If you consider that a mortgage is the biggest cost of owning property, then it’s easy to see how the combination of low interest rates and low prices have made multi family homes very popular.  Investors for multi family homes are coming out in large numbers.  Owner occupiers are no longer limiting themselves to two family homes as they are now purchasing 3 and 4 family homes as well.  In the past, it was rare to see an owner occupier buyer look at anything but a two family property. 

Other factors creating this increased demand are the law of supply and demand and the rate of return on multi family homes.  With new construction being so soft, few multi family homes are being built at a time when demand is rising.  More demand with the same supply equals higher rents.  Multi families also give better rates of return often than what you can get in a money market fund of CD.

All of this adds up to an increasing demand for Bergen County multi families.  Long term I can’t think of a better investment.

Through April comparing this year to last year  for single family homes, there are 8% fewer closings, barely 1% less in the average sales price and  only 9  more days of marketing time.  While the number of closings were up  in February, March and April had less but it’s not like we fell off a cliff - down 19% in March and 16% in April. 

OK, why isn’t this troubling?  Because last year to take advantage of the tax credit you had to be in contract by April 30th and closed out by June 30th.  One would think that the artificially high number of closings from the Homebuyer Tax Credit (which overheated the market for the first 4 months last year) would result in much worse 2011 figures. 

Let’s see how things look at the end of May.  I’ll be back to you on this then but for now it sure doesn’t look like the market has jumped off any cliffs this year.

Surprisingly Bergen County homes did better than anyone would expect. 

New Jersey MLS data shows that 10% fewer homes went under contract this January than last year and February seems to be following the same pattern.  However in 2010 the Home Buyer Tax Credit significantly fueled the housing market from January through April.  When you consider this, being down only 10% while losing weeks of time due to snow storms isn’t bad at all.

As we move into March and warmer weather, the Bergen County real estate market will stay on track and we’ll end the year with more transactions than we had in 2010.  Home buyers are active – we’re getting more people at our open houses, more calls and many more internet inquiries.  The signs are definitely here for a stronger market.  Despite having to climb over snow banks, the Bergen County real estate market now looks pretty good.

The truth is that real estate here pretty much stabilized and is poised to move forward in 2011.  Let’s check out a few towns to see how we’re doing on a local level:

Tenafly did very well.  Sales units in Tenafly were down by 8% but the average sold price rose 4%.  Teaneck also turned in a strong performance – units were down 14% and average sales prices were up 8%.  On paper Dumont didn’t do as well with 6% less sales and a 6% drop in the average sales price but a good number of short sales were to blame.  Cresskill has a large inventory of luxury homes so I kept it to $1 million sales.  Through $1 million, Cresskill had 19% fewer units at only 1% less in the average sales price. 

Bergen County beat the ”prevailing wisdom” because of our proximity to Manhattan, excellent schools, good commuting and diverse economy.  While Wall Street and the financial markets do employ many of us, there’s more to the Bergen County job picture than stocks, bonds and trades.  We have 4 major hospital centers in Englewood, Hackensack, Ridgewood and Teaneck employing large staffs of doctors, nurses and all sorts of support systems.  Bergen County is the most populous county in New Jersey and one of the largest in the US with over 900,000 residents. 

With all these advantages, it’s no wonder that things are better here.

What she found is very interesting and positive.  Comparing the real estate market from August 2009 to August 2010, she found that prices rose 10.2% in Bergen County but “the number of sales dropped about 24%”.  Ms. Lynn’s bottom line on the housing market is that while prices got a kick from the home buyer tax credit, activity fell off once the program ended.  Frankly this was no surprise; many home buyers bought houses earlier than they would have to take advantage of the tax credit.  Just ask a mortgage banker how busy he was processing home loans in May and June.

I find this report to be positive simply because the comparison showing prices are up is for the month of August. 

To qualify for the tax credit, you had to close on your home by June 30th.  Yes, there was an extension but it wasn’t authorized by Congress until late at night on June 30th after almost every tax credit home buyer had bought their new house.  The extension really helped people who were delayed by banks on short sales and REO transactions.  August closings had nothing to do with the tax credit push and in spite of 24% fewer transactions prices still rose by 10.2% from the year before.  That’s positive!

