hey guys, I was just wondering, what is the housing market like in the Pocono region? I was thinking of get a condo room/place and use it as a longer term investment, rent it out and such. Would this be wise idea? If not, the other idea is to get an apt in Baltimore and use it for a similar reason. Thanks for your thoughts.
My parents have a small townhouse directly across the street from Camelback Ski resort that they are selling. It seems that the housing market in the Pocono region has increased as of late. The development where the house is (Northridge) has seen constant building and expansion since we bought the place.
IIRC, my mom bought the house for around $100-110k and is now selling it for around ~$150-160k. I am not sure if the values are going to increase much more than that, though I really have no idea. The area is being developed and I believe they are adding some stuff to the area such as a new airport which might drive some tourist traffic that way during the winter. I used the house only for skiing, and I would think you could rent out a property near the mountain for quite a bit during the winter months. Then again, I am not sure that you would want to have to deal with renting out a house that far away from where you live. It could become a hassle. As to Baltimore, I am entirely unaware of the housing markets outside of where I live (NYC and to some extent the Poconos). A lot of people that I speak to seem to think the housing market is the next thing to fall. If that is the case you should probably wait and you could pick up my mom's house for less than she paid for it, lol But in all seriousness, the area around the Pocono's has some very nice amenities and a lot of tourist traffic (two or three ski resorts, large outlet mall, accessibility (right off I80), (?) heard of some major airport/train station/something being built to bring more traffic into the region *shrug*). It could potentially be a good area for investment.
I noticed your from Bethlehem, PA. I am from/learned to drive in Manhattan, and went to Bethlehem with a friend to try and get some high-speed internet access while on a ski trip with a friend (yes, I am a big nerd who cannot live w/o internet) and, funny enough, had my first and only fender bender in Bethlehem at a 4-way intersection when an older lady hit my car (that's my story and i'm sticking to it ). It's amazing that I can get through years of driving in Manhattan traffic and I have an accident going 5mph at a 4-way stop sign (don't ask). Your location just brought back some memories
I don't know if the poconos will ever catch on.. they've been pushing real estate over there since I could remember. Remember the MOunt Airy lodge commercials.. all you have to bring.. is your love of everything. Um.. why did they still air that commercial in the 2000s??? So outdated. HAS ANYONE EVER TAKEN A JACUZZI BATH IN ONE OF THOSE CHAMPAGNE BATHS???? Scary.
Omar, are you going to Pocono for the Bella Macchine this year end of June or the other event end of May ? I will be at both. My friend Dave w the Daytona has a brother in law that is a super for a apt Bldg in Hazelton
Before buying in Baltimore, I would read this: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/printedition/bal-te.bz.working28mar28,0,601706.story?coll=bal-pe-asection It is a neat town, but has many problems... The Poconos are nice, now that the 'Boomers are retiring, it is more popular than ever.
check http://www.mhkaye.com for the end of June date. The other date is end of May, its in this months FCA newsletter, I'll post it when I get home
Omar, Another point on the Poconos real estate market is the never ending "Train" issue to carry the commuters from the Poconos to points in NJ and NY. This has been in the works for over a decade and will one day soon come to be. I have been here all my life and bought my first home in '01. It has recently appraised at approx 25% above what I paid for it. I am currently looking into a couple of condos as rentals myself. Their are some in the Bushkill area near Saw Creek as well as some near East Stroudsburg University and the Pocono medical center. The range I've seen is from 80k to about 125k. Taxes are high though and watch the monthly dues. Riv
Heres the link for the Pocono event end of May, lots of fun, lots of track, good people http://www.fanucci.com/PoconoCSD/index.html