Buyers, Buyers and More Buyers

Weekends are often the busiest for Realtors. Most people work during the week and weekends are the best opportunity for them to see homes or to talk with you.

Yesterday I had three different buyers scheduled to see homes. One Buyer is a long time year round resident seeking a new home, having sold his home earlier this year. Another Buyer is a couple that owns a home several blocks from the beach who would like to move up to beach block. The third Buyer is a couple that own a condo as a summer residence and have decided to buy a house at the shore as a primary residence.

I think the part of my job I enjoy the most is getting to know the people I am working with to understand what their needs are, what they are really looking for and helping them to find it. There's kind of an "ah ha" moment when you find the right house for them and watching them light up when they tell you that they love the house.

Now of course the road is not all rose petals and skipping along singing to the settlement table. Just yesterday one of my Buyers had a home inspection scheduled at a condo, and the home inspector tripped the power making it impossible to open the garage door. Unfortunately the electric panel is IN the garage so there was no solution yesterday. But on Monday we will get it fixed and all will be well. (hopefully!)

Part of the process of riding out the bumps in the road with the Buyers and Sellers. At the end, most of the time everybody is smiling and happy.

THE BUYERS ARE AT THE SHORE!!!

While the shore traffic slowed down right after labor day and seemed to slow to a dead stop during a few weeks in October, life has returned again with kids settled into to school and the Jewish holidays over.

Last week Buyers I am working with made offers on five properties;

• 1 condo in Atlantic City
• 1 condo in Ventnor
• 1 single family house in Ventnor
• 1 single family house in Margate
• 1 condo in Egg Harbor Township

All five offers were accepted. YEAH!!!

Yesterday I received a very good offer (close to asking price) on one of my listing in Margate. We are currently in negotiation.

With the economy still in recovery mode, I am often asked;
"Are houses are selling?" and "Are there Buyers?"


YES..YES..YES!!!

Homes that are priced correctly and marketed well are selling!!!

There are real Buyers out there. Pricing is important but Buyers needs to be reached through inventive and state-of-the-art marketing techniques.

Social Media : Socialnomics - The New Wave

Two weeks ago I attended a Prudential Fox & Roach meeting for top sales producters. These meetings are held quarterly and the topics vary. This time the topic was Social Media and how it can build your business. We saw a powerful 4 minute video on Social Media that changed my way of thinking about the Internet.

It was very impressive and I immediately re-activated my Face Book (Yes, I had one and shut it down - that's another story) as I recognized the power of the connections.

Two days later one of clients/friends contacted me having seen me on Face Book and email me the same video.

I am sharing with you this video by Erik Qualman. I think it will change your view of technology and how we connect with people today.

Click Here for 4 min Video - four-minute video

Congress Passes Homebuyer Tax Credit

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly this afternoon to pass legislation containing an extension and expansion of the homebuyer tax credit, completing Congressional action and sending the tax credit to President Obama for his signature, possibly as early as tomorrow.

The $8,000 homebuyer tax credit for first-time buyers, due to expire in 25 days, will be extended through April 30 of next year and buyers will have an additional two months, until the end of June, to close. First-time buyers who are in process of making a purchase will no longer need to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 credit if they close after the November 30 deadline.

The new legislation increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the level in existing law.For the first time, the new legislation makes buyers who already own a home eligible for a credit.

A $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation limits eligibility for the existing homeowner credit to homes worth $800,000 or less.

Read the full story at Real Estate Economy Watch.

Why Is The Jersey Shore a Better Buy?

Today I received an email from a potential Buyer who was concerned about buying in Margate. She sent me this email:

"I am not sure Margate is a good investment. $400/square foot for a home, although renovated, built in 1925 doesn't sound like a great investment in this economy....considering that it is about $160/sq foot to build brand new.....to your personal specifications. Average price per square foot for Margate City NJ was $247, a decrease of 49.9% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in Margate City NJ for Jul 09 to Sep 09 was $407,500 based on 52 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price decreased 6.9%, or $30,000, and the number of home sales decreased 13.3%. "

This was my response:

I understanding your concerns but let me give a few facts and opinions about the market here.

There are two major factors that I think have not been considered in the data you shared with me:
1) Location, Location, Location!!! - I have heard the analysis of how much you are paying per square foot for a home in Margate before. That is because it is a standard used in New York and Colorado and I am sure many other places. Unfortunately or fortunately that is not the measure that determines value here.
Location is "King" here, because that can not be changed.

An older home is often preferred, but again condition is a major determining factor. Homes are not quantified merely by square footage. Location, views, condition, history and even renovation potential effect the value.
2) How Does That Compare To The Rest Of The Country?
Margate home prices, like the rest of the country, have experienced price reduction over the past two years. That is exactly why it is the right time to buy. Luckily while the rest of the country experienced a "National home crisis" with reduction of 30-50% in home prices, and short sales and foreclosures rampant, Margate only experienced minor price reductions (about 7-10% depending upon the price point) and a small decrease in the number of sales. This made Margate an excellent investment.

There are a few good reasons that Margate has held its value:
1) proximity to the beach, 2) accessibility to nightlife and the city, 3) it is not a weekly rental community and 4) there is a quality and pride of ownership of the homes.

So let's talk about now.

The stock market broke 10,000 again.

It goes up and down but it's been announced on the news repeatedly that the recession is over.
Nationally, existing home sales jumped 9.4% in September to their highest level in two years. Consumers are optimistic and the home market and our economy is recovering.
Personally I believe in Margate as a financially opportunity. I also believe it is a window that is closing for greatest opportunities; especially with mortgage rates as low as they have been. The market is not perfect and it did go down, but that to the Buyer's advantage. The good news is that our market is so strong that even a crisis that the last one we experienced did not have a major effect on it. If Margate is not the right opportunity, I would be very interested in knowing a better place to invest my money.

END OF SUMMER WRAP UP!!!

As you can imagine, the past two months as predicted were very busy with sales at the shore. Historically the months of August and September are even busier months. More people seem to want to rent during the month of August; rentals cost more during August; and with summer is ending perhaps Buyers and Sellers see it their last opportunity before they return to their "other" life.

In addition, mortgage rates, while still very low, have not maintained the same 4.5% or 5% as they were in the early months of the summer, threatening prospective Buyers a "one last chance" feeling on home loans. In any case, it is nice to see our market still doing so well. It appears that every price point is selling... as long as it is priced right.

OUR NEW SALES IN

AUGUST & SEPTEMBER!!!

Please join me in sending out congratulations to the Buyers and Sellers I represented in the past few weeks in successful transactions:

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Bill & Caryn R. on the purchase of their duplex in Margate
Jerry & Cathy S. on the purchase of their home in Ventnor
Bill & Wendy M. on the sale of their commercial property in Mays Landing
Dawn & Jerry C. on the purchase of their commercial property in Mays Landing

Bill & Janice E. on the sale of their home in Ventnor

Mary M. on the sale of their condo in Margate

Stephanie & Norman L. on the purchase of their home in Margate

Kristina C. on the sale of her townhouse in Mays Landing

John C. on the purchase of his home in Mays Landing

Mark & Carol C. on the purchase of their home in Ventnor

UPCOMING SALES!!!
In addition to these completed sales, I currently have 15 more properties under contract and scheduled to close in the coming weeks. Good news for you and good news for the shore. Still a great place to invest your money and great place to share with friends and family.

Happy New Year!

To our clients, friends and family who celebrate the Jewish New Year,

Mark, Mitch and Alli want to wish you and your families a very happy, healthy and properous new year!