Today was a great day as I met up with my Metro Buffini Networking Group in Teaneck. This is a group of similar minded real estate professionals that synergize once every quarter on the real estate market, discuss hot topics and get educated on something related to our industry. This is a group of people I would trust to refer my clients and their friend to. So if you need real estate services out of this Central NJ area, I would be glad to refer you to the “best of the best” in the industry that will take care of you, the way I take care of my clients, with only the best service.

It was very interesting, as we met at Heritage Point in Teaneck for our meeting I was exposed to a very new idea to me. It was a retirement community, which looked more like a hotel than an apartment building. In fact, this “hotel” style was indeed a “rental” property for senior citizens. A fellow member’s dad is there having just sold his home in Bergen County and now lives in a brand new “apartment style” 2 BR, 2 bath, living room, dining area and kitchen with all the amenities!! The price is a bit steep, so it won’t be for everyone. But it provides a maintenance free lifestyle with nothing to worry about and it is close to the culture of Manhattan. Starting rent is $3,000 per month, there is fine dining on premises which the residents have 2 meals a day (which we all experienced firsthand as we dined during out meeting…and it was delicious), full daily activities, spa facilities, on-site health care, lovely “lobby area” with coffee and tea served throughout the day. My colleague’s dad even has “maid’s service”, but this is an optional service.  If this has any appeal, give me a call. I have a brochure I received from the community and would be glad to connect you to the right person, if you would like to learn more.

The rest of the meeting was a presentation by a professional organizer and a professional stager. The purpose of staging is to make conscious decisions on how to utilize your space to create a warm, inviting feeling. You need to remove all clutter and remove old wallpaper, for example, so the buyers will feel, “Yes, I could live here; this feels like home.”

The professional organizer is a benefit for anyone moving too. She can evaluate the space that you are moving to (assuming you are downsizing) and advise exactly how much kitchen equipment, towels, linens, etc you can take to your new home. She will work side by side with you to help you evaluate and make those difficult decisions on what to keep and what to purge and what to donate. She has a list of resources for your donations, so you feel it goes to a good cause.

After seeing their presentation, it solidified ever more to me, that preparing a home for sale is not an option anymore, but imperative. When you are ready to sell, your home must be ready too! Yes, it takes time…yes it costs money, but in the end, it is much less than any price reduction that you will do AND it will sell quicker and for more money!! These professionals can come into your home on a consultation basis and then can be hired on an hourly basis. A fully staged home can range from $1,200-$1,800 to stage using your own furnishings and the stager will provide accessories for your use free for 3 months. What dramatic before and after pictures.

College bills are in my”present” as my son started college in Fall 2009. How about you? Are you going through this now too, or in the near future? Here is some valuable information I have come across that might provide some incite into the process of college financial aid. Angelo Penza is a certified financial planner located in Martinsville, NJ with 20 years experience in college financial aid. He has a wealth of information that I want to share it with you. Here is an excerpt from his most recent newsletter which discusses college gift aid.

If you want to avoid seriously depleting your savings or even going deeply into debt to pay for your student’s college education [Rutgers' costs now exceed $22,000 per year, Penn State's is more than $36,000, and private college costs now range from $32,000 to over $54,000 per year], you should learn whether you are eligible for college gift aid before you submit your financial aid forms (i.e., FAFSA, CSS Profile, etc.).

Please recognize that filling out financial aid forms is very easy, however, doing so does not provide any assurance that the financial data you submit will make you eligible for college gift aid. The real challenge to obtaining gift aid is knowing what actions need to be taken to ensure that the data submitted will make your student eligible for college gift aid before you forward your financial aid forms. Note: Most middle-income parents will not succeed in obtaining gift aid if they prepare their financial aid applications without advance knowledge of how college gift aid decisions are impacted by the financial data submitted.

When a college determines who meets its criteria for gift aid (and for what amount), you should know that it does not rely on the Federal FAFSA formula. Rather, each college uses its own unique multi-factor formula to ensure that the aggregate of gift aid provided to its students does not exceed its gift aid budget.  Unfortunately, most parents invariably fail to obtain college provided gift aid because they have not taken the time to learn: (1) the specific criteria of the gift aid formula of the colleges they are applying to, and (2) how to legally adjust their financial position to become eligible for gift aid from those colleges. Please be aware that a number of legal methods are available (which every family should assess) that will make most middle income parents eligible for college gift aid (i.e., money which you do not re-pay).

If you have questions about this, drop me an email, and I will give you Angelo’s contact info. I am sure he will be glad to add you to his newsletter recipients.

1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit:
The 1st time home buyer incentives that are set to expire on 11/30/09 have definitely given a jolt in the entry level home market in this area. However, now with the “buzz” that the government may extend and/or expand this incentive, all of a sudden 1st time buyers seem to have backed off the panic rush, as I saw last month, to make a decision. It will be interesting to watch the activity over the next couple of weeks. The first time home buyer market is essential to our real estate market turn around, since for every one 1st time homebuyer triggers 4 other home transactions until the 5th transaction is the empty nester selling to downsize.

NJ Jobs:
With some optimistic news…in July 2009, NJ jobs turned positive with a net gain of 5,900 jobs created. This helps change consumer optimism and thus can help the housing market.

