Title

Author Archive

NJ Home Buyers, Frustrated by low inventory? We have the solution!

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Chatham, Communities, Maplewood, Market Updates, Stats & forecasts, Millburn-Short Hills, Summit
Comments: 1 Comment »

Inventory low, demand still high in trainline towns

Experts are reporting that rates are the lowest since 1956. Buying, selling or refinancing, that’s all everyone’s talking about! As a buyer’s agent , I watch the rates on a weekly basis and follow the flow of the Short Hills, Summit, Maplewood market for my clients. Bankrate.com also found record lows for the average 15-year fixed mortgage (4.18 percent) and the 30-year jumbo fixed loan (5.43 percent). The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage this week was tied with the record established two weeks ago, the online aggregator of financial rate information reported. There is no question that if you were just looking at these numbers, it is a great time to buy.

The issue  for our buyers: Low Inventory

While the rest of the country and most of New Jersey is seeing an overflow of inventory, we along the Midtown Direct Train Line, have been spared in certain price points. Read the rest of this entry »

For Some NJ Home Buyers, It’s Chatham or Nothing

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Chatham, Real Estate
Comments: No Comments »

For Some Buyers, It’s Chatham or nothing at all. Ranked as the 2nd best place to live in NJ by New Jersey Monthly Magazine 2010, and one of the top 10 places to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2005, Chatham Township is known for its beautiful homes, tree-lined streets, a bucolic setting and only a 43 minute commute to New York City on the Midtown Direct. 

That’s why, after many home owners live  in Chatham, they simply won’t move anywhere else. They tell me it’s like “no other town.” Everybody knows everybody and they all seem to be on the street when I’m showing a house. Playing lacrosse in the yard, walking with their kids to a soccer game and let’s not forget the two golden retrievers that are always in tow. Did I stage this? You would think I did.  Read the rest of this entry »

Where are all the houses for sale in our NJ Midtown Direct Towns?

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Market Updates, Stats & forecasts
Comments: No Comments »

After a year or more of waiting and watching the New Jersey real estate market,  many homebuyers in our trainline towns of Summit, Millburn, Short Hills, Maplewood, and Chatham,  are ready to buy a home, hoping to take advantage of depressed prices, low interest rates, and a federal tax credit that expires this summer. But many would-be buyers are facing an unexpected concern; not enough homes for sale and high demand for many that are available. Properties below $700,000 are hardest to find; and the most desirable of those, in good condition and reasonably priced, are generating multiple bids within days of going on the market.

What we have is the “perfect storm, increased demand and decreased supply.”

But now that many buyers seem to be gaining confidence in the market, homes are in short supply, because homeowners who don’t need to move are waiting for the market to turn and drive up prices. Read the rest of this entry »

From Millburn Ave to Main Street in Chatham, I’m still home.

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Chatham, Communities, Dining Out
Comments: No Comments »

When I moved to Chatham  last year from Short Hills,  it felt like I was moving to another country, yet it is only one town over!  I was used to Millburn Ave, not Main Street!  and I swear the leaves on the trees were a duller shade of green.  After 25 years of living in Short Hills, I was “a woman without a neighborhood,” homesick and lost.

What I’ve come to learn, is that the Summit, Chatham and the Short Hills areas are more closely connected than I ever realized.  It just took a personal move to find out. 

Why the change in attitude?

Recently I had opportunities to dine at two local Chatham  restaurants; Gregorio’s and Scalini Fedeli.  Both are on Main St, within walking distance to everything in town, a convenience I love.

Gregorio’s can get really busy, so be sure to get a reservation and bring your own wine which I always consider a plus. A few other local hot spots on Main Street and not to be missed; Seranade , fine dining to perfection.  A Taste of Asia is Malaysian cuisine. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a mix of Chinese and Thai food. Yum! Chatham of course has a Japanese restaurant. Mitsuba . I’ve been to my fair share of sushi places. This might be one my favorites of all times! 

Read the rest of this entry »

Maplewood Jitney in Millburn’s Wyoming Section?

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Communities, Commuting Info, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills
Comments: 1 Comment »

Great news for commuters to NYC who live in the Wyoming Section of Millburn! As of January 1st,   Maplewood ’s jitney service has added the Jitney Extention taking residents in the Wyoming section to and from the Maplewood train station in the early morning and during rush hour . These Jitney Stops will coordidate with the MidTown Direct  rush hour train schedule. For those of you that are new to the area, the Wyoming section is a stones throw from the Maplewood border. This is a great thing for Millburn commuters giving you one more option. Much of the Wyoming Section is also walking distance to the Millburn Train Station.
The Wyoming Section is the area from the South Mountain Reservation- its Western border ( many homes on Sagamore back to the reservation), running east to Glen Avenue along the train track. Millburn Ave is the southern border, and Maplewood is the northern border.

Homes in the Wyoming Section range from the 400’s in the area between Wyoming and Glen Ave, up to the 1.5M range, between Wyoming Ave and the South Mountain Reservation.  Its an extremely sought after area with the Millburn Township Schools, the highest rated public schools in NJ, and walk to both Maplewood and Millburn town centers.  The Sue Adler team’s recent Wyoming Section sales include:   victorian and  mid century modern homes on Sagamore with gorgeous NYC views, a newer home on Myrtle Ave, and a tudor on Pine St www.sueadler.com/43pine  in the Wyoming Section.
Our famous friend and blogger Rob Hahn lives in the Wyoming section. If you are interested in heated real estate discussions, Rob’s blog is addictive and you will see Sue’s “feisty” side with her comments.

Interested in getting tours of our train line towns? Give The Sue Adler Team a call!   (973)464-9129

Where The Boys Are

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Communities, Millburn-Short Hills, Schools
Comments: No Comments »

Where The Boys Are
By Robin Benjamin, Buyer Specialist – Sue Adler Team

In my last blog I “sang” The times they are a changin’.” In this one, it’s “Where The Boys Are.”No, I’m not going through a mid-life crisis, or reminicing about the “good old days.” While the nation debates school vouchers and the decline of public education, I’m reflecting on the kids that graduate from the Millburn/Short Hills school system. Not only has our system been rated as one of New Jersey’s best, but most of our kids graduate with something that only a great educational environment can provide. Character. As a mother of two Millburn graduates – one a scholar the other a scholar/ athlete, but neither perfect – I constantly see proof of this character as I run into kids I’ve known for years. Good kids. Polite kids. Confident kids. And often very loyal kids.

On a recent foray into NYC to watch a football game with my youngest son, a Penn State graduate, I dreaded sitting by myself in his favorite pub. That dread soon turned to joy as Read the rest of this entry »

The Times They Are A Changin- walkability rules!

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Chatham, Communities, Commuting Info, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, South Orange, Sue's Picks, Summit
Comments: No Comments »

Post by Robin Benjamin – Accredited Buyer Representative – Sue Adler Team

The Trophy Kids

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Too Cool for Category
Comments: No Comments »

Mom and dad, get ready. You’re about to be blamed for something else.
The Millennial Generation. (Where did generations X,Y and Z go?)
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “The Trophy Kids Grow Up: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaking Up the Workplace,” kids born between 1980 and 2001 are entering the job market and causing all sorts of problems. Read the rest of this entry »