Snowstorms stymie home sales

As if the housing industry didn't have enough to contend with, this prolonged spell of bad weather certainly has not made things easier - coming as the spring selling season approaches and the tax credits motivating buyers move closer to their April 30 expiration date.

"Virtually every buyer will cancel or not schedule appointments on days like today, and for even a few days after," said Jeff Block, an agent with Prudential Fox & Roach in Center City.

Stratford, N.J., builder Bruce Paparone said 2010 had started off with promise. "But then the snow has been a real impediment to our traffic and sales at a time when it should be growing. February is typically a strong month. . . ."

Paparone recalled that his father, builder/real estate agent Sam Paparone, had a rule of thumb - "Anytime you have a change in seasons or weather, it takes three weeks for people to get back to a normal routine" - and he said that would affect likely sales for a while.

For those deals already done, getting a mortgage commitment has been difficult, if not impossible, this week.

"Since it is in the D.C. area, which is even worse than here, the Fannie Mae capital-markets sales desk [where loans are approved for securitization] announced it would close at 11 a.m." Wednesday, said Jerome Scarpello, of Leo Mortgage in Spring House.

As the snow and wind created whiteout conditions for a time Wednesday, Marshal Granor, principal in Granor Price Homes, of Horsham, said: "We're closed today."

Granor Price had the good sense a few weeks ago, he said, "to hurry up and complete another 10-unit spec building" at its project in Royersford to meet the June 30 closing deadline for sales to qualify for the tax credit.

And on Tuesday, a snowblower was rented to clear the foundation so crews could deal with Wednesday's storm quickly and still get framing under way later this week or early next week, Granor said.

Aside from the dearth of sales and the inconvenience, there also are hidden costs involved with these back-to-back storms, he said.

"The expense of clearing snow - for us and for the community associations where we are building - is huge," Granor said. "Every condo and homeowners association is suffering, and may need cash infusions quickly. Some were already running low on cash if they have foreclosures or delinquent owners."

After a blizzard blasts through, real estate agents may end up working at home for a few days. But they cannot stay there for very long - especially if they have a lot of listings.

"As winter begins, agents make sure they discuss with their sellers the importance of winterizing to avoid having pipes burst as temperatures drop," said Noelle Barbone, office manager of Weichert Realtors in Media.

"Agents must also make sure these properties are accessible and in showing condition," Barbone said. "Many sellers do hire a company to come in and plow or shovel as needed."

Checking on vacant properties regularly is a must for listing agents.

When a sale is pending - that is, an agreement of sale has been signed - "a property has to be ready for the home inspector, so the heat must be turned up and the property cleared of snow and ice so the inspection can take place," Barbone said.

In this kind of weather, home remodelers are suffering their share of trials, too.

"It plays havoc with our schedule and production efficiency," said Jay Cipriani of Cipriani Builders in Woodbury.

"The next day, when we go to the job site, we have to clear the snow to allow us to work on the outside of the building."

Customers often believe it's the remodeler's responsibility to do the snow removal necessary so work can proceed.

"Even if we are working inside the house, such as a kitchen project, we have to take additional steps to protect their floors and carpeting from melting snow," Cipriani said. "Sometimes, we'll take our shoes off at the door."