NJ Contract Sales and Home Prices:
An update on the overall real estate market is pretty good as NJ real estate is outpacing the nation. According to the Otteau Valuation Group, sales contracts in NJ for August 2009 have matched in numbers to that of August 2007 and is posed to meet 2006 numbers over the next couple of months! This is terrific news. Now, to be clear, prices are down. Since the peak of the real estate market in Fall 2005, the NJ market has declined an average of 20%. From 2008 to 2009, NJ home prices fell 5.9%, while counties like Somerset, only fell 3.4%, and Hunterdon fell 13.1 %. With the amount of inventory now the lowest in 4 years, as new home builders have been waiting in the wings now for some time, NJ unsold inventory now stands at 9.2 months as compared to 16 months as of Jan. 2009. With all this good news on inventory stabilization, there is  still  a very strong sensitivity to price on the part of buyers.  Btw… check out the “How’s the Market” tab to see YOU specific towns’ SOLDS numbers.

Foreclosures:
Even with this good news, I do not feel that home prices have leveled off yet. Given the huge amounts of foreclosures and short sales in NJ, it is difficult to fully stabilize pricing. Mr. Otteau confirmed my hunch with the fact that the actual number of home foreclosures in NJ has reached its 2nd highest level of 4 years in August, with 887 total foreclosures. But determining where these foreclosures are, is a big piece to the puzzle, because I am not seeing any huge “bargains” in the “top” Central Jersey communities where towns with top school systems and easy commuting distance to NYC are still in high demand.

Mortgage Rates:
I personally think this is the time to buy! Home buyers MUST take advantage of record low mortgage rates. Rates this week were 4.98% for a 30 year fixed mortgage. Rates are so low because the Federal Government, through the Federal Reserve is buying mortgage back securities to keep interest rates lower. They realize that fixing the housing market first, will help the rest of the economy heal itself. The Fed has extended this program until March 2010, which should keep rates low for the spring 2010 market. However, there will be much more competition for buyers if you wait until the spring. So I believe, NOW is the time.

As experts all seem to agree, these record low rates will eventually start rising as inflation creeps into our picture and the Fed stops buying these securities which are artificially keeping rates down.
On a different note, we are all so proud to learn that RE/MAX is still #1 in New Jersey.

RE/MAX of NJ:

After the first six months of 2009, RE/MAX continues to be the number one real estate company in New Jersey in both volume and units. Also, 2.8 million visitors/month to REMAX.com. The RE/MAX Network has 93,848 Associates | 6,451 Offices | 78 Countries.

My Featured Property:
65 Loft Drive, Martinsville

$559,000; 3BR, 2.1 baths.

I have a featured property I want to share with you. A wonderful opportunity to own a home with one floor living–with the Master Bedroom on the first floor–in the desirable development of Loft Farms in Martinsville, NJ

CLIENTFULL

Check out interactive floor plan on Media Reports on the full listing

1st floor: 2 car garage leads to mud room/laundry room, powder room, gracious 2 story foyer, master bedroom with spacious master bath, bright and sunny kitchen with den/fireplace adjacent, dining room and living room.

2nd floor: 2 bedrooms, full bath and loft – currently used as an office/den

Basement: finished nicely PLUS huge unfinished space to store your belongings.

2 car garage leads to mud room/laundry room, powder room, gracious 2 story foyer, master bedroom with spacious master bath, bright and sunny kitchen with den/fireplace adjacent, dining room and living room.

I get asked mostly every day.. how is the Warren market? The market here has been getting is pretty predictable to describe. There are buyers out there looking to purchase in this area… as we offer good schools, nice lifestyle and community in this rural yet commerce nearby. There is pent up demand and buyers are really now ready to buy. However, I see the following fundamental reasons why some homes are selling while others cannot get to the closing table are.

1. The expectation of sellers and what their home is worth in today’s market is not aligned with how the buyers see the market value. Many buyers are looking at assessed value today and won’t pay much more than that. So, the homes that get to attorney review with a meeting of the minds on price, are ones that the sellers are realistic on 2009 market values and motivated to sell.

2. Houses are not appraising. This is a real issue to get homes closed. If the bank won’t lend the money due to their assessment of the home’s worth, then the deal may fall apart unless the seller will adjust the sales price accordingly OR the buyer is putting a substantial amount down.

3. Home inspection issues can keep a deal from closing. Many sellers feel that in this market, that they are already “giving their house away” for a great price and now don’t want to give too much more, if anything, after a home inspection. While I do feel some home inspectors try to prove their worth by finding a lot of issues, buyers do need to realize that in most cases, they are not purchasing a new home and some things in the home may need repair from them. To sellers, however, I always advise to fix reasonable requests to make the deal solid.

It should be noted that mortgage commitments are definitely taking longer to get. Traditionally, I have always put down 30 day contingency period on contracts I write, but now it could take 30-60 days depending on the lender and the issues that arise.

Take a look at the “How’s the market” tab on this WeinigerHomes website… it will help you see the “Solds” activity by month in various towns in my market area. This will give you a sense of what homes are getting sold.

First time buyer activity is high right now. I have 2 listings that are very desirable if you or someone you know is looking to purchase.

1. 118 Arbor Way, Branchburg 2BR, 2 bath townhouse for $249,000 in lovely development called Cedar Book… convenient to local highways. Amenities include tennis and pool facilities.

   

2. 805 Donato Circle, Scotch Plains, 3BR, 2.1 bath townhouse in KHOV development call The Reserve built in 2005 for $409,000. Great train or bus commuting town.

   

Have a great day.
Judy