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10 Reasons to Move to Adams Township, PA
January 2, 2012 by SJackson
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Adams Township, in Butler County, PA is one of the fastest growing towns in the Pittsburgh area. While there are countless reasons why Adams Township has become such a desirable place to live – we’ve listed 10.

1. Parks and Recreation
Moving to Adams Township will allow you to take advantage of the many parks and other recreational activities Butler County provides. Two scenic parks worth mentioning include Cranberry Community Park and the Adams Township Community Park.

2. Butler County Unified Plan
Adams Township is a part of a new plan to improve the economy and businesses in the county, which will improve life for all residents.

3. Free Wi-Fi in public spaces
Moving to Adams Township means that whenever you visit the town center, you will be able to access free, unlimited Wi-Fi.

4. Small-town warmth
Snuggled into a quiet, rural area of Pennsylvania, communities in Adams Township, including Myoma Woods, radiate warmth and charm.

5. Experience history
A new home in Butler County means getting to interact with history through museums, a plantation and historical homes.

6. Outdoor activities
When you move to a new home in Adams Township, you will get access to the North Country Scenic Trail, over 3,000 acres of lake, and over 16,000 acres of woods at Moraine State Park.

7. Festivals and events
Communities in Adams Township are privileged to share in the seasonal, sporting, street, arts, agriculture and heritage festivals and events hosted by Butler County.

8. Sporting activities
Whatever kind of sport you like to pursue, there is a place to do it in or around Adams Township, including golf, baseball and motor sports. There is a nearby skating rink, several playing fields, and more golf courses than you can shake your club at.

9. Dining and Shopping
A home builder in Adams Township know that there are many fine restaurants and shops for you to experience, including one-of-a-kind family-owned businesses of all kinds. Notable eateries include Siba and Jimmy’s Strip District Grille.

10. Community
Moving to Adams Township means a sense of community and caring that is perfect for raising your family.

It is easy to see that Adams Township in Butler County Pennsylvania is a welcoming and diverse place to live. There is so much to see and do! Heartland Homes has provided quiet, beautiful communities for families to move into right in the middle of the rich historic and cultural center of the county. Myoma Woods and Amherst Village are constructed with the highest grade materials and unique styles. With gorgeous views overlooking rural Pennsylvania, both sites provide new homes in Adams Township, PA and a get-away feel while not being far from activities and events. If you are looking for a quiet place to live with lots of amenities, then take advantage of what Adams Township has to offer.

Category: About Heartland, Community, Pittsburgh
Tags: Adams Township Homes
Pittsburgh Business Journal: Unemployment Declines
November 1, 2011 by SJackson
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The Pittsburgh Business Journal reports some exciting news for the Pittsburgh Area. After a few long months of creepily increasing jobless rates, unemployment fell in the month of September.

The jobless rate fell fourth-tenths of a percentage point to 7.4 percent, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry said Tuesday. That’s almost a full point below Pennsylvania’s 8.3 percent and well below the national rate of 9.1 percent in September. It’s also the fifth-lowest in the state.

There were 5,000 fewer unemployed people in the seven-county region in September and an increase in employment by just under 3,000 from August. The largest gain came from education, where 7,400 jobs were added with the start of the school year. Transportation and warehousing added 3,300 jobs. Health care added 700 jobs. Durable goods manufacturing added 300 jobs.

Click Here to read more from the Pittsburgh Business Journal

Category: Pittsburgh
Best Places to Retire
September 15, 2011 by SJackson
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CNNMoney lists Pittsburgh amongst the 25 Best Places to Retire

“The Steel City” has evolved from its rusty roots to become a cosmopolitan place that ranks among the most livable in the nation.

Old mill sites have been cleaned up and turned into shopping and technology centers. Factories and warehouses are now prime real estate for restaurants, art galleries, and luxury lofts.

While there’s plenty to love about New Pittsburgh, Old Pittsburgh has much to offer thanks to the 20th-century industrialists who left a legacy in arts, architecture, sports, and education. The steel industry is largely gone, but the symphony, ballet, opera, zoo, museums, and sports teams live on. And with more than a dozen universities, art schools, and institutes in town, retirees have their pick of lifelong learning programs.

