the Resourceful Realtor

I don't know about you but I find it frustrating that there seems to be no distinction in the public's eye between a full-time real estate professional and a part-time agent.  I realize this could get ugly and I acknowledge there are some very fine p/t agents out there (as well as some not-so-hot full-time ones) but think about it, how confident would you be if your [fill in the blank] (e.g. attorney, physician, accountant, etc) only worked part-time?

Time management skills aside, I don't believe you can be an effective and informed agent on a part-time schedule.  There, I said it.

I work hard to understand my market, keep up-to-date about legal and professional issues, regularly work to increase my knowledge & skills thru education & training, and provide clear & relevant information to the public thru on-line & written communications.  All this is in addition to communicating with my clients regarding their purchase/sale, show houses to prospective buyers, meet with prospective sellers, followup with other agents regarding their clients' feedback on my listings, maintain client files, supervise and manage pending transactions, communicate with all parties, negotiate contracts, manage the marketing of my clients' listings & other issues.

In general, I work 9:30-5:30 M-F and frequently work at least part if not all of my Saturdays & Sundays.  Most evenings I find myself with my laptop in front of the TV half-relaxing, half-trying to cross off a few more things from my task list.  Yes, this is all by choice, I concede that point.  And yes, I have hired an assistant to handle many rote activities. But despite this major time commitment, I still find it challenging to keep up:  Our markets change on a daily basis and I work hard to be mindful & informed about those changes and how they affect my clients.

So how about it part-timers?  How do you do it?   When a customer asks you a question about the market, on what are you basing your response? 

1. Something you heard in the office at last month's sales meeting?
2. Something you overheard on the news (which was about someone else's market)?
3. Something your manager told you to say?
4. Whatever immediately came to mind? 

While I believe you can supplement your knowledge & understanding of the market with information from other sources, I firmly believe that a true professional (and I am not using the term lightly here) is someone whose understanding of the their business and their market is based on their personal experience of it.  Not only are all markets local but so is market expertise!

And what about the public?  What possible value to they think their [fill in the relationship here] (e.g. 2nd cousin, sister's best friend, boss's daughter, etc.) brings to their business transaction if that person:

1. already has a job doing something else
2. devotes less than 10 hours of their focus per week to actual real estate activity
3. only had one transaction last year

Look, I know, someone with fewer files on their desk can theoretically devote more attention to a transaction but I would argue that their focus is inherently less effective because in all probability they don't know what to look for in the first place, they don't know who to speak with to get a broader view and solve the issue, and they don't have much to lose because they're obviously not depending on this for an income and their clientele is based on obligation more than reputation or expertise.

Anyone care to comment?

My recommendation to my buyer and investor clients is to be educated about the market you're shopping in.  What this means is to be familiar with the inventory, get a sense of what a given price range should provide you in a particular town or neighborhood, keep track of average price, list-to-sale price ratios and days on the market.  

And of course (WARNING: shameless self-promotion approaching!) make sure you're working with an experienced realtor who is a full-time professional and knows your market!  It shocks me how often consumers entrust such an important financial transaction to agents who are no more qualified than they are except they have a real estate agent's license.

For those considering Northeastern Monmouth County, below are market reports for 3rd Quarter Year-to-Date activity for the towns listed below.  Better yet, sign up to receive reports as they are published along with other market information that's key to being a Resourceful Buyer.

• ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS
• FAIR HAVEN
• HIGHLANDS
• LITTLE SILVER
• LONG BRANCH
• MIDDLETOWN
• MONMOUTH BEACH
• OCEANPORT
• RED BANK
• RUMSON
• SEA BRIGHT
• SHREWSBURY

Search the Monmouth County MLS for all available listings!  You can even create and save your own searches (click the Your Account button at top), be notified as new listings that match your search become available and find out about scheduled open houses!

NEW AFFORDABLE 1 & 2 BEDROOM RENTAL APARTMENTS AT CONIFER VILLAGE FOR SENIORS AGED 55 AND OLDER 
The Township of Middletown announced the availability of 180 affordable housing 1 and 2 bedroom rental units at the Conifer Village at Middletown. These rental units are available to low and moderate income seniors age 55 and older that meet certain income standards. Rents include hot water and are as follows:

Low 1 BR
1 person max. income: $29,750
2 person max. income: $34,000
RENT: $701

Mod 1 BR
1 person max. income: $35.700
2 person max. income: $40,800
RENT: $808

Low 2 BR
1 person max. income: $29,750
2 person max. income: $34,000
3 person max. income: $38,250
4 person max. income: $42,500
RENT: $838

Mod 2BR
1 person max. income: $35,700
2 person max. income: $40,800
3 person max. income: $45,900
4 person max. income: $51,000
RENT: $967

*subject to change

Conifer Village at Middletown is under construction and is located on the northbound side of Highway 36 directly west of Navesink Avenue and the Eastpointe Shopping Center.

Interested households will initially be required to submit an application for affordable housing to the Township for pre-qualification. Pre-qualified households will be matched to affordable units through a random selection process. If your pre-qualified household is selected for consideration, a $25 application fee will be required. All households must provide income documentation and pass a credit check. All successful applicants will be required to demonstrate the ability to pay a security deposit (one and one half months rent), first month's rent and agree to maintain the unit as the household's primary residence.

