighters or police (55 percent).
The survey found that over half of respondents strongly agree that homeownership helps build safe and secure neighborhoods and provides a stable and safe environment for children and family members.
“There are many benefits of homeownership, and they resonate more strongly as age increases. Over half of Americans between the age of 50 and 64 believe that home ownership is associated with a stable home environment, which also leads to greater educational success for children,” said Rehling. “It’s important that younger Americans also have access to affordable and sustainable homeownership.”