What’s been happening with our Jersey City/Hoboken area market so far in 2018? How should sellers feel about our fall market moving forward? Let’s look at the latest year-to-date statistics and how they compare to the same numbers from 2017.

The number of new listings in Jersey City increased 35% from 798 to 1,216 homes on the market. There are more homes for buyers to choose from, and this increase has created a healthier market in downtown Jersey City. The number of sales, meanwhile, decreased from 477 to 402. That’s not a huge change, but keep in mind that we have a lot of new construction inventory that’s not showing up on the MLS. Sales are still out there and buyers are still buying—you just need to give them a reason to buy. 

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Sales are still out there, and buyers are still buying—you just need to give them a reason to buy.

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In Hoboken, the number of new listings increased 22% from 1,139 to 1,460 homes on the market. Unlike Jersey City, though, the number of sales in this area increased slightly from 688 to 705.

This data tells us that a shift is happening in our market, but I don’t think home values are going to dip because the banking industry is still very strong. If you’ve been on the fence about selling, I recommend that you do it now.

On that note, we’re confident that our marketing strategies can help you get your home sold for top dollar, so if you would like to get started now, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

If you have any further questions about our fall market, feel free to give us a call or send us an email as well. We’d love to help you.

There are three things that you should ask a potential buyer's agent before you decide to work with them. This is especially true since we’ve reached the hot, competitive spring market.  

1. “How many homes did you sell in the last 12 months?” The national average, according to the National Association of Realtors, is four or five homes in 12 months. We’re seeing agents out there that are doing 100 or more transactions, but even if the agent is doing 24 or 25, it’s a healthy balance that indicates they know what they’re doing.

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   An agent’s last three clients can let you know how their processes went and whether or not they had a good experience.

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2. “Can I reach out to your last three clients?” Ask if you can reach out to the last three buyers they helped purchase a home. Those people can let you know how their processes went and whether or not they had a good experience. Did they trust the agent? 

3. “What strategy will you use to get me into the home?” What are they doing to inform you about the market? In areas like Hoboken, Jersey City, Chatham, and Summit, we’re seeing a lot of bidding wars. They’re not as common as they were in the past, but you definitely want to make sure that your agent is going to put their best foot forward in order to ensure that you get the property you desire for the price you want and in the time frame you want it.

If you have any questions for me about buying a home or hiring an agent, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you.

There are a number of different loan products that you can use to purchase your home. I’ll go over four of them today. 

The first and most popular loan is conventional financing backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This loan requires 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% down, and you can use this option on a condo or single-family home. 

The second is FHA financing. An FHA loan lets you move into a home with as little as 3.5% down. The private mortgage insurance rate does end up being a bit higher, but the FHA loan also works well with a lower credit score. 

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   An FHA loan lets you move into a home with as little as 3.5% down.

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The 203k loan is similar to the FHA loan but it allows you to rehab the property. The 203k program gives you money to make upgrades and renovate the home. Of course, they are going to come in and monitor the work to make sure that it’s done by a qualified contractor. Still, that’s a great product if you want to renovate a bank-owned or short sale property. 

The final product is the homestyle loan. This is similar to the 203k loan but you do have to put a bit more money down than you would for an FHA. You can’t use the FHA or 203k on a condo, but you can use a homestyle loan. The homestyle loan will also finance construction costs. Again, they will monitor your process to make sure you are working with a qualified contractor. This is a great product to use.

If you have any other questions about buying a home, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What’s going on in the spring market of 2018?

One thing that I’ve been seeing quite a bit lately is that for multi-family owners, the numbers have changed significantly since last year.

Another thing is that if you’re looking to purchase a home and you need to sell your current home first in order to do so, keep in mind that it’s still a seller’s market, so you should be able to find a buyer easily.

On the buyer’s side of things, you’ll definitely need to be as aggressive as possible. You’ll probably need to have your current home under contract before you buy a new one. Fortunately, since it’s a seller’s market, you can dictate exactly what’s going on in that transaction. A lot of times, the buyers that are purchasing the homes you’re selling don’t need to be in there at a certain time; they’re usually month-to-month rentals, they might have a lease ending, or they’re staying at home.

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When it comes to putting offers on properties, I always say to come in strong.

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We can start with a contract and include a clause that says the purchase of the home is contingent on your finding your home in a certain period of time. You can also get a leaseback contingency, where you have 60 days to occupy the home post-closing.

When it comes to putting offers on properties, I always say to come in strong. If there are multiple offers on the home, you’ll need a strong number to be accepted by the seller. We hate to see a tough negotiation in which the price is driven down quite a bit, but then a second offer comes in and starts to look much better to the seller.

If you have any questions about the spring market or buying and selling a home, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help.

There are five things that investors don’t plan on when it comes to renovating a property:

1. Having enough money. Doing a project like this certainly takes a lot of money. If you don’t have enough money on hand, you will have to take out a lot of loans, which will cost you more interest-wise and cut down on your profits.

2. Not planning enough time. Stripping everything out of the house, framing, installing electrical and plumbing—it takes a long time to get all of this done.

3. Not having enough skill. We have a number of contractors, plumbers, and electricians in the area. Some of them are great, and some of them are not so good. Some of these builders are doing their own work on their properties as well, so they can move things along and they know what’s happening in the process.