Applications are available at the Department of Planning at the Middletown Municipal Complex and on the Middletown Township Website by clicking HERE. Applications can also be requested by calling 732-615-2098, 732-615-2280 or 732-291-0809. Applications may be submitted in person, by mail, or via fax at the Middletown Township Department of Planning, Johnson Gill Annex Building, 1 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748. To fax the completed application, please send it to 732-615-2103, Attention: Eleanor.

For more information including directions to the property and floor plans, please visit http://conifervillagemiddletown.coniferliving.com/

Link to Affordable Housing Application: http://www.middletownnj.org/planning/pdf/Affordable-Housing-App-12_07.pdf

Although initially 2008 had an encouraging start for Atlantic Highlands relative to 2007, sales have not kept pace with the previous year and have fallen behind with unit volume down 30% for same period (Q1-3) last year.

On a more positive note, there were some gains in the 3rd quarter for sales prices (which had taken a hit in the first half of the year) with average sales price for the term at very close to last year's average... about 1/2 % off.

Buyers continue negotiate and we can see their leverage in the list-to-sale differential with an almost 9% gap between asking and sold price.   

Advice to sellers:  Continue to price aggressively, maintain optimum market position thru marketing, showing condition & easy accessibility.  To discuss selling the pros & cons of selling in the current Atlantic Highlands market, please give me a call.

Lots of talk these days about "The Jersey Devil"  Bruce Springsteen put out a new song and video (Springsteen makes for a very convincing - and creepy - backwoods preacher) for Halloween this year paying homage to the creature of New Jersey's Pine Barrens.

And this week, the Jersey Devil will be the topic of the Atlantic Highlands Historical Society's November 19th meeting. In a talk illustrated by many photographs, drawings, and maps, Angus Kress Gillespie, Ph.D, Professor of American Studies, Rutgers University, brings together different reports of this legendary creature.

As the story goes, in a small community, Leeds Point, at the coastal edge of the Pine Barrens, lived the Leeds family. The year was 1735. Already having given birth 12 times, Mother Leeds was about to deliver for the 13th time. Feeling tired and weary of the burden, she cursed the unborn child, wishing she had never married Daniel Leeds. But she took revenge on Mr. Leeds that night when she gave birth to the devil's child, who now lurks in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey.

People still report seeing it - with cloven hooves, serpentine tail, horselike face and wide wing span.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, November 19th at 7:30 pm in the Senior Center at the foot of First Avenue at the Atlantic Highlands Marina. It is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be available. For more information, check the website www.atlantichighlandshistory.org or phone 732-291-1861.
 

You're invited!  Come view this wonderfully renovated 3 bedroom home on a quiet street in one of Monmouth County's favorite towns!

Where: 47 Tecumseh Ave Oceanport, NJ  (click address for directions) 

When: Sunday, November 9th, 1:00-4:00 PM

MLS#20836136 and more photos!
Listing Price: $599,900
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2.5

Also available for rent at $2900 per month.

Move right in!  Fully renovated contemporary-styled home with new kitchen & baths,  3 spacious bedrooms, newly finished basement, new deck & landscaping & more! 

Questions?  Want to schedule an appointment another time?  Email me.

Initial figures for the first half of 2008 were not encouraging for Fair Haven relative to 2007, although sales in the 3rd quarter have shown an improvement. Still, overall unit volume is down almost 35% for same period (Q1-3) last year.

On a more positive note, there were signficant gains in the average sales price with average sales prices well above any of the past four years. Although the list-to-sale price differential shows erosion from last year's figures, at just under 95%, there aren't exactly any fire sales going on.

Advice to sellers:  Clearly, fewer home sellers are finding themselves at the closing table but it appears that buyers have returned to buy some higher priced homes -- an encouraging sign.  But since available inventory is still high, sellers need to continue to price aggressively, maintain optimum position thru marketing, showing condition & easy accessibility.  To discuss selling the pros & cons of selling in the current Fair Haven market, please give me a call. 

First the good news: Due to the ongoing financial crisis playing out on Wall Street (as well as around the world), everyone is finally waking up to the fact that in order to pull us out of this mess, the housing market needs to get back on firm footing and because of this recognition we're more quickly approaching the bottom of this cycle. That means that the small glimmer of light on the horizon is not an oncoming train but rather the beginnings of a recovery.

Ok, now the bad news: We're not there yet. According to Jeff Otteau of the Otteau Valuation Group, we're still about 10 months out. Otteau says that in New Jersey, while we had been experiencing a 1/2% monthly value reduction, we're now facing a full 1% monthly reduction. This means we've got 10% more to go until we reach a critical point in affordability... where the median home price meets the median income level. For the state this equates to a 28% value reduction since the market downturn in August 2005. Of course, this is a state average... according Otteau, Monmouth County fares a bit better with an estimated 25% change.

The take-away: Keep in mind that unless you're paying cash, you'll want to factor in the cost of financing a home purchase in addition to the actual purchase price. Interest rates in the long term are expected to rise and since every increase of 1% in your interest rate equates to 9% increase in cost, those looking to "time the market" should begin now to educate themselves on their desired market, the housing inventory and real values. There are some very good buys right now and both first-time buyers and investors are making their first moves now. If you'd like to discuss your market strategy (for both buyers & sellers), please send me an email or call.