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.

Prospective buyers, however, are motivated by the federal tax credit, which was extended and expanded last year to include homeowners as well as first-time buyers. To qualify, buyers must enter into a deal to purchase a home before May 1 and complete all the paperwork before July 1.

Buyers also are spurred by worries that interest rates, which have been hovering at about 5 percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage, will increase this Spring after the Federal Reserve halts its purchase of mortgage-backed securities.

As always the future is uncertain, and the market will continue to respond to certain pressures. Buyers and sellers have reason to make their plans now. Potential buyer’s interest could wane by summer, when the tax credit disappears and the threat of higher mortgage rates starts to loom larger. “We are going to have a flurry of activity in the Spring,’’ “What is going to happen after that is anybody’s guess.’’

Robin Benjamin  , Buyer Specialist, Sue Adler Team (973)202-7270   Robin@SueAdler.com

The charts below ( Click Chart To Page Through To Each Town) show you the active inventory and under contracts in Millburn/Short Hills, S.Orange, Maplewood, Livingston, Summit and The Chathams.

We pulled each quarter over the past year. As you can see, homes are selling … buyers are no longer on the sidelines, but there aren’t as many to choose from. What this shows, and what we , as realtors are experiencing, is that the nice, well priced houses are selling right away. If you are curious to know your home’s value in today’s market or would like to consult to see if this is the right time for you to sell,  just give me a call (973)464-9129  

“Matchmaker, Matchmaker, find me a home…. catch me a catch!”

The Sue Adler Team has a Home Matchmaking Section on our website.  We only add buyers who we are actively working with, and that are preapproved. If you’re a homeowner in Millburn, Short Hills, Summit, Maplewood, South Orange, Livingston, Chatham, Madison, Berkeley Heights or New Providence, and are thinking of selling your home in the next 6 months, please check out our team’s buyers and let me know if your home could possibly be a match.

Interest rates  continue to be at records lows. First time home buyers, I get it, you were in high school when rates were in the double digits, trust me they REALLY were that high!!! 5% is a GREAT place to be.

Today, in this market, at these prices, great homes (the ones you all want) are selling like hotcakes! In the fall we were seeing buyers  sit on the sidelines and wait for the market to “maybe” go even lower, and now the shift the past few weeks is that buyers are realizing that homes are selling instantly when they are priced right.

Despite having a great shoreline, New Jersey is not a “sand state”(read: Texas, Florida, Arizona). We are located near THE CITY (as we locals call it around here). Manhattan  is not going anywhere and what are the three major selling points in New Jersey Real Estate …(everyone say it with me)… LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!  Not even 9/11 could stop people from wanting to live within commuting distance to Manhattan , and it’s no different today.  Mid-town direct trains get you to Penn Station  within an hour from Madison  and Chatham , within 4o minutes from Summit  and Millburn/Short Hills   and within a half hour from Maplewood  and South Orange .
The best stuff is coming on the market and it is moving fast. Our team just had a home in Chatham sell within days of being listed on the market and with 9 offers (ABOVE asking Price)! With a recent Maplewood buyer, I saw a home as soon as it came to market at the Realtor Open House, knew it was perfect for my clients and had them come out THAT NIGHT! They loved it,  made a strong offer and were under contract within a week! The listing agent said: “Can it be possible, the first people to see this home on the very first day to market will be the ones!” (Answer: Yes, if they are working with me )
 
Sound familiar? This is not 3 or 4 years ago. This is today – February 2010!!!!

BOTTOM LINE: if you want to buy at house at a great price, with low interest rates and you are ready to make a move. Get your pre-approval letter and call me. And, let’s get you a good deal on a great  home before it is gone!

Yours to count on,

Tracy Freeman, Buyer Specialist with the Sue Adler Team  917.604.5735  Tracy@SueAdler.com

Sue Adler Team Client Party Buzz from Sue Adler on Vimeo.

Four years ago,  I started throwing an annual client party for two reasons. The first is obvious – to show my clients appreciation for being so amazing to me.  After the first party I realized how many friendships were formed from my party because so many of our team’s buyers are new to Short Hills, Maplewood, Livingston, Summit, Chatham, etc..  So in many ways, I feel like its become more of a Newcomers Club party, where we have new relocation buyers coming each year, as well as our yearly regulars, who have made friends with each other. Its always alot of fun.

Needless to say, when I saw the client inverviews in the video, it made me smile. I’m really proud of my team.  Other agents always are trying to figure out our success but the truth of the matter is -  at the end of the day, aside from the skill it takes to do what we do, if you work from your heart and are truly an advocate for your client, and care, that’s what matters most and what the clients remember in the end.

Congress heard you on the need to both extend and expand the homebuyer tax credit to continue stimulating the housing sector of the economy. The Senate voted 98-0 on Wednesday and yesterday the House voted 403-12 on legislation that includes the extension and expansion of the credit. The President is expected to sign the legislation, perhaps as early as today.

The biggest change in the bill is that current homeowners who are within the income limits posted on the chart , can get a $6500 credit for a  home up to $800,000.  This will hopefully stir up the “move up buyer” market.

Dont hesitate to call if you have any questions.

Yours to count on,

Sue Adler

(973)464-9129

Go GREEN, Go paperless!

Things have been hopping around here in New Jersey, lots of contracts being written. And, with every Real Estate transaction there is a lot of paperwork but, I’m learning, that doesn’t have to mean a lot of PAPER!

