Real Estate Today

Selling Your Home? Make it Stand Out!

2010-12-20T09:03:00.004-05:00

10 Staging Tips to Help Your Home Sell

RISMEDIA, March 19, 2010—(MCT)—Want to sell your home? Get out the bucket, mop and Mr. Clean. The key to making a positive first impression is simple, said Sandra Rinomato, host of HGTV’s popular “Property Virgins” show.

“Get it clean, clean, clean,” said Rinomato. “If your house isn’t clean, it instantly sends up negative thoughts that the home is not well maintained. If your house is spotless, you’re ahead of the game,” she said.

But don’t stop there, advised Rinomato. To increase your chances of making a sale, “stage” the house to make it as attractive as possible. Until recently, “Staging meant pulling out all the stops—setting the dining table with your best china and crystal, arranging flowers, lighting candles,” she said. “Now we take the minimalist approach. Basically, you want to strip the house to its bare essentials, depersonalize it so potential buyers can superimpose themselves and their lifestyle on the house.”

Rinomato offered the following tips for staging a home.......continue

Great introduction to Cranford NJ

2010-11-01T09:26:00.005-04:00

NY Times: Living In/Cranford, N.J.

A number of Cranford’s grander houses, along Hampton Road, back up to the Rahway River. Some were built for wealthy New Yorkers during the town’s heyday as a summer resort.

By JILL P. CAPUZZO
Published: October 29, 2010

THIS is the kind of place that no one wants to leave. And those who do often find themselves angling to come back.

The Alexo family provides a good example. Ken Alexo Jr. grew up in Cranford but left after getting married: he and his wife, Alexandra, bought a house they could afford in Clark. Last October, eight years and three children later, they moved back to Cranford. Ms. Alexo said they had considered 30 or 40 houses, but only in Cranford. They “never looked anywhere else,” she said.
Ms. Alexo described her husband’s obsession as a “sickness” — but one she has come to empathize with. “It’s such a great place to grow up. You get attached; your roots are here. People just love it.” .......continued

Living in Westfield, NJ

2009-09-15T13:29:00.003-04:00

A Cozy Town That Appeals to All Generations

By DAVE CALDWELL
Published: September 13, 2009
Westfield has lost some of its mom-and-pop ambience and morphed into a suburb of restaurants and boutiques......continue

Congress Enacts Bigger and Better

2009-04-17T11:50:00.001-04:00

The Federal Government Helps!
A tax credit of up to $8,000 is now available for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. Unlike the tax credit enacted in 2008, the new credit does not have to be repaid. ....continue

Help for Home Owners

2008-11-13T07:48:00.003-05:00

New Help Coming for Mortgages Backed by Fannie, Freddie

RISMEDIA, Nov. 13, 2008-(MCT)-The Bush administration on Tuesday announced another plan to modify what it thinks will be hundreds of thousands of distressed mortgages held or backed by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
More than 15 months into a deep, nationwide housing slump, several federal agencies, along with Fannie and Freddie, unveiled what they called a streamlining of modification procedures for delinquent loans. Officials hope that the effort, which begins Dec. 15, will become a standard across the private sector.
“Troubled borrowers eligible for this program have already experienced significant erosion in their credit scores, making them unlikely to obtain mortgage credit through typical means,” said James Lockhart, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has assumed responsibility for Fannie and Freddie since the Treasury Department seized them in September.
Together, Fannie and Freddie own or back about 58% of all U.S. mortgage debt _ about 31 million mortgages-and they have historically been associated with the nation’s decades-long expansion in homeownership.
The new plan is far short of the moratorium on foreclosures sought by President-elect Obama and the Democrats who next year will have stronger control Congress. The move follows announcements by private lenders such as Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and most recently Citigroup that they would voluntarily rework troubled mortgages.....continue

Garage Doors and Curb Appeal

2008-08-29T17:02:00.001-04:00

Garage doors are often overlooked. However, according to a recent New York Times article titled "Garage Doors for All Seasons," this would be a mistake. Garage doors serve as a crucial component of a home's curb appeal.
In addition, garage doors can be a significant source of heat loss. Without breaking the bank, a typical wood or fiberglass garage door can be replaced with an insulated steel door that could save a homeowner hundreds of dollars a year in heating costs.
Installing an automatic garage door opener continues to be popular among homeowners. Newer automatic doors are quieter and many can be wired to run on a backup battery. Additionally, all new automatic openers have federally mandated safety features. For example, a photoelectric eye six inches from the bottom allows the door to immediately stop closing if a toy or child breaks the beam. Garage doors should not be overlooked as they can increase curb appeal, protect against heat loss and be an attractive feature to potential homebuyers. Click here for more information on garage doors.

