Homes

The housing market's continuing struggles have upset the retirement plans of millions of Americans, keeping more of them in their current homes, waiting for diminished equity to reappear. Others plan to move, but they appear to be demanding something much different from what they wanted before the real estate boom turned to bust: smaller, less expensive retirement houses they can afford with their reduced means. At the start of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, economists weren't anticipating that the long-term trend toward retirement living would be derailed.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Luxury appointments abound in the 7,000-square-foot, 12-year-old Victorian-style mansion overlooking Great Bay, such as a marble fireplace that once graced a Biddle estate mansion, a crystal chandelier that at the touch of a button lowers from the 30-foot foyer ceiling for cleaning, and boat slips big enough to berth a pair of yachts. A "smart house" system controls window treatments, lighting, heating, air-conditioning, and music. Slate-covered turrets, little secret gardens, and gingerbread-laden porches make the exterior look more like Cape May than Ocean City.

Existing-home sales in the eight-county Philadelphia region continued their decline in February, falling 27.4 percent from a year ago. This despite an unexpected rise nationwide as buyers took advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures. The regional drop was three percentage points lower than the year-over-year January decline, but sales of existing homes remain about half of what they were before the boom ended here in August 2007, according to Prudential Fox & Roach HomExpert Report, using data from Trend Multiple Listing Service.

$1.26 Million 8010 Atlantic Avenue Margate Atlantic County Settlement date Dec. 22 $1,222,000 2403 Waverly Street Unit 5 Philadelphia Settlement date Dec. 22 $1,200,000 630 Knox Road Tredyffrin Chester County Settlement date Nov. 16 $1,200,000 603 N. Walnut Street West Chester Chester County Settlement date Oct. 11 ...

Comcast Corp. said Tuesday it would add features to an existing app that enables Xfinity Voice subscribers to make and answer phone calls on its just-announced national WiFi network. The free upgraded Xfinity Mobile app — to be released after Apple Inc. gives its approval — temporarily converts a smartphone into a home phone for the purpose of calling in a WiFi hot spot. The app, which will also come in an Android version, contains a new function for call-forwarding home phone calls to a smartphone.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 3.4 percent in April from March levels and were 10 percent higher than sales in the same month last year, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. Median prices were 10.1 percent higher than last year, but industry observers warned that the increase represented not a turnaround in values but fewer distressed properties in the mix. Foreclosures and short sales (in which lenders agree to accept less than is owed on the mortgages)

A Montgomery County couple was arraigned today, charged in a string of nearly a dozen home burglaries that netted jewelry and cash, police said. Joshua Ryan Siringhaus, of Lansdale, and Kristin Anne Leidy, of Hatfield, allegedly embarked on a spree of break-ins in March that targeted developments in Hatfield, Franconia, Lower Salford and Salford Townships. According to investigators, Leidy knocked on the front door to determine if anyone was inside before Siringhaus broke in. If someone answered the door, they claimed to be looking for a lost dog, Cheltenham police arrested the couple on April 17. Today, they were each charged with 11 counts of burglary, 12 counts of criminal trespass, 1 count of attempted burglary, and 11 counts of both theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and related counts.

In the last two softball seasons, the man who once was an ever-present figure has been absent from the Nazareth Academy bench. Bob Keating's old-school flair no longer sparks the Nazareth players. The stern shouts that breed discipline and the quirky sayings that induce laughter - "hit it to the grass" and "strong like bull" are shortstop Mel Kalesse's favorites - no longer are heard on Grant Avenue. As the 17-3 Pandas prepare for this week's PIAA District 1 playoffs, the 60-year-old Keating remains at his Bucks County home recovering from triple-bypass surgery.

With a trumpet fanfare that seemed to erase an eternity of angst and anticipation, the Barnes Foundation's new campus in Philadelphia was officially dedicated Friday morning in honor of its founder, Albert C. Barnes, with executive director Derek Gillman promising to "dedicate ourselves anew to his passions. " "Philadelphia, our cultural star is rising," Mayor Nutter told the hundreds of dignitaries, officials, donors and the consuls general of Italy, Germany, France and Mexico, assembled in the inner courtyard just outside the galleries.

The 1940 census was released by the National Archives in April, offering those interested the opportunity find out where Uncle Fritz and Aunt Bessie grew up. But experts have been privy for many years to information about housing in 1940, when ramped-up war production finally brought an end to the Great Depression. What was it like? Well, 18 percent of housing was in need of major repair. That meant that almost seven million of the 37.4 million dwellings in the United States were dilapidated.

The nation's Realtors say they have just finished the strongest first quarter in home sales in five years, and sales contracts are pointing to a strong second three months. At the National Association of Realtors' midyear meetings in Washington this week, chief economist Lawrence Yun said "positive underlying economic factors" were helping spur home sales. Among the positives, according to Yun, are high affordability conditions, increased job creation, improving consumer confidence, and an increase in rental costs that make mortgage payments look like a bargain.

BEDFORD, N.Y. - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her home Wednesday. Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had represented her in a drunken-driving case, said he didn't know the cause of her death at age 52. An autopsy was set for Thursday. Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s property in Bedford, north of New York. The former Mary Richardson married Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, in 1994.

Single-family housing starts, a key measure of the health of the new-home market, rose 2.3 percent in April from March, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Overall starts were up 2.6 percent in April over March and 29.9 percent over the same month in 2011. Overall permits — an indicator of future construction — fell 7 percent in April from March but were 23.7 percent above April 2011. Single-family permits were 1.9 percent above March, the bureau reported. -- Alan J. Heavens#

Reserve catcher Brian Schneider had been showing signs of increased offensive production even before his first home run in more than a year during Tuesday's 4-3 Phillies win in 10 innings over the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park. Schneider, now hitting .303, began the season 0 for 8, but he was 8 for his last 21 at-bats entering the game and then went 2 for 4 with a two-run home run in the win. That was his first home run in 145 at-bats since April 21, 2011, against the San Diego Padres.