Rob Howard- Realtor

10/18/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

* Around 78.4% of those 65 and older own a home versus renting. 87% of the wealthiest 1% own their home, and 82.2% of the top 20% own too.

* Being named in a will, having the keys, and paying the monthly taxes, and maintenance don't necessarily mean someone can sign a contract and deliver home ownership to a buyer. Identifying who can sell, and what must happen before a closing, should be one of the first steps. Being named as executor in a will is different from being appointed by the Surrogate’s Court. When a sale will be made by the estate, counsel should confirm that the appropriate court appointment has been obtained and review the representative’s authority, including any restrictions. If there is no will, an administration proceeding may be necessary. An apartment held jointly with rights of survivorship or in a trust may follow a different path. The first task is to establish who owns the interest being sold and who has the authority to act. Outstanding mortgages, co-op loans, liens, or unpaid building charges. Estate tax lien releases or other required tax documentation. Updated court certificates and the building’s transfer paperwork. An early conversation among the broker, estate counsel, and real estate counsel can establish a realistic timeline and uncover obstacles before the property is marketed. (SCHUMAN AND ASSOCIATES)

* Last month, home sellers gave concessions to buyers in more than 45% of all sales, the highest share for the month of September since 2020. 22% of sellers dropped (ASKING) prices in the 4 weeks through Oct. 11. (Yahoo)

10/17/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

* NEST? Hah.....now, Apple HomeView - Apple's first-ever dedicated smart home display - was officially announced this week. The device features a 7-inch square touchscreen that acts as a central dashboard to control smart home accessories, display personal information, stream audio, and make video calls. Priced at $299....

* Nearly two-thirds of builders said immigration enforcement is affecting their labor force, up from 23% in March and 13% a year ago, according to a September John Burns Research & Consulting survey. A September survey from the National Association of Home Builders found the cost of labor had increased a median of 4.2% from the previous year. In 2024, immigrants accounted for 26% of construction workers. Building a home near a data center construction site? The data center build-out in some areas has siphoned off specialized trades, drawing HVAC technicians and electricians with lucrative wages that home builders struggle to match. (WSJ)

* The Treasury Department said the U.S. budget deficit came in at nearly $2 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year, up 12% from a year ago. The U.S. officially recorded its 25th straight fiscal year operating at a deficit.

* Among all Americans, 38% say they’re estranged from a family member. YIKES!

* What are the primary drivers of people being homeless? My first thought was economic reasons....and yes, this is a critically important factor....47%....health reasons accounted for 32%......but most notable: 63% is attributed SOCIAL elements that drove them to be homeless.....

* 65% of people have not assembled emergency disaster supplies, 84% have not created or tested a household emergency plan, and 73% have not even updated their emergency contacts......

* The number of U.S. households earning at least $1 million a year while renting the home they live in climbed to about 18,400 households......out of 1 million US households with this level of income.....under 2%, to place things into perspective. (Someone has to!)

10/15/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

* The 10-Year Treasury has plunged from a high of over 5.325% to 5.085% in less than 48 hours.....that might help mortgage rates a wee bit? (CNBC)

* Consumer prices were up 3.7% in September from a year earlier, hotter than August’s gain of 3.4% and above the 3.6% rise expected by economists. There were signs that high energy prices are starting to leak into other parts of the economy. Prices excluding food and energy—the so-called core prices, which economists watch to gauge underlying trends—rose 2.6%, above forecasts for a 2.5% increase. Month over month, core prices rose by 0.3%, surprising economists who had expected a 0.2% increase. (WSJ)

* Consumer spending was up by 2.6% in August from a year earlier, even after adjusting for inflation. (WSJ)

* Economists at Fannie Mae are now predicting much higher mortgage rates through the end of 2026 and into 2027. It now puts the average rate on the 30-year fixed at 7.4% for the fourth quarter of this year and 7.5% through all of 2027. It previously forecast 6.8% for the fourth quarter and 6.7% for all of 2027.

