Housing stock in Philadelphia area is at ‘implausible levels’
The available housing inventory in the Philadelphia region reflects some of the lowest numbers ever seen, according to Kevin Gillen, a senior research fellow at Drexel’s Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation. The region’s housing inventory hit a record low in February, causing an increase in home prices. Gillen said the disparity between supply and demand hasn’t been this low since the housing bubble of the mid-2000s, reaching “implausible levels.” The home inventories in Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties represent about a two-week supply of homes. That means there wouldn’t be enough home supply to last half of a month if no new buildings were built. In 2013, there was a seven-month supply of homes available. Philadelphia County is the only county in the region to have greater than a month’s supply of homes as of February. The low inventory has increased median home prices, with nine of the 11 counties in the region seeing home prices increase more than $100,000 in the past 10 years. Read more in the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 3/21/2022

PA Supreme Court upholds new maps for General Assembly
New maps of General Assembly districts that reflect the past decade’s population changes in Pennsylvania survived legal challenges, as the state Supreme Court cleared the way for candidates to begin circulating petitions to get on the spring primary ballot. The justices rejected various objections to the district lines that were drawn by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission for the state House and Senate. As a result, the new districts will be in effect for the coming decade. The justices adjusted the elections calendar, allowing candidates to collect signatures from March 18 until March 28. The primary is May 17. Spotlight PA offers a tool that lets residents enter an address and view the current and new district map for both state and congressional districts.
Source: Daily Times; 3/17/2022

NAR and VA release videos for Realtors to help more veterans achieve homeownership
The National Association of Realtors (NAR), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has released a two-part educational video series on the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program, designed to help Realtors better serve veteran and active duty home buyers using VA loans. For these discussions, 2022 NAR president Leslie Rouda Smith is joined by John Bell III, acting executive director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Loan Guaranty Service, and Mark Worrilow, licensed broker at Fathom Realty's Prince William-Fairfax office in Virginia and an instructor for NAR's Military Relocation Professional certification.
Source: NAR.realtor; 3/17/2022

Oxford Valley Mall housing complex plans moving forward
Developer Cornerstone Tracy plans to break ground this year on a 600-plus luxury apartment complex at Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown Township. Cornerstone Tracy will purchase about 20 acres of the mall property and demolish the former Boscov’s store to make room. The project received land development approval in August 2020, and the township expects the full permit package to be submitted later this month. The development will be completed in two phases. The first phase will be a four-story building with 391 apartments, a swimming pool, gym, a shuttle bus to the nearby Langhorne train station, and other amenities. It is expected to open in late 2023 or early 2024. Phase two is a second four-story building with 223 units. The buildings will be adjacent, but not connected, to the mall. Cornerstone Tracy also has plans to build a 235-unit apartment complex at the former site of The Intelligencer on North Broad Street in Doylestown.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 3/22/2022

Solebury to seek residents’ input on open space
Solebury Township will mail a survey postcard to residents requesting input on open space in the township. A few years ago, with significant input from residents, the township purchased 13 acres near Logan Square/Giant Foods along Route 202. Supervisors are now asking residents what uses they would like to see there. Surveys will be in the mail by the beginning of April. Based on the results, the township will form a committee of residents modeled after the group that guided the development of Aquetong Spring Park. The supervisors acknowledge the process will take time, including community meetings, experts developing designs and grant application writing.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 3/17/2022

Lower Makefield Township and Aqua finalize sewer sale
March 4 marked the formal closing of the deal to sell the Lower Makefield Township sewer system to Aqua Pennsylvania for $53 million. Township supervisors voted to sell the system in August 2020, and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved the sale earlier this year. Township Manager Kurt Ferguson said $27 million of sale proceeds has been placed into accounts that will automatically make payments on the sewer system and golf course bonds until they are paid off — with $1.3 million in interest on the $27 million being paid up front to the township. The township will net about $21 million from the sale, and supervisors will soon start publicly discussing potential uses for the money. Aqua Pennsylvania will take over the 11,000-customer system that includes Lower Makefield properties and also some in Middletown and Falls townships and Yardley Borough.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 3/17/2022

Bristol fire companies form association to work closer together
Bristol Borough’s volunteer fire companies have formed the new Bristol Borough Fire Association. The association will not run the fire companies, rather it will coordinate and communicate between the four member departments: Bristol Fire Company; America Hose, Hook and Ladder Fire Company; Goodwill Hose Company; and Bristol Consolidated Volunteer Fire Company. The association will have committees to look at facilities, apparatus, operations and manpower. A 2021 fire study from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development recommended the borough revamp its fire code to be more up to date, create an association of the four fire companies with the ultimate goal of merging, and look at bringing all the fire companies into one station in a central location in town.
Source: LevittownNow.com; 3/17/2022

Developer to buy Exton Square Mall
The owner of Exton Square Mall in West Whiteland has entered into an agreement to sell the property. The announcement was made during a 20-minute earnings call on March 15 as the mall’s owner, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), discussed 2021 year-end and first quarter 2022 results. PREIT chairman and CEO Joseph Coradino said the company had executed an agreement of sale to sell the mall to a developer. No specifics were provided, in terms of sale price or who the buyer is. Exton Square Mall has just over 1 million square feet of space, is 52% occupied and has sales of $283 per square foot, according to information on the PREIT website. The company expects to close on the sale within 90 days. The sale of Exton Square Mall is part of a three-part strategy to improve PREIT’s portfolio by taking advantage of “robust sales and demand for space” while reducing debt, Coradino said.
Source: The Mercury; 3/17/2022

Coatesville VA targeted for closure
The Veterans Affairs Department this week recommended closing 17 of its 171 medical centers, including the Coatesville Veterans Administration Center in Caln Township. The recommendation is the first step in an asset and infrastructure review required by the Mission Act of 2018, which sets the VA’s vision for future health care delivery to more than 12 million veterans over the next 50 years. VA officials cited a declining population, demographic changes, aging conditions of some facilities and difficulty in recruiting to justify its proposed closures. The Coatesville VA has 302 operating beds and more than 1,300 employees, making it one of the largest employers in the region. It provides a wide range of health care services to more than 19,000 veterans in Pennsylvania and Delaware. “There will be changes in markets across the country, but VA is not leaving any market,” said Kirk Fernitz, director of Community and Congressional Affairs at the Coatesville VA. “Between outpatient care, strategic collaborations, and referrals to the community, VA will continue to deliver timely access to world-class care to every veteran.” Under the plan, 17 medical centers in 12 states would close, 18 centers in 16 states would be completely replaced, and 13 new centers would be built in 11 states. The report recommends deactivating the Coatesville VA Medical Center and establishing two new sites within that market — a new medical center in the King of Prussia area and a medical specialty outpatient clinic in Chester County.
Source: Daily Local; 3/17/2022

Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County to merge into Brandywine Red Clay Alliance
The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC) is expected to merge into the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance (BRC) by the end of April. “This is truly an example of one plus one equaling three,” said Ed Camelli, chairman of the TLC board. “Collectively, BRC and TLC have over 100 years of environmental protection experience, have preserved thousands of acres of open space and established miles of trails, cleaned and maintained miles of streams, and educated thousands of young people to be stewards of the land. By combining resources, more land will be preserved, more waterways protected, and more children educated.”
Source: Daily Local; 3/18/2022

Phoenixville school board delays vote to sell property
The Phoenixville Area School Board delayed a vote on selling the 7.4-acre former kindergarten center property on Second Avenue. The Phoenixville Kindergarten Center closed in 2017. Board member Betsy Ruch said the 500-or-so people who had responded to a poll by the Phoenixville Green Team — 94% of whom opposed the sale to Toll Brothers — do not represent a majority of the borough. Those who did not respond to the poll either “don’t agree with you or don’t care,” she said. School Board Member David Golberg said the $4.6 million purchase price offered by Toll Brothers, compared to the district’s $103 million annual budget “is a drop in the bucket.” Noting the board had been discussing the sale for four years, Golberg asked, “What harm is two months going to do? We can always get money, but we can’t reverse [selling the property] once we do it.” The issue will be taken up for a vote at the Monday, March 28, meeting.
Source: The Mercury; 3/17/2022

United Way assisting mobile home owners on property tax appeals
United Way of Chester County is continuing its Mobile Home Tax Reassessment initiative and has a goal of completing 500 successful appeals this year. Partnering with Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania and local food pantries, the program offers assistance to mobile homeowners to file property tax reassessment appeals. United Way and its partners will do the work and pay the fees on behalf of the homeowners in the program. Mobile homes depreciate over time, unlike other forms of real estate. Because the tax assessment system makes no provision for that, mobile home taxes are accurate only in the first years after purchase and become increasingly inaccurate each year thereafter. Ultimately, some homeowners end up with a tax liability several times higher than expected. Mobile homes are the only form of property that require periodic assessment appeals to maintain equitable agreement to actual value. To be considered for the 2022 reassessments, visit the United Way website and fill out the 2022 reassessment form.
Source: Daily Local; 3/17/2022

