Hesitant house-hunters | Business Weekly

A Bank of America report finds that Philadelphia-area homebuyers are more likely than counterparts nationwide to delay purchasing a home because of high prices. More than half of prospective buyers in the region take into account state and local property taxes across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware when choosing whether and where to purchase a home.

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— Ezequiel Minaya(@zekeminaya, business@inquirer.com)

Philadelphia-area home buyers are more likely than buyers nationwide to consider selling belongings to raise money to buy a home and are more likely to hesitate to purchase because of high prices, according to a Bank of America report released Thursday that examines home-buying behavior.

Although Philadelphia remains a relatively affordable place to buy a home, low incomes in the city can put homes out of reach.

When consumers are deciding whether to buy, they need “a budget and a plan and a set of resources to make the right decision at the right time,” said Richard Krisinski, a Main Line-based senior vice president and lending market leader at Bank of America.

NJ Transit U-turn: Two months after leaving hundreds of South Jersey customers in the lurch, NJ Transit has reversed course under criticism and says it will return direct service to Center City in June on five interstate bus lines that had been rerouted to Camden.

What goes up, might come down: House prices have gone stratospheric almost everywhere, including in the Philadelphia region. Don’t get too giddy, writes Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics. House prices are set to return to earth.

Down but not out: About a half-dozen small business owners helped open National Small Business Week at an event organized by Ninth District Councilmember Cherelle Parker.

Amazon workers at a warehouse on Staten Island overwhelmingly rejected a union bid on Monday, dealing a blow to organizers who last month pulled off the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history. This time around, warehouse workers cast 618 votes — or about 62% — against the union.