Archive for April, 2010

The Fed Promise’s to Keep Interest Rates at Current Levels. 

 We dodged the interest rate bullet again.  The Fed promise not raises rates for the near term.  Most people believe that rates will hold at these levels for the balance of the year.  Unemployment numbers need to be lower before they will act. 

 However the economy has shown some serious signs that it is improving.  The stock market has pushed through the 11,000 mark and seems to be comfortable there. Consumer confidence numbers have been showing strength, manufacturing has seen some gains.  But most important of all is that home prices have stabilized and have begun to rise.  Not just in Morris County and Morris Plains but in some of the sections of the country that have been hit the hardest.  California Nevada and Arizona where home values have fallen the farthest have seen a lot of the inventory getting absorbed.  What will be most telling in this market is the home buyers credit will be going away and the chances of it getting extended is slim.

 What does that mean to us in Morris Plains?  There are 27 homes for sale in town, thirteen homes are under contract and are waiting to close and 5 homes have closed for the month of April.  The absorption rate for homes priced under 500,000 is 2 months and homes over a half million is slightly over 4.

 Some change in the market as far as home buyers are concerned is that buyer will expect the seller to give concessions at close.  These concessions could consist of the seller offering to  paying closing costs and points.  Sellers can expect buyers to be a bit more demanding in their negotiations in buying their home. 

Buyers on the other hand have to understand that the inventory of well priced and desirable home is slowly getting bought up, Some of these buyers need to know that they can over shop for a house.  Some buyers will keep looking for their perfect house, what I call the A+ property meanwhile all the B+,A- and A properties are all getting picked up.  

 The next couple of weeks will tell.  The spring home buying season is for all intents is over. In less then a month the kids will be out of school, vacations will be taken, people will not be in such a hurry to be out to look for a home.  All the Sellers out there whose homes have been on the market for over 30 days should seriously look at dropping their price.  And buyers should step up their efforts to purchase a home.  Homes are still affordable and rates are low now.

 The economy is improving and this situation will not last for to much longer. 

 Thanks for reading my Blog Morris Plains Homes and the quote for the day is “When opportunity Is knocking at your front door don’t be out back looking for 4 leaf clovers” Unknown

Well last Saturday I held my first garage sale.  When I told my neighbor what I was doing she told me “that garage sales are a whole lot of work with very little reward”.  She could not have been more correct.  I met a lot of very nice people and I learned a lot.  First no one wants any VHS tapes VHS players or tube TV’s.  No one wanted any of my hand carved ducks. No one wanted my20 year old micro wave oven.  My 90 year mom stopped by and was my greeter.  I finally had to ask her to leave when she insisted on telling some of my lady patrons that they are too”large” to wear those jeans.   I was mostly successful in selling most of the crap but toward the end I was just giving stuff away so I did not have to but it back into the basement.

A woman from the Morris County Women’s Shelter came by and did take some of my son’s sweat shirts and pants.  It broke my heart when she told me that many of the kids show up at the shelter with the clothes on their backs.   I wish I had more to give them.

What’s going on in Morris Plains?  Well we have 27 homes for sale in April. They have been on the market for an average of55 days.  5 homes are in Foxwoods, 3 homes are priced lower than 400,000, and we have 3 priced lower than 500,000.  6 homes are priced lower than 600,000 and 2 homes priced under 700,000. We have one home at 724 and one home at over 1million.

14 homes are under contract so far in April and where sold on average in 87 days. Three homes have closed as of April 22 and where on the market on average of 103 days.  The ratio between list and sale price in Morris Plains is about 95%.

The absorbtion rate for Morris Plains is 2 months for homes priced under 500,000 and 4 months for homes priced over 500,000.  If your home has been on the market for longer then the above reference months you may want to review the marketing plan your current realtor has in place.  Are you priced competitively?  Morris Township Denville Hanover all have home that are competitive to Morris Plains.  If your home is on the market for over 30 days with no offers lower your price 5 percent.  In this market no one is going to overpay for a home when they do not have to.  Yes we live in a great town but we have to be realistic in our home pricing.  I have a client who is looking at homes priced between 300 and 400,000.  They have been in one home a number of times and they really are interested in it but the price is just too high. 

 This is a great house great town great location in a really good shape it has everything.  The problem is that the home is over priced.  The house has had a ton of activity. No offers.  The listing agent called me today to see if my people will make an offer.  She told me that the owner is discouraged that no one has made an offer on her lovely home.   All this house needs to do is lower its price by 5% and it will get multiple offers and will be sold in no time.