Kennett 2020 audit shows improvement
Kennett Township’s 2020 audit, performed by Maillie LLP and presented at the March 16 supervisors meeting, identified two material weaknesses and two recommendations. It reflected an improvement over the 2019 audit, which identified eight material weaknesses and three other recommendations, many of which were related to the embezzlement of township funds by former Kennett Township Manager Lisa Moore. In the 2020 audit, both material weaknesses again dealt with the embezzlement. One was the investigation into Moore, and the other was the status of escrow funds. A memo from township finance director Amy Heinrich said, “The immediate issues were stopped as soon as the fraud was discovered, but true remediation required a full and experienced finance team, process revamp, and a new general ledger system.” According to Maillie’s Chris Herr, the material weakness with the escrow funds focused on the township trying to sort out individual escrow funds, something that wasn’t accurately accounted for under Moore’s tenure. The township will now move on to the 2021 audit process. Copies of the 2019 and 2020 audit reports by Maillie LLP, as well as Heinrich’s presentation, are available on the Kennett Township website.
Source: Chadds Ford Live; 3/17/2022

Chesco home to 8 of 25 ‘best places’ in PA, according to Niche
Chester County is home to eight of the 25 Best Places to Live in Pennsylvania, including the best place to live in America, according to new rankings by Niche.com. The website based its rankings on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other sources. The main metrics include the quality of local schools, the cost of living, crime rates, employment statistics and access to amenities. Chesterbrook occupies the top spot in not only the Keystone State, but also the country. The census-designated place (CDP) — a recognized area that is not a municipality — offers residents a dense, suburban feel, and its presence within the award-winning Tredyffrin-Easttown Township makes it a great place to raise a family, according to Niche. Berwyn ranks in 11th place and boasts plenty of amenities that make it attractive to retirees. Other Chester County standouts include East Whiteland Township (14), Upper Uwchlan Township (15), Exton (20), Devon (21), East Marlborough Township (24) and Birmingham Township (25).
Source: Vista Today; 3/19/2022

City in settlement talks with disabled Philadelphians in suit over dangerous sidewalks
The City of Philadelphia has entered settlement talks with disabled Philadelphians who sued the city in 2019 over the inaccessibility of the city’s sidewalks. Four Philadelphians with disabilities and three advocacy organizations claimed broken curb cuts, disintegrating sidewalks and illegally parked cars in Philly make it difficult and dangerous for the thousands of residents with disabilities to travel around the city. In the nearly three years since the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, both the plaintiffs and the city have won victories. In July 2020, federal judge Harvey Bartle III granted the plaintiffs’ bid for class action status, meaning they’re now fighting on behalf of all “persons with disabilities or impairments that affect their mobility,” including those who use wheelchairs or are blind, and use Philly’s pedestrian rights of way. The plaintiffs claimed the city not only violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, but also failed to comply with a court order from the 1990s requiring the city to install curb ramps or slopes whenever it resurfaces a street. The plaintiffs are not seeking money; they want the city to do a comprehensive evaluation of its sidewalks and make a plan to bring them into ADA compliance. Neither the plaintiffs' attorney nor city spokespeople would say which solutions are on the table in the settlement talks.
Source: PlanPhilly; 3/20/2022

Philly hopes to lure new property owners to voucher program with bonus money
Landlords in Philadelphia have a history of being resistant to taking on tenants with housing vouchers, often referred to as Section 8. In an effort to change that, the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is giving $300 signing bonuses to landlords who join the housing voucher program. They will also get $2,500 worth of insurance to cover damages that go beyond normal wear and tear. Landlords in “high opportunity areas,” including Center City and Chestnut Hill, will receive $1,000 signing bonuses. Amid an affordable housing crisis, the hope is that the incentives will make it easier for families with vouchers to find places to stay. “It takes more than four months, on average, for a family of voucher holders to receive an apartment, to get it leased up,” said PHA president Kelvin Jeremiah. The incentives are in addition to the rent money participating landlords would receive directly from PHA each month. The program requires voucher holders to pay 30% of the household’s adjusted monthly income, with the PHA paying the rest. PHA launched the program last October and has since distributed more than $400,000 in bonuses while adding 400 landlords to its ranks, said Jeremiah. There are now a total of 5,000 landlords participating in the authority’s housing voucher program.
Source: PlanPhilly; 3/18/2022

Councilmanic prerogative in Philadelphia: What you need to know
Philadelphia has a tradition of allowing city council members to control land-use decisions in their own districts. “Councilmanic prerogative,” an inelegantly titled and obscure aspect of politics and power in Philadelphia, has gotten more attention in recent years, along with increasing calls to curtail its use. Learn more about this topic here.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 3/21/2022Email grassroots@suburbanrealtorsalliance.com to receive our weekly News Briefs. It's as simple as submitting your contact information so we can create a user profile.