Bathrooms- Getting Ready to Sell

2008-07-25T16:49:00.001-04:00

A cheerful and modern bathroom will not only contribute to the overall appearance of your home, but it may also help your home sell. According to Remodeling magazine, the average price in 2007 for a mid-range bathroom remodel was $14,445. However, Lytel Young, host of HGTV’s “Save my Bath,” reveals that you can spend far less and still make a world of difference in your bathroom’s appearance. Inexpensive steps to makeover a bathroom include:
· Rip out the dated medicine cabinet and replace it with a big mirror.
· Replace the lighting with new sconces on both sides of the mirror, plus a new overhead fixture on a dimmer.
· Re-caulk the tub and shower.
· Repaint with a neutral color, but decorate with big, fluffy, colorful pillows.
· Hang some framed art.
These steps will help to greatly improve the appearance of your bathroom without breaking the bank. Click here for more tips and ideas to renovate your bathroom.

New Jersey School Report Cards

2008-04-17T07:49:00.003-04:00

New Jersey Schools
Important if you have children and important if you don't. This is the latest from the State of New Jersey......continue

I want a Colonial style home...

2008-04-17T07:46:00.001-04:00

Styles of Homes
Buildings are used for many purposes and are therefore classified into houses, stores, churches, governmental, and industrial. We will only concern ourselves with single-family residential and commercial structures.
Buildings are classified into distinctive styles......continue

Should you wait to buy your home?

2008-02-28T16:42:00.001-05:00

Ignore the Headlines
That's no easy thing. How do you tune out all the chatter and ink on recession, housing, subprime woes, the credit crunch, rogue traders, insolvent bond insurers, $100 oil and nukes in Iran? It's enough to make you sit on your thumbs and wait before making any big moves. But what, exactly, are you waiting for?.....continue

Know the Tax Implications of owning a home!

2008-02-22T08:03:00.001-05:00

Top 10 Tax Breaks From Buying/Owning/Selling a Home

1. Mortgage Loan Interest: Mortgage loan interest is deductible for both Federal and NJ State income taxes. Since interest makes up the largest portion of the monthly mortgage payment, especially in the early years, this deduction can result in a huge tax savings.

2. Property Taxes: Property taxes (the second largest piece of most mortgage payments) are also fully deductible. Between interest and taxes, almost all of a buyer's mortgage payment will be deductible in the early years of the mortgage.

3. Points: Points, when charged by lenders as part of the cost of the loan are deductible. You can deduct points associated with a home purchase mortgage, but not a mortgage broker's commission. Refinanced mortgage points are deductible too, when they are amortized over the life of the loan. If you refinance a second time, the balance of the old points from a refinanced loan offer an immediate write off, as you begin to amortize the new points.

4. Home Improvement Loan Interest: The interest on a home improvement loan is also deductible. You can deduct all the interest on a home improvement loan provided the work is a "capital improvement" rather than repairs, maintenance or cosmetic upgrades.

5. Moving Costs: A move required for a new job comes with some deductible moving costs. To qualify, you must meet certain requirements including, moving within one year of starting your new job, moving 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job was and working full-time at the new job for 39 of 52 weeks following the move. Deductions include travel or transportation costs and expenses for lodging and storing your belongings.

6. Energy Tax Credits: The newest home-based tax credits were made possible by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Tax credits of up to $500 are available for upgrading heating and air conditioning systems, insulations, windows, doors and thermostats, caulking leaks, installing pigmented metal roofs and for otherwise decreasing energy waste in your home.

7. Mortgage Tax Credit: Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCCs) allow qualifying low-income, first-time home buyers to take a mortgage interest tax credit of up to 20 percent (the amount varies by jurisdiction) of the mortgage interest payments made on a home. This credit is available every year you keep the loanand live in the house purchased with the certificate. Unlike a deduction that reduces your income, the credit is subtracted, dollar for dollar, from the income tax owed.

