Archive for State College PA
Super Bowl Sunday Means Super Savings for PA New Homes
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S&A Offers Savings on PA New Homes on Super Bowl Sunday
No matter if you live in our WV or PA new homes, chances are you have already chosen a team to route for this Super Bowl Sunday. But no town can appreciate football more than State College, PA, where football can at times border on obsession. And while this Sunday’s Superbowl event may not be quite as exciting as a Penn State game, we see no reason we can’t go all out here as a nod to our football heritage.
This Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5 from noon to 2 p.m. we are opening four of our quick delivery homes and offering our steepest discounts yet on them. Whether you seek the convenience of resort style living just steps from Beaver Stadium in a home at The Village at Penn State, a single-family home nested in the wooded enclave of Brynwood, a brand new home close to the downtown action in Hunter’s Chase or perhaps a superb value located in Steeplechase, just off of I-99 near downtown Bellefonte, we have a home for you!
These four homes are being offered from $234,900 up to $319,900 and are completely turn-key and most offer Seller’s Assist. We know a good price can be a game changer, so make sure you take some time to ramp up for your pre-game festivities by visiting us at one of the following this Sunday: Read More→
Last Chance to Purchase New Homes in State College at The Landings
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Final Opportunities at The Landings
It’s not surprising to us that we are already down to our final two home sites remaining in this phase of The Landings, one of the area’s most popular single-family communities of new homes in State College. The Landings is priced just right – with single family homes starting in the $170,000s, there is no sense paying more money for an older home when you can get a brand new, energy efficient home for the same price, if not less.
What else makes this community so popular? Try its family friendly sidewalks, playgrounds, baseball fields and bike paths that allow commuters to get to downtown State College via bike, walking or car. Combine that with high quality, energy efficient homes in State College that feature energy saving features like CFL lighting, recycled materials, 2×6 construction and a high performance HVAC, and you couldn’t possibly find more bang for your buck in the area. Read More→
Opportunity Knocks For Those with State College Real Estate
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State College New Homes at The Village at Penn State
Take a peek around your State College real estate and you’ll notice the signs of fall beginning to show, bringing with it the beloved football season.
The 2011 Nittany Lions Football season will usher in opportunities for many around Happy Valley. Will Bolden or McGloin step into the starting QB role? The decision may mean heartbreak for one and an incredible opportunity for the other. Will Penn State be able to secure a victory against the No. 3 nationally ranked Alabama Crimson Tide this weekend? A win against a Top 5 AP ranked team would be Penn State’s first since 1999.
Opportunities extend beyond the realm of football itself and to the Penn State fans themselves. Year after year, thousands of Blue White fans make the trek up to State College every game weekend to pay homage to their beloved Nittany Lions. And, while no price seems too high for those who worship Penn State football, when you add up $700 nightly hotel bills week after week, year after year, the result is thousands of dollars that will never be recouped by loyal fans. Read More→
Pittsburgh, State College on Forbes Top 25 Recession-Resistant List
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A stunning Pittsburgh sunset.
If you were to take the entire United States and chop it into individual real estate markets, you would end up with 499 different areas. Each individual market has different economic drivers, unemployment rates, and of course, geographic desirability.
Given the different factors, it is logical that while the average home price across the nation has dropped since the peak of the market, how much (if anything) each market has dropped varies widely. A recent Forbes article, America’s Recession Resistant Cities for Real Estate, used data from each of these individual markets to analyze the top 25 most recession-proof real estate markets.
Two of S&A Homes’ main markets, Pittsburgh, PA and State College, PA ended up on the top 25 list. Forbes analyzed the markets that have experienced continual price increases since the beginning of 2011 to come up with the list. And while that is a relatively small time frame, we believe the trends captured in the article are indicative of long-term pricing trends that we have observed for a number of years.
Unlike many American towns with industrial and manufacturing roots that have failed to adapt to the changing economic times, Pittsburgh has succeeded in revamping its image to attract a diverse range of companies and industries to keep the economy churning. The city has invested an incredible amount of effort into revitalizing the downtown areas and a number of neighborhoods around it. The result is an affordable city with a healthy economy and plenty to keep residents busy and happy, including beautiful Pittsburgh new homes.
State College, PA, on the other hand, is on the list for different reasons. The Read More→
Ch-ch-ch-changes!
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It is always a sad day to say goodbye to a popular model home. This Wednesday, August 17, we will officially turn over our Brynwood model home, The Winchester, to a new family who can enjoy living in the home as much as we enjoying selling out of it!
For several years, we have sold the Brynwood, Trotter Farm & Ferne Hollow communities from this popular model and have enjoyed our presence in the neighborhood for all this time. And even though someone else can now call the Winchester Model home well…home, we will continue to sell all three communities of PA new homes from our Information Center located on Science Park Road, in State College, PA.
