No electricity bills in Exton’s eco-friendly Passive House; Philly landlords offer deals

Last week I told you how you could achieve this help with paying your heating costs. But what if you didn’t have one?

This eco-friendly apartment complex that opened last month in Chester County uses no fossil fuels and tenants will have no electric bills. This is due to the way the building is constructed and the solar panels that cover energy consumption.

Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:

How important is an energy-efficient or environmentally friendly home for you? If you would like to be in with a chance of being included in my newsletter, please send me an email.

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The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Passive House apartment building in Exton was the green plant wall in the lobby. It is large, lush and self-sufficient.

But the real stars of the show are not visible from the ground. Solar panels on the roof of the four-story building, along with others in the parking lot, are expected to generate enough energy to eliminate electric bills for residents of the building’s one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

The panels also supply electricity charging points for electric vehicles.

Environmentally friendly features in the building’s 32 apartments include:

smart thermostats

Low flow toilets

induction hobs

Passive House is on track to be the first apartment community in Pennsylvania to be certified as a passive building where renewable energy will offset predicted energy use.

The developer of the project is a local company that has used green building techniques before, but has never done anything like Passive House. The CEO said he thinks this is the future and wants to build an entire community this way.

So what makes a building ‘passive’? And why are thousands of developers, engineers, architects, building managers and other professionals in Center City talking about sustainability and green building standards this week?

Keep reading to learn more about Chester County apartments and green building trends.

The rental market is normally slower in the fall, but even slower than expected.

An influx of new apartments in Philly and across the country has kept rent increases in check and forced landlords to work harder to attract residents. Nationally, competition among renters has reached an all-time low, according to Zillow.

This all offers opportunities for people who want to rent a house now.

Last month, a third of homes for rent in the Philly area offered some kind of perk, such as a period of free rental or discount on parking.

That is more than last year and a slightly higher share than in the country as a whole.

Some markets are more dependent on rent concessions than others. In another major city’s metro area, more than half of rental properties offered concessions.

Last December I wrote about what the rental prices of available apartments usually are cheaper at the end of the year. Yet rents are higher than last year.

Keep reading to learn more what’s happening on the rental market.

The latest news to watch out for

Marshall Pearson and Thomas Toner were looking for a very specific type of house in 2018. They found one in Downingtown that met all their requirements.

historic house

not too big

on a private lot

not too far from restaurants and shops

But there was one problem. Well, more like a bunch of problems: what they found during the home inspection.

There were problems with the well and septic systems. Wooden beams in the basement were broken.

But Pearson and Toner solved all that. They also got a new roof and gutters, installed central air conditioning and painted most of the interior of their two-story, 1,600-square-foot brick home.

Then came the design accents. They filled the house with antiques and quirky finds. (Have you ever seen a giraffe lamp?)

Take a look inside the couple’s home and see why they say that “struck gold” with their possessions.

Trivia time

Constellation Energy has applied to restart a nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in central Pennsylvania.

Question: Which company has signed an agreement to purchase power from the plant?

A) Comcast

B)Microsoft

C) Amazonia

D) Apple

This story has the answer.

The market

Mortgage interest rates have risen this fall. The average The 30-year mortgage interest rate is heading towards 7% again.

But this summer, interest rates fell, eventually flirting with as low as 6%. This led to more closed home sales in October.

“Lower rates brought more buyers into the market this fall, but it was short-lived,” Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said in a statement.

“Interest rates are likely to be volatile through the end of the year,” she said. “Some buyers and sellers may decide to wait until 2025, when there should be more interest rate stability.”

In the Philadelphia metro area in October:

The number of closed sales – roughly 5,530 – was more than 10% higher than in the same period last year.

The supply of homes for sale has been higher than last year for seven months in a row.

Housing prices are still rising. The average price last month was $380,000, an increase of almost 9% from the same period last year.

Photo quiz

Do you know the location in Philadelphia shown in this photo?

If you think so, email me back. You and your memories of your visit to this place can be mentioned in the newsletter.

Last week’s photo showed a statue of George Washington in front of Independence Hall. Shout out to Deborah S., Lars W. and Roger K. for knowing that location.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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