* One reason insurance rates for condo and co-op buildings have soared in recent years? Skyrocketing jury awards and massive personal injury settlement payouts. New York's strict Labor Law 240 (the "Scaffold Law") places absolute liability on building owners for elevation-related worker injuries, dramatically raising risk profiles.

* Practically neighbors, some owners are paying triple electricity costs compared to neighbors with similarly sized homes in some areas because some electricity providers operate as a community-owned utility that consistently delivers lower rates. Publicly owned utilities have to generate large profits..... (BLOOMBERG)

10/14/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

* Where did home prices surge most in the US between 2021 and 2026? Florida? Texas? Nope! Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Wisconsin, South Carolina, and New Hampshire ......all above 50%! What do they have in common? Most have lots of regulations....Strict local zoning laws, extensive environmental reviews, and severe permitting delays.

* New York Federal Reserve President John Williams doesn’t see a reason for additional rate hikes in 2027 after one more increase this year, suggesting the Fed look at “underlying trends” in inflation amid price shocks connected to energy and artificial intelligence. (CNBC)

* Purchasers of the roughly 150 AMAN condo units at the massive $10 billion ONE Beverly Hills development are also providing debt to help Cain, an investment firm based in London, fund its project. The 17.5-acre site, set to be completed in 2029, will include high-end retail such as Dolce & Gabbana, upscale dining, 78 new AMAN hotel suites and acres of botanical gardens. The condo owners’ debt takes the form of a bond—named Founder Bonds—and buyers will receive a return of 5%. (WSJ)

* Share a ride? The average American spends between $2,000 and $8,500 per year on commuting to work, depending significantly on how the cost is measured. The average American could save between $1,500 and $4,200 per year by sharing a ride to work 50% of the time, depending on how vehicle expenses are calculated. Commuting factors differ wildly by transportation mode and region: studies categorize these expenses into distinct buckets. An annual budget of $8,500 for mortgage payments equals a monthly payment of $708.33 (principal and interest), which buys a loan amount of about $106,468 on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage or about $78,806 on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage at a 7% interest rate.

* Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark are often described as utopian economies: Finland's unemployment is 10.3%, Sweden's is 8.7%, Norway 4.5%, and Denmark 5.9%....all higher than the US at 4.2%. Why is Sweden's unemployment so high?
- Sweden's highly automated, knowledge-intensive economy offers very few entry-level, low-skill jobs. Workers who lack higher education or specialized training struggle to find matching positions.
- Foreign-born individuals face notably higher unemployment rates (12-14%) compared to Swedish-born residents due to weak Swedish language proficiency and credentials that do not easily transfer.
- Sweden’s collective bargaining agreements and high minimum compensation floors make it expensive for employers to hire entry-level or inexperienced workers.
- Stagnant domestic demand, cooling construction sectors, and broader European economic headwinds have slowed down job creation, leading to an uptick in long-term unemployment.
- While Sweden has high taxes, it has zero inheritance or wealth taxes. It does have a .....25% VAT(sales tax)!

10/13/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

* I love my 'stupid' fridge.... Yes, smart refrigerators can be hacked. Because they connect to Wi-Fi and the internet as part of the Internet of Things (IoT), they share the same cyber risks as other smart home devices. French commercial fridges were hacked recently, causing massive food waste and fires, a new form of 'warfare'.... (CNBC)

* Land makes up about 60% of a home’s value in Hawaii and California, compared with less than 20% in West Virginia and Mississippi. (Visual Capitalist)

* The California Association of Realtors and labor unions are backing a ballot measure that would authorize the California Housing Finance Agency to issue $25 billion in government bonds to fund a home down payment assistance program. Another measure would authorize $11.25 billion in bonds to fund affordable housing. Loans could cover up to 17% of a home’s purchase price, so the buyer would only have to put 3% down. The down payment loan would be a 2nd mortgage, which a buyer would pay off over time. While aimed at helping middle-income households, buyers earning up to 200% of an area’s median income could qualify for homes costing as much as $1.5 million. The median is roughly $400,000 for a family of 4 in Silicon Valley. Voters have approved $12 billion in bonds for such projects since 2018, on top of nearly $20 billion in general fund spending, yet both homelessness and housing costs have increased. (WSJ)