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It takes time to find a good deal on a property.

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4. Not enough knowledge of the local area. There are a lot of investors coming into the market who may not know the ins and outs of our area.

5. Not having enough patience. It takes time to find deals that make sense. People watch all these flipping shows on TV and then rush into a deal that doesn’t necessarily make sense just to get their first property.

Keep these things in mind when renovating your investment property. If you have any other questions about real estate, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What happened in the 2017 real estate market, and what can you expect from the 2018 market?

Overall, 2017 was a very good year in the world of real estate, especially in New Jersey. We had bidding wars out in Sussex County, and Weehawken in Hudson County broke the record for most appreciation. There were bidding wars in Monmouth County, and houses were flying off the shelves in Morris County.

2017 was a very strong year for appreciation, as we saw 7%, 10%, and 14% appreciation in just 12 months.

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There is still a ton of consumer confidence in the real estate market.

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So, what will happen in 2018? Is the market going to cool off? At some point, it needs to stop, right?

I don’t know exactly where prices will land in 2018, but there is still a ton of consumer confidence out there. Buyers are out looking at homes left and right, and the market is very busy. Even though we’re in the holiday season, people are still out and about.

I don’t see our market slowing down too much as we head into the spring market. Inventory is still low, and people are getting ready to list their homes this spring. We could see another climb in home values through the spring market with all of those buyers still out there.

If you have any other questions about our real estate market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

When you are buying a home, there are four things you should absolutely demand of your agent:

1. Tell the truth about pricing. Many agents will tell you that it’s fine to lowball a seller, but most times it ends up with you either paying more for the property or losing it altogether. They should understand the market and know what a strong offer looks like and be confident enough to convey the importance of making one.

2. Understand the timetable your family is dealing with. If you need to close quickly, your agent needs to understand that. A good agent should be able to adapt to your timeline, rather than the other way around.

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Don’t rush the home buying process.

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3. Remove as many of the challenges as possible. Appraisal and home inspection issues aren’t uncommon, so knowing how to negotiate those things and get to the closing table is huge.

4. Find the right house. Don’t rush it. I see clients all the time feeling like they need to buy or need to get into a home. Your agent should not be pushing you to make a purchase if you aren’t ready. It’s best to take your time because this is a huge decision.

If you have any questions about why these demands are important or want to know how we help our buyers in the home search process, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and we wish you a happy holiday season.

We are thankful for everything you’ve done for us this year as one of our clients, and as a token of that thanks, we’re inviting you to our third annual client appreciation party on December 6 here in Hoboken.

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If you’d like to attend, just send us a quick email.

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If you’d like to attend, just send me an email and we’ll put you on the list and fill you in on all the other details.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We hope to see you there!

If you’re thinking about buying a home in 2018, now is the time to get your ducks in a row so you can take advantage of the spring market once it hits. There are eight steps you need to take to prepare yourself:

1. Check your credit score. We have lenders who can help you, and there are also many online credit companies that can guide you.

2. Don’t open any new credit cards or lines of credit.

3. Source your down payment and check with your Realtor or a lender before depositing a big chunk of money into your bank account.

4. Start interviewing real estate agents. Not every Realtor is alike. There are a lot who do a lot of business and lot who only do a little business, so make sure you’re set up with the right one so you don’t end up in a bad situation halfway through the transaction.

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Taking these steps will have you prepared to buy the home you want in 2018.

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5. Keep tabs on interest rates. Sometimes they’re high and sometimes they’re low, but they have been hovering right around that 4% mark.

6. Find a mortgage lender. We can help refer you to certain people we know and trust and who are local and in tune with our market.

7. Get pre-approved. This is an important start to the whole process and it will let you know where you stand as far as what you can purchase and what your payments will be.

8. Start viewing properties. It can take as long as three or four months to find the right property. Once we find a property for our clients, it takes an average of 45 to 60 days to get to closing, so keep that in mind.

If you want to close on a home in May or June, you need to take some of these steps and get some of this stuff out of the way so you’ll be right on track when your lease is up or you’re ready to put your current home on the market.

If you have any more questions about buying a home in 2018 or you’re curious about our North Jersey real estate market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.

If you’re thinking about buying a home, you need to be aware of all of the costs associated before you decide to take the leap. Here are five expenses that typically shock and/or creep up on first-time buyers.

1. Closing costs. These include mortgage taxes, lender application fees, attorney fees, and more. They vary from state to state and lending company to lending company, so make sure you get an accurate estimate of what yours will be.

2. Home improvements. According to a study by the Harvard University Joint Center on housing studies, the average home maintenance is 1% to 2% of the value of the home per year. For a $300,000 home, that’s around $3,000 per year. A condo will have slightly lower maintenance costs.

3. Property taxes. They vary from town to town and tend to go up most years. However, if you feel like what you’re paying is too high, you can appeal your property taxes on your own or with the help of an attorney.

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Closing costs vary from state to state.

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4. Utilities. These also vary based on the climate and the city you’re living in. In Atlanta, utilities are around $2,600 per year. In Portland, they are closer to $3,800.

5. Homeowners insurance. If you’re getting a mortgage, you’re going to be required to have homeowners insurance regardless. The annual premium is around $1,132 per year.

If you have any questions for us about any of these costs or anything else relating to real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.