The Bergen County Homes Blog

  Do you have a dog or just love pets because if you do, you won’t want to miss the first ever Woofstock sponsored by Tenafly’s Pet ResQ Inc. and the Tenafly Chamber of Commerce.  You don’t have to own a house in Tenafly to be part of this fun event – you just need to love animals.  If you have a dog, bring Fido along for the day and be part Woofstock 2010. 

Woofstock will be held from 10 am to 5 pm this Sunday, October 24th,  at the Tenafly Circle Park located at the intersection of Tenafly Road and Washington Street.  Along with the day’s event will be a dog adoption fair where you can find your new best friend. 

There will be a doggy talent show, agility courses, A Strut Your Mutt Costume Parade and training demonstrations for dog owners.  Dogs who are adopted will be professionally groomed by Best of Breed Salon (located in Tenafly).  This all day event has these and other activities planned throughout the day. 

Woofstock 2010 will be a great day for dog owners and anyone interested in man’s best friend.  Pet ResQ Inc is a wonderful organization who’s mission is saving abused dogs and finding them their forever home.  Come out on Sunday to have a great day and support this great organization and just maybe come home with a new family member too!

Everyone wants to know and for good reason – real estate is not only your home, it’s a key part of the economy and it’s very local.  When real estate is good, people go out more, restaurants are busier, life just seems better.   You can feel it when you go downtown or talk to your neighbor.  So, how is the Tenafly market?

Tenafly real estate has stabilized almost completely.   Over all we are moving forward and have been recovering since late last year.

Today, September 18^th, 126 homes are for sale with 18 under contract for a 7 to 1 ratio which isn’t, frankly, great.  Things turn positive at 5 to 1 but autumn traditionally has an inventory buildup.  The question is whether this is of disastrous proportions and the answer is No.

We are on track to have the same number of sales as last year.  Taking it through September 15^th for both years, 2009 had 93 sales and 2010 had 94.  What about the tax credit?  This is the under $500,000 market which was 21% of all Tenafly sales in 2009 and is 20% now (with under contracts).

Average sales prices support positive change too.  Significantly higher, this demonstrates that the product mix in Tenafly tilted toward higher priced homes in 2010.  Through September 15^th the average sales price rose 5% in 2010 to $910,866 from $865,679 last year.   

The heart of Tenafly real estate is the $650-950,000 price range.   The year to year comparisons clearly show how this market has come back.  It picks up again substantially in the important $1-2 million range.  The upper tier looks quiet but it isn’t.  This is luxury new construction and financing for high end new homes was non-existent until recently.   Never doubt Tenafly’s East Hill.  Demand was always there even if financing wasn’t.   Take a drive up Tenafly’s East Hill.   You’ll be amazed at all the high end new construction.  The East Hill is most definitely back.

What about the future?  Clearly Tenafly real estate has stabilized.  The New Jersey MLS inventory of short sales and foreclosures runs at 10-15% so while not terrible, it’s certainly a factor.  This together with job uncertainty will keep pricing pretty even for the next year or two.  Tenafly may experience some appreciation but at anemic levels.  I remain convinced that significant upward movement won’t come before 2013.  For Tenafly, the storm is behind us; we’ll be on calm waters till then and that’s good.

SMA African Art Museum

It is pretty well acknowledged that Bergen County is an extremely diverse, eclectic population, home to many different cultures, races, religions. Here in Tenafly, we are home to the SMA African Art Museum, and it’s a fabulous place to have some fun and celebrate Africa.

Owned and operated by the Society of African Missions SMA Fathers, the museum is located on Bliss Street in Tenafly. It houses collections of masks, prints, sculpture, and fabrics, reflecting a multitude of African cultures. It is one of the few museums in the United States devoted exclusively to African art.

How fortunate we are to have this resource, a windown on the world, right here in Tenafly! Upcoming events include a Festival on September 11, which will celebrate East African culture for the entire family. It’s a great opportunity to have fun and enjoy a great opportunity here at home.

Recently, middle school students from all over northern New Jersey were treated to African and Western music at the museum. They learned dances, tried different instruments, and had a great time. They also were introduced to western classical music at a small concert, and really enjoyed the experience.

Not only is Tenafly a nice place to live, it’s a cultural center. It’s also home to the Thurnauer School of Music at the JCC, a theater company, and many community events at the library. I’ll keep you up to date on the wonderful things happening in the arts.

What could be better than buying a home in Tenafly NJ and taking a walk downtown on a Sunday only to find an amazing assortment of fresh produce at the Tenafly Farmer’s Market?

Every Sunday from May through October, Tenafly NJ residents as well as people from neighboring towns come to the local post office parking lot on Tenafly Road where from 10 am to 2 pm there is a wealth of fresh fruit, vegetables and organic items for sale.  You’ll also find wonderful fresh baked bread, pies, muffins and scones as well as bottled jams and honey.  There’s even farm fresh milk.  Many Sundays local artisans have their crafts on display along with local artists.