Category: Pittsburgh
The Housing Market is Improving
September 8, 2011 by SJackson
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The National Association of Home Builders released its first NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index, a new economic index revealing metropolitan areas that have shown improvement for at least six months in three key economic areas – housing permits, employment and housing prices.

A total of 13 metropolitans showed signs of economic improvement. Among that list of 13 cities, sits Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

Bob Nielsen, Chairman of the NAHB had this to say about the promising economic growth:

Despite the challenging conditions in the national economy and housing sector, there are areas throughout the country where we are seeing pocket of improvement. Housing conditions are local, and do not always reflect the national picture. We created this new index to shine a light on those housing markets across the country that have stabilized and have begun to show signs of recovery.”

For additional data, tables and a list of 2011 future economic release dates visit – www.nahb.org/imi

Category: Housing Market, Pittsburgh
Where Pittsburgh Ranks – Most Livable Cities in the World
September 6, 2011 by SJackson
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2nd Most Livable City in the United States

Pittsburgh was named the 30th Most Livable City in the World in the latest survey by the Economist Intelligence Magazine. Ranked as the 2nd Most Livable City in the United States behind only Honolulu, Hawaii which ranked 26th in the world!

In last year’s survey, Pittsburgh ranked as the Most Livable City in the United States, but fell in this year’s survey to the Aloha State.

Mebourne, Australia was ranked the World’s Most Liveable City according to the report, beating last year’s #1 Vancouver which fell to #3 in the world.

Category: Pittsburgh
Steel City Resilience
August 17, 2011 by SJackson
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Forbes.com released their list of Recession Resistant Cities for Real Estate and it comes with no surprise that a town made of steel is atop the list. Consistently ranking as the Best City to Relocate, Most Affordable and Best Places to Live, Pittsburgh’s strong real estate market is no stranger to national rankings.

Real Estate data company, Zillow.com, compiled the list of 154 U.S. Metropolitan Areas. Zillow assessed median homes prices, list prices vs. final sales prices on homes sold, price cuts on for-sale homes, tax assessment records, and local rental prices.

Click Here to read the full article

Category: Housing Market, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Best Builder Two Years in a Row!
July 27, 2011 by SJackson
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Pittsburgh’s Best Home Builder

The readers of Pittsburgh Magazine were asked who the best home builder in Pittsburgh is, and they answered with Heartland Homes. Notoriously known as Pittsburgh’s #1 Custom Home Builder and now voted as the 2011 Best of the Burgh Best Home Builder.

We are very much honored to be named the Best of the Burgh. It is one thing to be recognized by other builders and the construction community but to be recognized as the best by our customers and real Pittsburghers is a true honor. We humbly accept this award and would like to thank everyone who voted for Heartland Homes!

Category: About Heartland, Pittsburgh
The Tortoise and The Hare: The Battle of the Builders
July 19, 2011 by SJackson
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There once were two homebuilders in the city with three rivers. Each in a race to become the very Best of the ‘Burgh. Both builders strive to be top dog in the Iron City, but each having their own philosophy of how to become number one.

The first home builder has been building homes for many years, as fast as he could and at the most rapid of paces. Throwing up houses as fast as hare-manly possible, each house the same, side by side, side by side, each house the same. Sale by Sale, Side by Side, Sale by Sale. The Hare’s philosophy was to build a house with limited options so that you can sell them, build them, and leave them as fast as possible. Sell them, build them, leave them, and then on to the next one. Dropping cookie cutter houses in cookie cutter communities, like litter on the side of the highway.

The Hare thought that the best builder was the one who built the most houses each year. Minimum attention to quality and detail, the Hare built 4-walled cookie-cutter boxes quickly and carelessly. Swiftly putting up houses on cheap land and cramming as many as possible into each community. “I built the most houses”, says the Hare “Therefore, I am the best in the city” “No one can build as many houses as I can!”

The Hare’s ignorant remarks did hold some truth, no one could build as many houses as the Hare, but the Tortoise believed that truly earning the title, Best of the Burgh meant much more than just building homes as fast as you can. The Tortoise believed that becoming the best meant building the best homes.