8. Home-Based Business Deduction: Home offices that use a portion of your home exclusively for business could qualify you to deduct a percentage of costs related to that portion. Included are a percentage of your insurance and repair costs, utility bills and depreciation.

9. Selling Costs and Capital Improvements: When you sell your home, you can reduce your taxable capital gain by the amount of your selling costs, which include real estate commissions, legal fees, advertising and inspection fees. Costs typically stemming from decorating or repairs -- painting, wallpapering, maintenance, and the like -- are also selling costs if you complete them within 90 days of your sale and with the intention of making the home more saleable.

10. Capital Gains Exclusion: The Home buying investors' best tax shelter comes from provisions in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 which allows married taxpayers who file jointly to keep, tax free, up to $500,000 in profit on the sale of a home used as a principal residence for two of the prior five years.

THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION
AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE.

CONSULT YOUR CPA OR TAX PROFESSIONAL
FOR YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION.

Find the home you love!!

2008-02-20T17:59:00.001-05:00

Housing's mixed bag
While N.J. market is holding up, U.S. sales and prices are still down
Friday, February 15, 2008
BY SAM ALI
Newhouse News Service
No doubt, the New Jersey housing market has seen better days.
But while home prices across the country continued to plunge during the last three months of 2007, New Jersey has shown surprising resiliency, according to quarterly housing data released yesterday by the National Association of Realtors.
Atlantic County was one of only 11 metro areas in the country (out of the 150 areas surveyed by the NAR) that showed a double-digit annual price gain, rising more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter, to $278,800, compared with last year. And Mercer County was one of only 12 that showed an increase of 6 percent or more.
"We have the second-highest income in the country, which creates a higher level of earnings," said Jeff Otteau, president of the Otteau Valuation Group, a leading real estate research firm based in East Brunswick. "The demand for housing in New Jersey, even in a down market, is much higher than other parts of the country because we have the highest population density in the world.
"And we are at Manhattan's doorstep."
Nationally, existing-home sales -- which generally account for 85 percent of all home sales -- dropped nearly 20.9 percent in the quarter from October through December, while the median price of a home dipped 5.8 percent, to $206,200, from $219,300, according to the National Association of Realtors.
It was the steepest price drop ever recorded by the national real estate trade group, which has been compiling the report since 1979. In the Northeast, home sales fell 18.2 percent during the fourth quarter, and the median price of a home fell 4.8 percent.
But while New Jersey looked strong in the report issued yesterday, there are some skeptics. Otteau said the housing picture in New Jersey is not quite as rosy as the NAR numbers seem to reflect.
A few weeks ago, Otteau released his own market data, which showed home prices in New Jersey were flat in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared with last year.
To confuse matters even further, the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index, another popular and widely used home price metric, painted an even gloomier picture of New Jersey's housing market.
According to that index, for example, home prices in Atlantic County and Mercer County actually fell 6.5 percent and 7.66 percent respectively during the third quarter, while the NAR showed a rise of 5.6 percent and 6.16 percent during that same time. (The S&P Case Shiller index lags the NAR numbers by one quarter)
"How does that old saying go? A man with two clocks never knows what time it is," said James Bednar, a real estate expert and author of the popular housing blog the New Jersey Real Estate Report. "It seems the current issue is which index should we use to measure the market. They all seem to be telling a different story."
Sean Maher, a housing analyst with Moody's Economy.com, said the S&P Case-Shiller index is constructed by matching the prices of homes sold in the latest month with their sales prices when they previously sold in the past. The NAR index simply aggregates the median home sales price and is influenced by underlying mix of properties being sold.
As a result, the two indexes measure two very different things, Maher said.
"Basically, the NAR data looks stronger because you are not comparing the same basket of houses from year to year," Maher said. "Lower-income households are in less of a position to buy right now, so only the more expensive homes are really selling."
Still, while New Jersey's housing market has seen better days, it has generally faired much better than the national average.
Home prices in the Newark-Union area, which includes Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex and Union counties, for example, rose 5.3 percent, to $435,800, according to the latest home-price data released by NAR. And in the Edison area, which includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset counties, home prices rose 0.5 percent, to $370,300.
The NAR groups counties and municipalities into metropolitan statistical areas.
"I honestly believe, as we sit here today, we've reached a floor in pricing," said Dominick Prevete, the regional vice president for northern New Jersey market at Morris Plains-based Weichert Realtors.
Prevete said the stockpile of homes for sale is lower today than it was this same time last year -- a sign the housing market may be stabilizing. He also said the number of attendees at Weichert's weekend Open Houses has increased by 20 and 25 percent compared to last year.
Nationally, however, the picture was mixed.
Of the 150 metropolitan statistical areas in the NAR's latest survey, 73 showed price gains from a year ago, and 77 had price declines.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at NAR, blamed the liquidity squeeze that began last summer for much of the drop. Homebuyers had trouble obtaining mortgage financing, especially for more expensive properties, he said.
"The continuing crunch in the jumbo loan market that began in August has disproportionately reduced the number of transactions in higher price ranges," Yun said.
© 2008 The Times of Trenton
© 2008 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