The Tenafly Farmer’s Market has become so popular that if you’re coming, it’s best to get there early so you don’t miss out on anything.  Without a doubt, one of the special advantages of owning a Tenafly home is the Sunday farmer’s market.  You can check it out online at http://www.tenaflyfarmersmarket.com

Proximity to NYC,  great schools and a wonderful suburban lifestyle make buying a home in Bergen County, to quote Martha Stewart, a “good thing.”  Because Bergen County homes offer these advantages, buyers come here no matter the economy or housing market.  The Bergen County real estate market regularly outperforms all other counties in New Jersey and this is true today.

Taking a look at the market through May, we are significantly ahead of where we were last year.  In 2009 there were 2,011 sales and this year 2,536 for a gain of 525 units and a 26% improvement.  The average sales price decreased by 3% because more of the homes sold this year were less expensive than in 2009 but they sold quicker (5% fewer days on the market) and that’s positive.

These figures are from the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service and I have their graph here for you.

When June numbers are in, I expect this trend to continue.  The question is how much of this is due to the tax credit and to the demanding terms of jumbo loans.  With formidable down payment requirements, the jumbo loan has really put a damper on the market for more expensive houses along with the negative economy.  Very recently these demands have been relaxed and so we’ve seen a real pick up in such places as Englewood Cliffs, Franklin Lakes, Saddle River and Tenafly.   Based on both the NJMLS data and the activity we’re seeing in all of our offices, there is a significant improvement in the demand for Bergen County real estate so far this year.  I’ll continue to keep you updated throughout the year.

You don’t have to own a home in Tenafly to know what’s happening there – all you have to do is to go to the Borough of Tenafly website where you’ll discover that Tenafly is doing a revaluation right now.

Let’s say you’re thinking of buying a home in Englewood.  You see that many of the homes there are from the early 20th century so you’d like to know about the city’s history.  Just go to the City of Englewood website where you’ll find the Our History page that takes you from Englewood’s earliest days to the present.

The River Vale website is the place to go for local events – it’s always on their home page.   Park Ridge and Westwood does this too along with many other local communities.  You may find important changes on a town’s home page – this year Westwood began registering it’s various Recreation Department activities online; the announcement is on it’s home page right now.

Town websites are also a great help when you need a form.  For example, if you want to put up a fence on your property and you live in Cresskill, the fence permit form can be downloaded from the Cresskill Boro website Some towns like Tenafly actually have a step by step guide for you when it comes to getting a permit

Many community sites have portions of their building codes right on their websites.  Old Tappan has their entire borough code on line.

You may be amazed at how much information can be found on a town website.  If you’re thinking of buying a home or if you’re a Bergen County resident now, check out the borough website.  You’ll be glad you did.

One of the truly great aspects of buying a Tenafly home is the wonderful shopping district Tenafly residents enjoy.  Although Bergen County is well known for the major shopping malls that line Route 4 and Route 17 in Hackensack and Paramus, the value of a local downtown where merchants and shopkeepers know you by first name is cherished here.

I remember how my mother took all of us children to a very special book store in Hackensack.  Womrath’s was the place where you could browse for hours until you found the perfect book.  If you needed help, Mr. Kutik and his staff would always find what you needed.  My mother would reward us with a trip to Womrath’s.  Today Mr. Kutik’s son Bob has maintained that tradition.

Bob Kutik owns and operates Womrath’s in Tenafly with that same wonderful customer service but he’s also moved into the 21st century – Womrath’s has a website, email newsletter and a page on Facebook.  It remains a treasure for Bergen County book lovers and is another reason why buying a Tenafly home brings you more than living space – it also brings you a great suburban lifestyle.

Small bookstores are rare these days but Tenafly has one of the very best in Womrath\’s.

Whether it’s  Tenafly homes, Englewood homes, River Vale homes, Westwood homes or anywhere else in Bergen County, what’s happening in the housing market is important and always of interest.  USA Today has great interactive graphs from Moody\’s  that track 5 critical measurements of the real estate market.  What these interactive charts show is solid improvement across the board beginning with the 4th quarter of 2009!

As incredible as it may seem, Tenafly homes are selling in greater numbers this year than they did in 2008.  As of tonight, 125 Tenafly homes have closed so far this year.   In 2008, 117 Tenafly homes sold so we’re 8 sales ahead of last year with more to come.  Currently there are 23 Tenafly homes under contract so it’s reasonable to expect 132 Tenafly home sales in 2009.  This would represent a stunning 13% increase at a time when most other towns in Bergen County are having fewer sales.

The New Jersey MLS data shows that Bergen County has experienced a 13% price depreciation this year; Tenafly homes have depreciated along with the County but at far less – only 6%.   So here too, Tenafly homes have performed much better than Bergen County’s real estate market in general.

Take a look at this New Jersey MLS chart of Tenafly homes that sold in 2008 and so far in 2009.  The picture it paints is simple – demand for Tenafly homes has increased substantially this year: