The Bergen County Homes Blog

Every year residents of Tenafly NJ look forward to the town’s 4th of July festivities.  If you just bought a Tenafly home, you could miss it because Tenafly never has it’s 4th of July celebration on the 4th.  This year it’s going to be on Saturday, July 2nd, but don’t let that worry you.  It’s going to be a great Independence Day Celebration as it always is!

 Held each year at the Roosevelt Commons, Tenafly has a townwide Independence Day Celebration featuring all sorts of booths sponsored by local groups and businesses, rides for the children, food and prizes.  From 10 am to 3 pm bring your family to Roosevelt Commons for a day of fun where you’ll meet neighbors and friends alike.  Even if you don’t own a Tenafly home and are just in the area, feel free to drop in.

Later that night there will be fireworks.  Come behind the high school to watch – it starts about 9 pm give or take.  There’s a rain date too on the 3rd.  So if you own a Tenafly home and want to celebrate the 4th in town, you better come on the 2nd!

Tenafly NJ has a very dedicated Mayor in Peter Rustin.  In spite of the 2 party system, Peter Rustin ran and won as an independent.  Whether you like him or not, one thing everyone can say about Mayor Rustin is that he is dedicated to his job and the people of Tenafly. 

You can also say he’s dedicated to his 2 dogs who go everywhere with him.  Riding along in his lime green Porsche, Mayor Rustin’s dogs go everywhere he goes and even up the Tenafly Borough Hall steps into his office when he goes to work at his desk.  It’s no wonder that under Mayor Rustin’s stewardship that Tenafly is exploring the posibility of a dog park.   If you own a Tenafly home and have always wanted a local dog park in town, this is good news indeed. 

The Tenafly Borough Council has approved the formation of a committee to create a plan for a dog park in town which they will present to the Borough Council.  Stay tuned – it sure looks like a dog park is coming to town!  If you want to participate, you can email the Mayor at prustin@tenafly.net  Having a dog park in town is certainly going to be another positive for Tenafly homes and their 4 legged friends.

When the financial crisis exploded in 2008, new construction financing ended.  Actually, most credit was taken off the table then and for good reason.  On new homes being built, many banks pulled existing mortgage loans creating havoc for builders and individuals who were in the middle of new construction projects.

Since then, getting a bank to loan on new construction in Bergen County has been difficult if not impossible.  But there has been one bank that’s kept its new construction loan department open – TD Bank.  In addition to TD Bank, Wells Fargo and Provident Bank of New Jersey also do new home financing.

I called TD Bank this week to review financing for a new 3 lot subdivision in Ho-Ho-Kus that I’m working on with Beverly Mitchell in my office; the interest rate quoted was very attractive – only just over prevailing mortgage rates with no points.

Each Ho-Ho-Kus lot is around 1 acre and we have packages for buyers at $1.5-1.7 million with architect plans for gorgeous 5,800 sq ft houses and a master builder in place.

If you drive up the Tenafly East Hill, you’ll be amazed at all the new houses being built there.  Tenafly has always enjoyed a strong demand for luxury new construction on it’s East Hill acre lots.  Buying a new Tenafly home is no problem for qualified buyers today.

Whether you’re building a new home in Tenafly, Ho-Ho-Kus or anywhere in Bergen County, you can get a mortgage as long as you’re qualified.

  Trees and nature have always been important in Tenafly NJ.  When I bought my Tenafly home I was amazed to learn how important trees were to the Tenafly Planning Board.  The builder had to agree to plant fast growing maple trees along the building line in Walnut Manor, where I bought my Tenafly home, so that in only 7 years the area would have tall trees throughout.

Today Tenafly has over 400 acres of municipal parks and open space.  Preserving natural woodland is so important here that in 1972 a 4 year campaign was begun to save 194 acres on the East Hill from development.  Along with grant money were hundreds of donations from individual Tenafly residents. 

Today that 194 acre purchase is part of the total 330 acre Lost Brook Preserve that so many Tenafly residents enjoy bordering on the 52 acre Tenafly Nature Center for a spectacular nature preserve.

Following Tenafly’s tradition of preserving woodland and trees, the Tenafly Public Works Department is hosting a free tree planting this spring.  Every Tenafly homeowner can call 201-568-4134 to be put on the list of homes that will be checked out to see if there is enough room in the borough right of way to plant a tree. If there is, the Public Works Department will come back in the spring and plant a tree there for free.

When you buy a Tenafly home, you’re buying more than Tenafly real estate.  You’re buying the Tenafly lifestyle and a big part of that is respect for trees and nature.

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.

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.