Suburban Philadelphia Real Estate News

SEPTA 101 Trolley Line Construction Update:

Just wanted to pass on a quick reminder that the 101 Trolley is now under construction.

Effective from December 14 through March 14, 2010, the SEPTA 101 Trolley Line will be temporarily closed for construction, maintenance, and repair along the tracks from the Woodland Avenue station through Media.  Temporary shuttle busses will be operating along the route during this period seven days a week.  This should add about ten minutes of travel time.

In addition, the SEPTA 102 Trolley construction is now completed and has resumed normal operation.

There will be additional closures on both lines in 2010 beginning in March as construction moves toward the 69th Street Terminal.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to let me know or contact SEPTA.

The Delaware County PA Sheriff's office has produced a brochure on "How to Save Your Home from Foreclosure" which provides excellent background information on the foreclosure process.

This foreclosure information was put together by Sheriff Joseph F McGinn and the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and is a nice concise explanation of the process, the options, and the contacts for anyone who may find themselves having a problem with affording their home payments.  It is by no means all-inclusive but affords a quick overview of what is available in the area for Delaware County PA residents.  It is not yet on their website so I have reproduced the information here - see attached.

The key point to remember for anyone facing the possibility of foreclosure is to not ignore it but reach out, learn, and obtain as much information as possible as soon as you realize there may be a problem.  There are many resources and options available and they are being expanded and changed on a daily basis.  The key is to learn what is available and take advantage of them before a small problem gets worse.

I would like to thank the Sheriff's Office for permission to reprint the information.  For questions, please contact Sheriff Joe McGinn or the Delaware County Sheriff's Office located at 201 West Front St, Media PA  19063 - Phone: 610-891-4296 or on the web at www.co.delaware.pa.us/sheriff .

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please feel free to contact me anytime.

Now is a great time to take advantage of the remaining days of summer to visit the free Pennsylvania Veterans Museum in Media PA.

As summer heads to a close and families begin to look toward school and all the fall activities, there is still time to take advantage of the remaining days to enjoy some of the local attractions.  This becomes even better when the admission is free.

One of the newest museums in our area is the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum in Media PA that is located on the lower level of the old Pennsylvania Armory below Trader Joes. Since opening on Veteran's Day 2005, the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum has continued to expand and develop its collections. "The Pennsylvania Veterans Museum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and promoting the legacy and dignity of all veterans of the U.S. military."

It has great displays covering different aspects of the conflicts in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.  The museum is filled with exhibits, artifacts, dioramas, and first-hand accounts of the battles and events through the wars.  The displays include special sections on the Tuskegee Airmen and the role women have played during the wars.  Recently, they also opened a new diorama on the Korean War.

When I visited, there were several veterans on hand to answer questions and provide in-depth descriptions of the articles on display.  Many of the items have been donated by local vets who are still very much involved in the museum.  The museum also works closely with local veteran's groups as they plan and attend reunions and gatherings throughout the area.  When visiting, be sure to save some time to view their educational films.  In their "Ruptured Duck Theater", they have half dozen films available ranging from the history of World War II to pieces on the "Women in the Military" and "The American Humanitarian Effort" during Vietnam.

This is a smaller museum packed with informative, thought-provoking displays that are perfect educational tools.  The Pennsylvania Veterans Museum is open Thursday through Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00 and special tours are available.  This is a great time of year to visit.

As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Well, it's that time of year again where the living is easy, the cars are ready to roll, and it's time to get out and cruise....

The local Media PA businesses and the Delco Cruisers held their annual Downtown Media Car Show and Antiques Day in Media this Sunday.  Six blocks of the downtown area were roped off for the car show and adjacent antique show with many of the local vendors setting up retail booths with food and music.

Their next large planned event is the Delco Cruisers' 3rd Annual Mega Car Show to support Riddle Memorial Hospital and its patient assistance programs.  The show will be held on the hospital grounds at 1068 West Baltimore Pike in Media PA on Saturday July 25th from 10-3 (Rain Date is Sunday July 26)  Registration opens at 8:00 am and trophies will be rewarded for the "Top 25" Cars of People's Choice Judging.

The Delco Cruisers are a fairly new club in the area having just been formed in 2007 to satisfy "the need for a "cruiser" car club in Delaware County".  They are an all inclusive family oriented car club without restriction to year or make of vehicle.  They are also working to build strong relationships with other area car clubs and and seek to work with local charitable organizations to support their causes.