If you are going to sell your home listen to your agent about pricing.  They know what your home’s value is in today’s market is.  If you are not willing to listen to a professional’s opinion then why are you hiring them?    A lot of head aches and heartaches can be avoided.

There are 5 homes in Morris Plains that have been on the market for over 100 days.  Some of the homes that are listed have been listed multiple times with different agents and have been on the market for years.  These houses have been seen by every agent in Morris County and they all know that the home is over priced.   Selling a home is not magic, buyers do not just appear.  Remember in selling your “hope is not a strategy”   A seller in today’s market must know what they are up against not only in their town but other towns in the area.  Sellers need to have realistic expectations about the value of their home.  If 3 Cape Cod style homes in your town sell for 425 your house will not sell for 500. If they are hoping to get their price on an over priced home they could be hoping for a long time.   

If you know of a home in your neighborhood that has been on the market for longer then 3 months and you have any questions about it give me call.  Thanks for reading my Blog Morris Plains Homes. 

Here is the Quote   “There are so many men who can figure costs, and so few who can measure values.”  Author Unknown

You all have read my blog extolling reasons why now is a good time to buy a house,  well don’t take my word for it.  Donald Trump, I think we all know who he is, was being interviewed on the Howard Stern Show yesterday morning.  Howard asked “the Donald” what investment advice he had.  His reply was real estate.  He felt that there was no better time to buy then right now.  Rates are low and there are still some good deals to be had.  He also went on to describe his latest acquisition of land along the Potomac River.  He went on to described that this window of opportunity will not last long.  So the time is right now to buy.

The number of properties in Morris Plainsfor sale is down to only 24.  6 properties are in Foxwoods, we only have 2 properties priced under 400 and only 3 under 500,000.  Those first time home buyers really took a chunk out of the affordable home inventory in town.  6 homes are priced under 600,00 and only 3 under 700.  We still have one home priced over a million dollars.  Morris Plains has a little over 2100 homes in town and only .012 percent are for sale.  The average number of day these homes have been on the market is less then 2 months. 

Guess what it is a sellers market in Morris Plains.  Wait a minute but be for we take to the streets in celebration we need to remember that it is well priced well marketed homes that are selling.  Morristown Morris Township, and Denville also offer a lot of the same amenities that our town does and they have many homes that will compete in the market for our buyers.

We went to the Saint Patrick’s day Parade in Morristown last Saturday it was a great sunny day for a parade.  I would be for having the parade in April every year when the weather is nice and warm. 

Thanks for reading my Morris Plains Homes Blog.  Here is the Quote; “Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you’re generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make “  Donald Trump

Isn’t this summer like weather great?  I think that after the winter we had we deserve a few warm days. 

My listing at 9 Cleveland has closed.  The historical event took place on March 29th.  The new residents have already placed a play set in the back yard and have begun to make the home theirs.

What is new in Morris Plains Market?  There are 26 homes that are actively for sale in Morris Plains.  Of those there are 5 under attorney review.  There are 11 homes that are under contract.  In January and February we only had 2 homes close, but in March we saw that trend turnaround with 10 homes change hands.  The average days on market was about 4 months and the list to sale ratio was a very firm 95 to 96 percent. 

If you should have any questions concerning how long a house has been on the market give me a call or e mail me and I will be happy to give you the straight skinny.

On a macro note the government stopped buying mortgages but that has not seemed to have pushed rates up too much. The home buyer credit is coming to a close at the end of this month; A 30 year fixed mortgage is still around 5.25 to 5.30 percent.  The employment picture seems to have begun to stabilize.  Inflation is still very low so the government has no reason to raise rates any time soon.  Home prices nationally have also started to rise.  While in Morris County and Morris Plains in particular the bottom has slipped away and prices are higher.  The stock market is knocking on that 11,000 point mark.  I believe the light is at the end of the tunnel.

Governor Christi is doing what he promised by cutting spending and refusing to raise taxes.  He has taken some unpopular stands with the teachers and government employees unions but these things need to be done.  Hey we are all hurting here and we have all had to make sacrifices but I think if we all work together and stop demonizing those that have to make some hard and unpopular decisions and we work together  we will get through this.  We all shared in the good times now lets share in the bad.   Local governments also need to take a page out of the governor’s book and control spending.  None of us can afford our property taxes  going higher. 

Thanks for reading Morris Plains Homes and here is the quote; “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario” James T Kirk Captain of the Starship Enterprise