The Bergen County Homes Blog

My family is made up of a variety of religions and backgrounds which is so typical of  Bergen County and the USA in general.  We celebrate all holidays in December and welcome the coming New Year with an upbeat attitude.  While the tough times our country is going through has touched us too, I still believe in the strength of the American spirit and everything our country stands for.

Ok, I realize this may be a bit corny but to quote George C. Scott in the movie Patton – “Failure is un American.”  The heart of the American spirit is that we don’t quit and work together blending all our cultures into a stronger country.

We’ve all been through a time of enormous challenge.  While it’s not going to get better quickly, it will indeed get better, we all will prevail and the United States will remain the best place on earth.  2011 is going to be an improvement over 2010 and as a real estate agent, I am convinced we’re past the worst and are getting better every day.  The increase in buyer calls to the office, internet inquiries and traffic at open houses has been tremendous since mid November.  I’ll bet all of you a dinner on me that by the end of 2011 you’ll see that this is true.

Now I’m on to my Christmas and will talk to you again after the first.  Thanks for tuning in.  Barbara

Now that we’re past one December holiday (Hannukah) and about to land on Christmas, parents of young children have that 10 day period of vacation time looming in front of them asking “What do we do with the kids?”  With the weather bound to not cooperate for at least one point in time, why not take them to a great indoor activity?  Why not go to a local museum?   

For children from 1 to 8 there’s the New Jersey Museum for Children right in Paramus.  They’re closed on Mondays but open the rest of the week although I’d check their schedule over the 2 holiday weekends we have this month.  It’s a great place for the kids and they even do birthday parties.  Their exhibits are so much fun for children as they learn and use their imagination.  One of the reasons I like this museum is because it’s tough one focused solely on our youngest children.

For children of all ages (and adults too) there’s Liberty Science Center  in Jersey City.  It’s an easy ride down the Turnpike to Exit 14 and no more than 1 hour away from anywhere in Bergen County. It’s really a snap to get to and you have a stunning view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline from the parking lot.  Right now they have a special exhibit that runs till January 9th on the ice age and wooly mammoths that is truly awesome.

Another good idea is your local nature center.  Many have special events for the holiday vacation week as do many local libraries all aimed at children.  And, of course, across the Hudson River is New York City.

It’s not too late to catch a toy train show in Bergen County.  Every year from Thanksgiving through mid December there are train shows throughout the Bergen County area.  Most occur just before or just after Thanksgiving but it’s not too late because the The Montvale Train Show is coming up this weekend.

Held this Sunday, December 19th, at St. Joseph High School on Chestnut Ridge Road in Montvale, it’s very easy to get to and right off Exit 172 of the Garden State Parkway.  There is an admission charge of $6 but children under 10 years of age get in free.  For all of the details, just go to their website.

If this weekend doesn’t work for you, the “Big Daddy” of all holiday train shows is at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.  One of the great advantages of living in Bergen County is how close we are to New York City.  From my home in Englewood, it’s only a 30 minute drive away.  If you live in the most northern end of Bergen County such as Mahwah or Allendale or on the west edge in Franklin Lakes or Oakland, the Botanical Garden is only another 15 minutes on the highway.  This train show is an all day event and it’s so popular that you need to make reservations in advance.  You’ll find all the information if you visit their website .  This model train show runs through January 9th.

Very unfortunately the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service will not allow me to post their wonderful statistical reports but they will allow me to email them to you.  So if you want this information, just email me at barbara@bergencountyhomes.com   Meanwhile, here’s how we’re doing:

For Bergen County in the NJMS Through November, comparing 2009 to 2010 -

79 fewer sales so far this year (6,614 as oppose to 6,693).  We were ahead from January through June and since then we’ve been down every month.  My feeling is that this is due to the tax credit pre-buying and the uncertainty caused by this year’s election. Still it’s only a 1% difference.

Dollar volume is up 2% and the average price is up 4% which is positive.  Although many towns see their bottom pricing at lower levels than in 2009, more upper tier homes are selling which raised the average sales price.  When a market recovers at both ends, it is truly recovering.

Homes are selling quicker too - marketing time is down 5% from 94 to 89.4 days.  This is significant because new regulations in 2010 made mortgage processing take much longer.  What does this mean?  People who are coming out to shop for a home are motivated.  They’re not window shopping as much as they were in 2009.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – all signs point to a better year for real estate in 2011.  Although the number of sales is not increasing, higher dollar volume and average sales prices mean that real estate is improving. 

Here’s something else to think about – mortgage bankers are warning me that interest rates are about to go up.  If mortgage rates start to rise, that will certainly motivate people to take action.  We’ll have to wait and see what happens on that score.