* Quality healthcare has become a meaningful search criteria: The longest wait time for a cardiologist appointment is under 60 days in Miami, New York and Dallas. 17% of patients in the U.S. wait more than 2 months for an appointment with a specialist, still significantly less than in Canada (48%), France (45%) and the U.K. (43%).

10/08/2026

YOU KNOW?

* New technology for solar panels, known as tandem solar, involves adding second and third layers of material, like a layer cake, to allow panels to convert around 25% more of the sun’s radiance into electricity. Coming Soon and made in the US.... The technology for modern solar panels was created at AT&T’s Bell Labs in 1954. But broad use of it didn’t take off until the 1980s as the devices became more efficient at converting sunshine into electricity. Solar and batteries accounted for 70% of the capacity added to U.S. grids in the first half of 2026. 9% of electricity comes from solar in the US , up 200% since 2020. (NY TIMES)

"The psychological force that holds an

ideological group together is not a shared

understanding of reality, but a shared

commitment to a myth."

This quote might apply to some of those in our industry who claim/believe current 'rules' have been around forever and are 'the law' when in reality they are relatively new policies/rules created to profit certain entities and individuals at the expense of others?

* Things change and evolve: Broadcast TV used to be the ONLY place for big TV events: now, as of 2029, the EMMYS will be streamed for the first time .....on AMAZON. In July, 49% of all television viewing in the US was on a streaming service, dwarfing broadcast’s 19.5%. In 1996, all home buyers looked in the New York Times, Village Voice, Wall Street Journal, etc column ads. Today they search online on Streeteasy, Zillow, Realtor, Compass, Corcoran,, etc..... not one channel/outlet has ALL the content in TV land. Its called....COMPETITION.

* Copper prices are up around 17% this year so far..... copper supply—excluding scrap—could be 25% lower than demand by 2035. An average U.S. single-family home contains about 400 to 439 pounds of copper. The average data center need between 5,000 and 15,000 tons of copper, while a large artificial intelligence (AI) hyperscale facility can require up to 50,000 tons.

* Aspen -East? Stowe, Vermont has the highest home prices of all East Coast ski towns....now with a median home price approaching $1 million. (WSJ)

10/07/2026

Why is the Philly area so popular ? One of the many reasons is , we have some of the Nations leading School Districts. Here is latest ranking and where local districts fall not only regionally but nationally as well. Per Philadelphia Business Journal

Here's a look at the 25 top-ranked districts in Greater Philadelphia, according to Niche's 2027 Best School Districts in America list:

Tredyffrin-Easttown School District (No. 27)
Lower Merion School District (No. 48)
Radnor Township School District (No. 60)
Colonial School District (No. 129)
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District (No. 150)
Haddonfield School District (No. 154)
New Hope-Solebury School District (No. 165)
Garnet Valley School District (No. 182)
Moorestown Township Public School District (No. 206)
Spring-Ford Area School District (No. 212)
Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (No. 221)
Wissahickon School District (No. 244)
Central Bucks School District (No. 264)
Downingtown Area School District (No. 276)
School District of Upper Dublin (No. 299)
School District of Haverford Township (No. 343)
Perkiomen Valley School District (No. 401)
Great Valley School District (No. 448)
West Chester Area School District (No. 498)
Springfield School District (No. 504)
Council Rock School District (No. 515)
Lower Moreland Township School District (No. 531)
Marple Newtown School District (No. 570)
Owen J. Roberts School District (No. 578)
Springfield Township School District (No. 610)

10/06/2026

IMPORTANT INFO. BE AWARE SEE BELOW

Scammers are coming for your money. Here’s the one thing you must never do.

