Posts Tagged ‘Robert Sittmann’

What’s going on in the Market in Morris Plains?  Starting off we have 29 homes for sale  in the month of May.   In April we had 12 homes go under contract and six have been sold.

  What is really interesting is that of those 29 homes that are on the market, over 25 percent are not new listings.   These 8 homes have been on the market for over 6 months some have been on the market for over a year.  Morris Plains has an absorption rate for homes priced under 500,000 dollars of 2 months.   For those homes priced over 500,000 it is 4 months.   This statistically means that that a home on the market in Morris Plains will go under contract in less the 3 months.  Now wait a minute why have these homes not sold in over 12 months?  The reason they have not, is that they are over priced. 

What is  interesting is that Morris Plains still has a Sellers Market Absorption rate of three months.   This means that homes that are well priced have sold so fast that they have off set the fact that 25% percent of the homes listed in town are overpriced and have not sold.   

One of these homes was originally priced at 629,000 this home was on the market for almost 8 months.  It eventually sold at 502,500.  There is another home in the Hill Section of town. It has been for sale a total of 1,274 days.   It first went up for sale in 2006 priced at 899,000 it is still for sale at 699,000 today.  This house is the perfect example of a home that is completely out of touch with the market.  Homes in the same neighborhood same style and have sold for between 550,000 and 670,000 dollars.  Price your house right.  Price your house right.  Price your house right.  If you don’t all you are doing is having a party put not inviting anybody to attend. 

Now that the Tax Credit is finished we may see a slow down in first time home buyers looking for a houses.  With this we are seeing buyers asking for sellers concessions at closing.  Buyers are asking the seller to pay their closing costs or points on their mortgage.  Some sellers are actually offering to pay closing costs up to 8,000.00 and adding that information to the listing to encourage more buyers into their home.  This has been a very popular feature in selling homes in the Midwest and Western sections of our country.  It will become more and more popular with buyers and sellers in the months to come.  

I have also had a buyer request the seller to pay for half of the home inspection.  I have seen sellers offer home warranties to buyers.  As the housing market continues to recover, both buyers and sellers will see more and more concessions from sellers to market their homes to a more educated buyer that has many options to consider.

Hey in closing congratulations to the Morristown High School Boys Lacrosse Team and their run in the Morris County Tournament.  Good Luck against Mountain Lakes.

Thanks for reading my Blog Morris Plains Homes and here is the quote:  “The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly and lie about your age”  Lucille Ball

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

Today lets talk about the home buyers tax credit.  For first time home buyers this credit applies to anyone who has not held ownership interest in a primary residence within the past 3 years. The Internal Revenue Service is responsible for implementing the tax credit so give them a call for more information. (yeah I know who wants to volunteer to call the IRS if we don’t have to.) Or check out their web site www.irs.gov they are the go to place for tax credit info

Currently there are 29 homes for sale in Morris Plains. 5 are condo’s in Foxwoods. 4 homes are under Attorney Review leaving 21 homes  as active sales in town. There are 11 homes under contract.

and now for today’s quote: “I used to say that Politics is the second oldest profession, but I have come to realize that it bears a gross similarity to the first.”  Ronald Reagan

If you are looking for a property in the Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains, give me a call. I have the inside scoop on properties in the area

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day