We should warn you, however, that only a few home sites remain in the current phase at Brynwood, which continues to be one of S&A Homes’ most popular communities. The wooded community is located directly across from Gray’s Woods Elementary School and is part of the Gray’s Woods master-planned development that includes numerous amenities like walking trails, sidewalks, ball fields, and playgrounds. Combine that with a convenient location just 1.5 miles from the Gray’s Woods Geisinger Medical Center and an affordable price point from the $210’s and it’s hard to find fault with Brynwood. Read More→
Selling Your Home? Our Top Ten Tips
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Here at S&A Homes, many of our buyers of PA new homes are also home sellers! And, at the height of summer, it can be tough to attract potential home buyers. Family vacations, barbecues and camp outs seem to compete for attention. The sudden decrease in showings can be scary to someone selling their home, but take solace. The buyers who do walk through tend to be serious and motivated.
But competition is stiff, and being on your A-Game is critical if you want to have the home that stands out (for the right reasons of course). Here are our top 10 tips to help sell your home this summer: Read More→
Central PA Arts Fest Brings Art, Music and More to State College
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It seems like we spend a lot of time blogging about football here. And yes, Central Pennsylvania’s obsession with the game is all that the area seems to get any credit for. But the fact is: there is a lot more to State College than just Penn State football. The area also plays host to a nationally recognized Arts Festival, The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
This week kicks off the festivities. With almost 1,000 artists attending from all over the world, this is definitely not your run of the mill street carnival. The festival, which starts this Wednesday, July 13 and runs through Sunday, offers more than the traditional art booths. From Italian Street painting to free jazz concerts to some of the best street food around, we can barely touch the tip of the iceberg here.
The festival marks its 44th year since starting in 1967. Interestingly, the original Arts Fest was not judged and artist’s hung their works on the fence outside of Old Main. Over the years, the event has turned into the quintessential summer week for Pennsylvanians and attracts more than 125,000 people over the course of the week. Read More→
Are Adjustable Rate Mortgages for You?
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Over the past couple of weeks, we have untangled the rumors surrounding Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) products and put common misconceptions to rest. But, regardless of the integrity of the ARM products, they are not for everyone. For others, they equate to an incredible savings when purchasing Pennsylvania new homes.
Let’s first talk about who they work for:
- First-Time Buyers – The average first-time buyer only lives in their first home for 3-5 years. Saving anywhere from $1,000 – $5,000 a year is pretty attractive for someone just getting started.
- Relocaters – You know who you are. If you want to keep climbing the corporate ladder, then it may take a few cities and offices to get there. If you know your job will force you to move every 3-5 years, then an ARM makes perfect sense.
- The Average Home Buyer - Again, the average person (not first-time) lives in a residence for 5-7 years. The problem is predicting this timing. As jobs change, kids come, or kids living needs change, those “forever” PA or WV new homes quickly become outdated and homeowners are left looking for more (or less). If only we had a crystal ball, then it would be much easier to know if we should go fixed mortgage or adjustable rate! Read More→
Adjustable Rate Mortgages: The Good, The Bad and…The Reality
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Last week, we discussed the fact that Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) can work for some buyers of PA new homes and not others. Today, we will talk about what an ARM specifically is and how it works. Next week, we will explore which subset of buyers should most consider an ARM product when considering various loan products.
- ARMs are fixed for the first few years of the product. The number at the front of the ARM (i.e. 5/1 = 5 Years) indicates the number of years the interest rate stays fixed. At the end of the fixed term, an ARM can adjust up OR down, depending on where interest rates are at that time. The adjustable period on a 30-year product lasts from Years 6-30 and the interest rate will adjust ONCE A YEAR each of those years to whatever the interest rate is at each of those years. This number can be lower or higher than the initial rate during the fixed year.
- The adjusted interest rate does have a lifetime cap. Most Wells Fargo rates (our preferred lender) offer a lifetime cap of 5%, some lifetime caps are 6%. What does this mean? It means that a 5/1 ARM with a 2.75% interest rate that has a 5% lifetime cap can never go higher than 7.75% at any point during the loan term. So, you can rest easy – your interest rate isn’t going to shoot up to 18% if you have a lifetime cap of 7.75%. Read More→
Get a KISS this Weekend!
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Here at S&A Homes, we are all about keeping it simple and straightforward which we affectionately refer to as a KISS! So here it is:
- The Simple: Purchase any of our nearly finished PA new homes between now and June 30 in the State College/Bellefonte area and settle on or before August 31, 2011.
- The Straightforward: Receive a $7,500 gift card to Wolf’s Furniture so you can begin furnishing your home
This weekend only, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, we are hosting an S&A Parade of Homes so that you can come in and get a KISS yourself! We will have 5 quick delivery State College new homes available to tour three and four bedroom homes from the $210’s to the $340’s throughout the area. For direction and floor plans, please click on the links below.
Brynwood #58 – $229,900
Steeplechase #186 – $219,900
Hunter’s Chase #8 – $285,900
Foxpointe #57 – $345,900
Village at Penn State: Ivy Ridge #332 – $329,900
Equal Housing Opportunity