Be sure to save the date to see hundreds of classic cars, hot rods, custom, and muscle cars and help the DELCO Cruisers support the programs at Riddle Memorial Hospital on the 25th.  Another great local event.

Well - it looks like we may be losing our Congressman but possibly gaining a new Senator.  Delaware County PA is once again lining up to be a key battleground in the 2010 election on the national stage.

Last week, the local Delaware County Times reported that "Sestak (is) All But In For Senate Race".  What does this mean?  What are the local impacts?  Too soon to tell, but let's put a little perspective on it.

Joe Sestack is currently the local Pennsylvania US Representative in Congress (Brady represents a small portion of southeastern Delaware County).  He won his 2008 race last year against Republican W. Craig Williams by a vote of 209,955 (59.6%) to 142,362 (40.4%) .  He continues to be popular in the local area and won his seat originally by beating out longtime local Representative Curt Weldin in 2006.

Delaware County itself is trending increasingly Democratic.  As of May 1, 2009, from an over 2:1 majority in the early 2000's, registered Republicans now number 189,977 (46.7%) in the county versus 172,946 (42.5%) for the Democrats and 43,600 (10.7%) for other parties.  In the State Senate, the county elected 1 Republican, Dominic Pileggi, and 1 Democratic, Daylin Leach, in the 2008 races.  For the Pennsylvania State House in 2008, Delaware County elected 5 Republicans, 5 Democrats, and one who was represented on both tickets.  Bottom line: we're pretty well split down the middle but still leaning Republican.

Sestak's potential Senate primary competitor, Arlen Spector, won his statewide US Senate race comfortably in 2004 against Joe Hoeffel by 2,925,080 (52.6%) to 2,334,126 (41.9%) .  He was in a much tougher primary against Pat Toomey which based on the trending demographics he felt he would be unable to win against in a Republican primary in 2010.  He switched parties to the Democrats based on his feeling that he would have a better shot of getting through the primaries to the general election.

Sestak clearly doesn't intend to walk away.  According to the TPM website, the move has not deterred him and he is close to making a final decision.  This is certainly supported by his latest notes to his supporters.  Now it appears we are going to have a very competitive primary on the Democratic side rather than the Republican side.

Can he win?  Too early to say, but 2010 is already shaping up to be an interesting race in the local area.

Well, today we're at the end of the 101 Trolley Line in Media PA Delaware County.  The SEPTA 101 Trolley runs from the 69th Street Terminal Station out to just west of Orange Street on State Street in downtown Media.  The final stop is just two blocks north of Baltimore Av/Baltimore Pike and two blocks from the County Courthouse.

Any of the downtown Media trolley stops are convenient for commuters coming into the borough.  State Street itself is lined with commercial activity, restaurants, and other entertainment.  The surrounding area is filled with professional offices, the Delaware County Courthouse, and supporting economic activity.  Although there is no dedicated SEPTA parking in the area, the trolley stop is within easy walking distance to many residential areas and offers convenient access to other local Delaware County communities to the east as well as links to Philadelphia itself.

As far as homes in the area, the market has remained mixed.  Media has a wide range of housing from small apartments to condos, town-homes, twins, single family homes, and small estates.  This diversity is what makes the borough a prime attraction for many residents, but it also somewhat limits overall generalizations as far as pricing.   As you have seen in many other areas, prices appear to have peaked in 2007 with the average sales price for residential properties reaching $328,000 with 66 sales.  Since then we have seen prices pull back to an average of  $270,000 with 57 sales in 2008, to $235,000 in the last six months, and finally to $225,000 in 2009 with 10 sales settled to date.  On the surface this looks dramatic but appears more of a switch in the mix of sales rather than a major price decline.  Today, we still have an additional 7 properties under contract with an average list price of $331,000 and 28 additional properties on the market for an average asking price of $359,000 so the short term average will rise.  Prices have pulled back, but the market is too diverse to use the borough numbers exclusively without additional investigation.

So again, welcome to Media PA.  It's a great suburban Philadelphia borough full of business, entertainment, and housing with easy rail accessibility by Trolley as shown here and by the regional rail system to be covered in the future.  Should you have any questions on the area or be thinking of making a move, please feel free to call anytime.