The Tortoise believed in building the most energy efficient home, each and every time. Homes that saved owners money by being more efficient and not only complying with ENERGY Star Guidelines, but by completely exceeding them.

The Tortoise understood that the great people that lived in his city did not want a cookie cutter box thrown on some land in some township. He actually went into the community and asked people what they really wanted. He learned that the people wanted homes, not house, that they could design themselves. Dream Homes with limitless options and the ability to change the size of a room, add a front porch, choose the brick color, paint color, and even the smallest of details like hardware in the kitchen or location of an electrical outlet in the bedroom.

The people wanted beautiful homes with big useable yards. Private cul-de-sac streets, private wooded homesites, and homes in convenient locations with access to major roadways and in the best school districts! The Tortoise also learned that all homeowners are not the same. Some people wanted two story castles, others a low maintenance townhome, or a single level home with a first floor master. Not everyone wants a cookie cutter box! And no one should ever have to decide between Cookie Cutter House A and Cookie Cutter House B.

So as the years pass, the Tortoise and the Hare continue building houses the only way they know how. Year after year, the Hare sells more houses than the Tortoise, but the Tortoise continues to build quality homes with only the best products, producing ENERGY Star ratings far greater than the Hare’s houses. The school districts that the Tortoise builds in continue to capture national recognition. And generally speaking are more satisfied with their custom built homes.

As this tale continues as to whom is the better home builder, let us leave you with some facts. The Hare is continuing its hairy ways of building homes. SELLING more homes than the Tortoise. But, the Tortoise has slowly but surely grabbing the attention of its beloved city, not only winning more than 30 awards for its skillfully designed floorplans, communities, quality and green practices, but the Tortoise has been named THE BEST OF THE BURGH by the Pittsburgh Magazine for the past two years consecutively.

Time will tell who will win the race for 1^st place, or you can just ask one of the Tortoise’s homeowners. (Most of them once lived in one of the Hare’s houses)

LITTLE KNOWN FACT: The Tortoise is a figurative term. The Tortoise in our story is not slow at all. His efficiency allows him to complete a house, on average, in less than 5 months.

Category: About Heartland, Miscellaneous, Pittsburgh
From Steel to Steal
June 27, 2011 by SJackson
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Turn on CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, and any other major news outlet and you are constantly reminded of the national housing crisis. But this week the Wall Street Journal reminds us that invariably what you hear from the media only takes into account national statistics and is not a good reflection of our neighborhood.

WSJ’s David Crook recently wrote an article explaining that home values are actually rising in Pittsburgh, one of the few big metropolitan areas that have emerged virtually unscathed from the real-estate bust. Indeed, since 2000, home prices in the Pittsburgh area have risen about 42%, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which tracks home sales throughout the country.

Crook attributes Pittsburgh’s resistance to the housing crisis to the city’s metamorphosis from a nitty gritty, blue collar metro to a hub of technology, medicine, finance and education over the last two decades. Pittsburgh already experienced its personal crisis in the mid-1980’s as the steel industry collapsed. We did not experience a housing bubble like almost every city in America. Instead Pittsburgh’s growth remained consistent (1-5% increase per year) and constant. Now Pittsburgh receives almost every accolade for Best-Places for this or Best Places for that, including America’s Most Livable City. Combine everything all of the above with an unemployment rate below the national average and you have the best place on Earth. (Okay maybe we are a little biased)

Read David Crook’s full article from The Wall Street Journal: Housing Bust? What Housing Bust?

Category: Housing Market, Pittsburgh
Best Cities for Jobs
May 3, 2011 by SJackson
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Forbes.com released their report of the best cities for jobs this past Monday, and it comes as no surprise that Pittsburgh has once again ranked among the Best Cities in America. Out of nearly four hundred metropolitan statistical areas measured in the research, Pittsburgh ranked 11^th overall amongst large metropolitan cities. The Forbes.com article attributes Pittsburgh’s job growth to an economy centered on finance and education.

Texas displayed the most impressive job growth hosting the #1 city in the small, mid-sized, and large metropolitan categories; while California does not host a single city within the first 150 cities on the list.

Category: Pittsburgh