Toilets that can wash you and play music | Real Estate Newsletter
And flies invade Chester County homes.
Is your bathroom’s toilet due for an upgrade?
High-end toilets and bidets are getting more popular in homes. The smart toilet market in North America is expected to grow to $3.46 billion by 2028.
When it comes to toilets and their features, here’s what to consider.
Keep scrolling for that story and more in this week’s edition:
Unique pests: Imagine battling an invasion of thousands of little flies in your home. These Chester County homeowners are living the nightmare.
Facing the consequences: Find out what’s happening to the executives who let a string of affordable-housing complexes deteriorate and left Philly seniors stranded.
Keeping it cozy: Peek inside a midcentury modern Newtown Square home that includes “cozy moments.”
📮 Do you have a bidet or smart toilet? What made you buy it, and how’s your experience been? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me.
— Michaelle Bond
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At a friend’s home last month, I spotted a bidet attachment and thought, I should look into getting one of those. But I didn’t. That’s why I was freaked out when I later noticed my phone showing me ads for them anyway.
This might be because bidets are growing in popularity in the United States and (hopefully) not because my phone can read my thoughts.
The pandemic, for one, helped steer people toward bidets and other bathroom features that are focused on cleanliness.
Homeowners also are opting for all the bells and whistles that come with buying toilets with tech. In addition to cleaning you, these toilets can play music, light the bathroom, control the lid, and (for some reason) let users talk to Alexa.
Samaya Brown in Brewerytown has a $400 bidet seat with:
seat and water temperature control
front and back washing
drying
an oscillating power wash
You can get a bidet seat for under $100. Then there’s the fancy smart toilet that costs more than $10,000.
Keep reading to find out what toilets are capable of now and how to choose what’s right for you and your home.
This is a gross one.
Thousands of phorid flies are invading the properties of Chester County homeowners. My colleague Jesse Bunch talked to one guy who owns a historic Avondale property, where the flies form black masses across windows.
“There’s flies in the exhaust vents, there’s flies attached to the light fixtures,” the homeowner said. “I’m in the shower, I lift up the shampoo bottle, and they’re hiding underneath. They’re everywhere.”
Yikes.
The situation has gotten worse in recent years for residents near Avondale, Kennett Square, and Toughkenamon.
Phorid flies thrive in the soil of the region’s mushroom farms, which supply more than half of the country’s mushroom crop.
Who are the flies frustrating?
stressed-out homeowners, who also worry about their property values
mushroom growers, who have reported millions of dollars in damage in their facilities
So why has the local phorid fly problem gotten worse? And what are researchers at Pennsylvania State University doing to try to find a solution? Keep reading to find out.
The latest news to pay attention to
Members of a New Jersey family that built a troubled affordable-housing empire have been sentenced to federal prison for mortgage fraud.
In 2024, homes for sale in the Philly region were more affordable than across the country as a whole. But they weren’t affordable.
These were 2024′s most popular and most unusual Zillow home-search terms.
The Giant Heirloom supermarket in Market East closed over the holidays, ending the grocer’s gamble on the rapidly developing Center City neighborhood.
Bill Cosby defaulted on his $17.5 million mortgage and faces foreclosure on a second New York townhouse.
The Richmond Library is closed indefinitely, because construction to repair its roof through a city initiative has stalled.
House of the week: For $532,000 in Montgomery County, a ranch house with four surrounding outbuildings.
Sam Kirk owns a cafe, so it’s no surprise that the kitchen in his Newtown Square home is important. It’s his family’s gathering place and was a focal point of extensive home renovations.
Homeowners Sam and Amanda swapped the kitchen and dining rooms in their 2,600-square-foot mid-century modern ranch house. The kitchen is now in a space with higher ceilings and more natural light.
Among the kitchen’s features:
appliances tucked into cabinets with custom handles
a curved 12-foot granite island with a prep sink
Arabescato Grigio stone that forms a dramatic backsplash
a filtration faucet that provides sparkling water
The kitchen’s texture and warm tones extend beyond the space.
The home was built around 1970, so it needed a bunch of other updates. The Kirks replaced buckled floors, renovated the walkout basement, and transformed the primary suite, among other renovations.
They leaned into their ownership of a midcentury modern home with the installation of one of their favorite pieces of art: a Calder-style mobile in the living room.
Peek inside the Kirks’ home and find out why the family loves the back deck.
🧠 Trivia time
In 2020, Philadelphia Magazine described a Poconos town as “accidentally cool.” The town features yoga studios, plant shops, coffeehouses, breweries, galleries, and other businesses that can make somewhere a hotspot that attracts both tourists and residents.
Question: Which Poconos town are we talking about?
A) Jim Thorpe
B) Honesdale
C) Milford
D) Stroudsburg
This story has the answer.
📷 Photo quiz
Do you know the location this photo shows? Hint: It’s outside Philadelphia.
📮 If you think you do, email me back. You and your memories of visiting this spot might be featured in the newsletter.
Shout-out to Lars W., who knew that last week’s photo showed the Skew Arch Bridge in West Fairmount Park. The quirky bridge was just given a makeover for $100,000.
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I want to leave you with an interesting story you might have missed over the holidays. A 92-year-old Philadelphian and Navy vet spends his days tracking down Philly residents who are eligible for a city property tax relief program but haven’t taken advantage of it. He mails letters telling them about the help they’re entitled to.
But his internet sleuthing also has found that some property owners, including corporations, are claiming tax breaks they are not entitled to. His research could help the city recover $11.4 million in tax revenue annually.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
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