As part of our “GREEN-ing”, we have tried to implement paperless transactions where ever possible. Emailing, Faxing and Online listing databases and transaction management calendars, as well as shared online files have certainly paved the way to reducing the amount of paper used. Before the online MLS, each agent had an MLS book, full of all of the active listing for a given area (currently there are 457 homes available in: Maplewood, South Orange, Summit and Millburn alone). What a waste of paper!

When I schedule Buyer Appointments, I print out as few (if any) copies of the MLS listing sheets as possible. Instead, my clients and I review online listing and narrow down our home selections online. And, I have noticed that my clients no longer want to take every piece of paper that the Listing Agents leave out. Savvy buyer’s think: “I can pull up everything on my phone…why carry around a bunch of papers and kill more trees.” Love That!

I have a client whose profession has caused him to transfer locations (and homes) 7 times in the past 15 years. He and his wife have actually purchased 2 of these homes completely online – not having stepped foot into them until they were the owners.

As a GREEN REALTOR there are two sites are the backbone of my GREEN paper (less) work trail: NJAR.com which provides Realtors with access to online copies of all forms needed for any Real Estate Transaction and Docusign.com which provides the ability to securely obtain digital signatures (considered legal). I am sure they are not the only game in town, but I am really happy with their product.

When all is said and done we have clear, legible documents that everyone can read, because they haven’t been copied/scanned/faxed a million time and you didn’t have to schlep around town (wasting gas) getting original signatures. Best of all you avoid the mounds of wasted paper copies along the way.

So next time you go out with me to look at a house, let’s bring our smartphones and view the listings online.

Paper copies are sooooo last year!

Tracy Freeman, REALTOR GREEN
Buyer Specialist

If you’re eligible for this $8,000 tax credit, please keep in mind that you need to be under contract for your new home realistically by October 15th. Feel free to call us for details. (973)464-9129

Yours to count on,

The Sue Adler Teaam

On a local level,  NJ home sales have risen for 6 straight months compared to the national existing home sales rise of 3 consecutive months.

Jeffrey Otteau, New Jersey real estate market analyst, shows in his graph below, that in June contract sales in NJ were higher than June 2008’s pace, signaling a significant break through for our market. The last time NJ home sales have risen for 6 straight months was back in  2003 during the home buying frenzy fueled by the sub-prime lending boom. The monthly sales pace in NJ has increased 115% since the beginning of the year.

Clearly  many home buyers are taking advantage of these low prices, low interest rates and the first time buyer tax credit , which are all adding to  the housing   market recovery. The problem for buyers who really want to buy is the lack of inventory right now in our Midtown direct towns. Unsold inventory declined by 600 homes in June primarily due to the 7,500 home sales during the month, causing a rise in demand for good, well priced homes , especially in the entry level market.  

So why is inventory so low?  I hear many potential sellers say that they are “waiting until the market comes back” – how long will that take and what will the rates be then?  Certainly we cant expect the market to increase more than 3-5% a year once we do have a recovery.  Today many home owners are  in a catch-22  because they need to sell first, yet don’t want to sell without having found their dream home first,  which they ultimately miss out on because they aren’t in a position to buy.  There are many options that your Realtor can help you with to avoid the catch 22 ( which I will write a blog post on another time) 

What can we expect in the next few months?

All signs seem to be pointing to an active fall market - For Sellers, it’s a great opportunity  to attract the first time home buyers looking to beat the December 1st deadline of the $8,000 tax credit .     I’d love to hear from the mortgage or financial industry experts- how long can interest rates be held this  low because once the rates jump,  affordability will drop again, and the market will most likely be at another stand still. 

If you’re interested in home sale prices, stats and trends for each of our midtown direct train line towns  I update these monthly. Feel free to sign up to receive them.

Yours to count on,

Sue

Sue Adler  www.SueAdler.com #1 Keller Williams Agent in NJ 2005 -2008

This is what came back:

Hello
     I can see you are interested in the ad I have pasted, I am currently in West Africa where I work as a volunteer with the RAFIKI FOUNDATION,here is the site for more detail about why I am here in Africa.( http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/). So I need a tenant to take care of it but since  I am out of the state now, I have received some proposals regarding the rent because it is located in a very good area of Maplewood, but I still have to make sure it is rented out to someone who can take good care of it. It includes facilities such as water and heat laundry facilities,  air condition, internet and telephone access and a car park and other necessary facilities, also comes with trash collection,pets are allowed as well as long as they are not destructive. so if you know you are capable of the task, get back to me so that I can provide you with some questions that I would want you to answer.below is the location.  101 Parker Ave, Maplewood, NJ.

After receiving this, we contacted Craigslist and also noticed that the same ad appeared  for other homes that are for sale in the same price range in Maplewood. $1200 is a very entry level  rental price and would defnitely be good to be true for a 4 BR 2 1/2 bath colonial.  For the past few days I’ve shielded at least 20 calls ( and my number wasnt even in the ad, but the address was so they saw the sale sign) And my poor sellers had people knocking on their door insisting that this house is for rent.

Just wanted to make you aware of this. Please pass this on so that some innocent person doesnt get scammed.

Thanks,

Sue

PS. Craig Newmark of Craigslist, sent a response via twitter recommending this link http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.