By Carol Roth
Published September 17, 2026

Imagine getting a phone call from your bank. The bank's name is listed on the caller ID with the correct phone number. They know key details about you — your name, your account numbers, maybe even your Social Security number or mother's maiden name.
They warn you that you have fallen victim to a financial scam. But the plot twist is that they are the scammers!

YOUR FAMILY COULD BE ONE PHONE CALL FROM A BANK SCAM

This is happening across the country at an alarming rate.

Technology can help increase our productivity, but it can also boost scammers by enabling increasingly sophisticated tac􀆟cs that allow them to impersonate companies, access sensitive information and create a panic that causes even the savviest people to unwittily help them complete their scams.

So, how can you protect yourself from these growing scams, including those in which the
scammer is impersonating your bank?

Don't Answer Any Calls You Aren't Expected

If you see your bank, credit card company, Amazon, Microso􀅌 or any other company with whom you do business calling, and you aren't immediately expecting that call, do not answer your phone.

Scammers are "spoofing" phone numbers so that the phone number shows up on your phone with the name of a big company even though they are not affiliated with it. Sometimes, it even shows the correct phone number even though they are calling from another number. If you don't answer your phone, you take away a huge tool for scammers: their ability to create urgency and panic. When you are told that you are the subject of fraud, that your money is at risk, or something similar, and you need to take action, you panic.

In a state of panic, you do not think clearly, and this can lead you to take actions that you would never undertake in a calm state.

I personally suggest not answering any phone calls. If you receive a call, try calling the person or business back using the number in your contacts if they leave a message.

Only Contact Companies Using a Trusted Phone Number or Touchpoint

If you get a voicemail message about an issue (such as supposedly being the victim of a scam) or a text or email, again, do not panic. Instead, find a trusted touchpoint.

For banks, credit card companies and other financial providers, find their phone number on the back of your bank card or on an old paper statement that you know is legitimate.
You can also go to their website and look for a phone number or customer service email
address.

This puts you in control of the contact, and you can safely find out if there is legitimately an issue or if you have been contacted by a scammer. Controlling the contact instead of letting the scammer be in control is key to fighting scams.

Don't Give Out Sensitive Information

If you do let a text or phone call break through (and you shouldn't, but I know it happens), do not respond or give out sensitive information in response to their requests.

For example, they may send you a text and ask for a security code sent to your phone.
Again, this is them trying to scam you, not help you. Giving up codes like this could help them drain your bank account. Instead, again, seek out a trusted phone number and call the company to verify whether there is a problem. If there is, they can help you directly.
Much of the time, you will find out it was a scam attempt.

Don't Fall for Urgency

Creating urgency is key for scammers. They make you worried. As noted above, you get into a state of panic, and you take action without thinking. If you are asked to take any urgent action, such as going to a bank immediately, withdrawing or moving funds, buying gift cards, immediately giving out information or anything else, stop and take a beat.

The same goes for secrecy. If they tell you not to contact the police or not to tell the bank teller what is going on because they might be in on it, do not listen. You are not James Bond, and you are not caught up in an international stakeout — you are simply a person whom a fraudster is trying to trick. Reset and call your financial institution or the police for guidance. This may sound obvious while you are reading it, but thousands of well-meaning people have fallen victim to the psychological manipulation of scammers.

10/06/2026

Fantastic community and Floor plans! You will love it here!

10/06/2026

Want easier living? And a location that is premier in the greater Philly area? And simple condo ownership ?? Here it is! Walk to train to get to center city and beyond , or stroll along the River or into town and grab a bite and drinks, with endless options! Low taxes help make the payments more manageable! Get in now as when rates decrease will already add fuel to fire on a already still hot market around here

Conshohocken!! 1-2 bedrooms available! Buy smart!! Save $ overall

431 Washington St, Unit 2102, Conshohocken, PA 19428 is a condo listed for sale at $416,390. This is a 2-bed, 1-bath, 1,130 sqft property.