Thursday, February 15, 2007
A good indicator
How can you tell that both sides in a real estate transaction got a fair deal? At the settlement table:
The seller thinks he sold for too little.
The buyer thinks he paid too much.
The seller thinks he sold for too little.
The buyer thinks he paid too much.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Upper Bucks boom
What's going on in Upper Bucks. It used to be that the drive from Quakertown north on Route 309 into Lehigh County was pretty boring. Woods, some stores lining the road, etc., until you drove into Coopersburg.
Now there is a huge shopping center going in at Pumping Station Road and recently a developer has revealed his plans for a proposed age-restricted development in Springfield Township near Route 309, just south of the Lehigh County line. The development would have 200 shops and businesses, 1,200 age-restricted (over 55) housing units (town homes and singles) and even a park-and-ride train station. According to a story in The Intelligencer on Sunday, the plan is being proposed by Donald Metzger. It would be located on 200 acres between Springfield Street and Mine Road.
The builder has a ton of work to do before he gets approval, and one township supervisor thinks the plan is a longshot. But Metzger, originally from Warringotn, lives in the township, which should help him navigate some of the municipal and regulatory hurdles he's bound to face.
Now there is a huge shopping center going in at Pumping Station Road and recently a developer has revealed his plans for a proposed age-restricted development in Springfield Township near Route 309, just south of the Lehigh County line. The development would have 200 shops and businesses, 1,200 age-restricted (over 55) housing units (town homes and singles) and even a park-and-ride train station. According to a story in The Intelligencer on Sunday, the plan is being proposed by Donald Metzger. It would be located on 200 acres between Springfield Street and Mine Road.
The builder has a ton of work to do before he gets approval, and one township supervisor thinks the plan is a longshot. But Metzger, originally from Warringotn, lives in the township, which should help him navigate some of the municipal and regulatory hurdles he's bound to face.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
No fire sale
Coldwell Banker is owned by a company called Realogy Corp., which also owns Century 21, ERA and Sotheby's International Realty franchises and also a brokerage company called NRT Inc., commercial brokerage operations and relocation and title businesses. So Realogy is a big firm. It is on the market for a paltry $9 billion. It looks as though the company will be bought by an affiliate of Apollo Management LP, a private equity fund.
The deal has to be approved by the shareholders. Realogy was a spinoff of Cendant Corp. And to sort of keep this all in the family, Apollo also owned NRT with Cendant before Realogy was spun off from Cendant.
The deal has to be approved by the shareholders. Realogy was a spinoff of Cendant Corp. And to sort of keep this all in the family, Apollo also owned NRT with Cendant before Realogy was spun off from Cendant.