On a personal note, I have always found Kathleen Lynn’s articles to be excellent.  I have a tremendous respect for how carefully she researches and analyzes the market.  You can read her entire article at http://tinyurl.com/KLynnHomePrices  If you want good information on the Bergen County housing market I encourage you to read the Real Estate Section in the Sunday edition of the The Record and to look for more articles by Kathleen Lynn.  You can get The Record online by going to www.NorthJersey.com

New Jersey MLS data shows that we had 844 homes going under contract in May and 848 in June.  Where you will see declines are in July and August but this is typical of what happens every summer.  The real estate market is still geared towards the school schedule.  If parents don’t register their children by mid August, their children will miss the first day of school in September.  As a result, parents can’t wait until July to find a home - it’s just too late.  For example, if you bought a home in Tenafly, you would need a minimum of 2 weeks to get your child registered today and 3 weeks is preferred.

Last year July had 139 fewer pendings but this year July is down by 101 so here too we’re doing better.  The bottom line is that real estate is always extremely local.  Despite today’s report from the NAR, the truth is that we’re doing all right.

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.

If it does, then you”re like many people who’ve bought an older, charming colonial home in Bergen County.  Along with the home (and especially if you bought it in towns with large inventories of charming colonial homes like Tenafly or Teaneck or Ridgewood) you got a red brick fireplace in the living room that you figured you’d fix in the future.  An article I read in Lowes “Creative Ideas” magazine recently showed how you can transform that old red brick quickly and affordably.   

Lowes has a special program for real estate agents which I’ve found to be a great help for my clients and myself.  Recently there was an article in “Creative Ideas” that solved this problem.  By resurfacing the existing red brick with a combination of tile and slate you create an amazing, beautiful effect immediately. 

This fireplace was an old, stained, red brick unit and then the Lowes team went to work  with a combination of tile and slate.  You can, of course, use other tile and stone materials but the change is certainly remarkable.  No structural renovations were needed to make this fireplace a modern showpiece.

If you’d like to get “Creative Ideas” you can go to http://www.Lowes.com or you can get in touch with me for the full real estate agent benefits program.  Lowes has many simple and affordable solutions to design problems for homeowners and they also have a lot of good tips for you too.

One snow storm after another for weeks on end with even a full blown blizzard gave us over 30 inches of snow.  Once that melted then we had a series of rain storms culminating in a vicious nor’easter that came with winds at hurricane force toppling tree limbs and entire trees  knocking out power with such drenching rain that many local towns resembled lakes or raging rivers.  We had 7 inches of rain within 24 hours.  It was so bad that Berten County and 11 other counties in New Jersey were declared Federal Disaster Areas. 

Bergen County homes suffered with days of power outages, flooded basements, cars smashed by trees, 100 year old trees strewn across lawns like  toothpicks or thrown across a roof ripping it to shreds and impassable streets everywhere.  Because of this mess, the IRS has delayed tax day to May 11th from the traditional April 15th date.  So if you own a Bergen County home, you’re getting additional time to file your taxes from both the IRS and the State of New Jersey.  Of course you should consult with your tax preparer to make sure of things but tax day for Bergen County homes this year is May 11th.

  Traditional colonial and Tudor style homes with gorgeous woodwork framed by 30-40 foot trees are in abundance here.  Many of these Englewood homes also feature stained glass windows, gorgeous inlaid wood floors and chestnut trim.  Traditional floor plans create ideal flows for entertaining and the friendly neighborhoods are exceptionally stable – turnover isn’t high here because people love living here.  In fact it’s not at all unusual to see people stay in their Englewood home for decades after their children have grown up and moved on.  As a result you’ll find long time residents on every street as well as new young families.

  A perfect example is my listing at 315 Katherine Street.  This traditional colonial is located on a hidden street – ask most folks and they’ve never heard of Katherine Street and when you try to find 315 Katherine Street 07601 on your GPS you are bound to get lost.  This 1 block long street is at the end of St Nicholas Street which is itself a dead end.  Extremely quiet with 100 year old trees, it’s as if you’re on a country lane yet you’re only a 15 minute drive to New York City. 

  Englewood homes on the west side are also quite affordable as far as Bergen County homes are concerned – at an asking price of $345,000 this 3 bedroom 1.5 bath home sits on a 50 X 110 lot in a terrific location.   Come see 315 Katherine Street - you’ll be glad you did!