New Jersey- The Garden State

2007-12-05T10:13:00.000-05:00

Jersey Fresh
This is a great link to find the New Jersey Fresh local green markets. Keep it handy for finding local produce. You can search by location as well as by type of food.
http://www.state.nj.us/jerseyfresh/searches/urban.htm

Home Improvements May yield a better return in the Northeast

2007-12-05T10:08:00.000-05:00

Curb appeal can pay dividends

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
By KATHLEEN LYNN STAFF WRITER

FILE PHOTO Building a wood deck, such as the one on this North Haledon home, is among several projects that will actually pay for itself at retail.
If you're looking for improvements that can boost a home's sale price, start with the outside.
That was the finding in a recent Remodeling magazine survey. Though most home improvements don't pay for themselves at resale, the survey found that the projects with the greatest return on the dollar are those that improve a home's curb appeal, such as new siding, decks and windows....continue

Remember the Price is Right...

2007-11-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

N.J. appraiser finds 'test pricing' doesn't work

By KATHLEEN LYNN
The Hackensack Record

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Realtors often warn sellers about the danger of overpricing a house. Now they have evidence to show skeptical clients: research by Jeffrey Otteau, a New Jersey appraiser.
Otteau found that in a market where prices are declining, sellers who "test the market" with a high price usually end up with a lower price than those who price realistically.
"Houses that are priced right are selling," said Otteau. "Overpricing extends days on the market and guarantees that you will sell your home for less in a declining market."....continue

Realistic Approaches are the best for the Buyer and Seller..

2007-10-19T08:48:00.000-04:00

Sellers urged to set lower prices

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
By KATHLEEN LYNNSTAFF WRITER

Realtors often warn sellers about the danger of overpricing a house. Now they have evidence to show skeptical clients: research by Jeffrey Otteau, an East Brunswick appraiser.
He found that in a market where prices are declining, sellers who "test the market" with a high price usually end up with a lower price than those who price realistically....continue

If it looks too good to be true sometimes it is...

2007-10-19T08:41:00.000-04:00

Home sellers getting stuck in Foxtons' bind

Thursday, October 18, 2007
BY SAM ALIStar-Ledger Staff

Pamela Armstrong figured she was getting a deal when she signed a six-month agreement with Foxtons to sell her $550,000 lakefront home.
But soon after Armstrong signed on, Foxtons abruptly shut its doors....continue

Mortgages are available for today's buyers...

2007-09-21T16:48:00.000-04:00

IN NEW JERSEY MORTGAGE INDUSTRY, SUPERSIZED SURVIVES
Friday, September 21, 2007
BY SAM ALIStar-Ledger Staff
Gerry Lipkin, chief executive of Valley National Bank, remembers a time back in the early 1980s when homebuyers would have hugged and kissed their bankers if they were quoted an interest rate of 12 percent for a "jumbo" mortgage.
Today, a borrower can walk into any number of banks in New Jersey, including Wayne-based Valley National, and get a 30-year, fixed-rate jumbo loan for under 7 percent. ...continue

Transit and Commuter Info for NYC Area

2007-08-09T08:57:00.000-04:00

Getting Around in the NYC Metro Area
Trips123 is a one-stop center for daily and long term transit & travel info for the Metro Region. It links to all transit lines(even DeCamp)with interactive Google based maps and live webcams with few noticeable ads. For Realtors, it can save a lot of time for buyers & sellers who need to know their commuting options with links to free commuter info & car pooling sites.If you go into the city more than once a week, this should be on top of your favorites list.... continue

Lawn and garden equity

2007-07-17T08:15:00.000-04:00

Want to get a big return on your home-improvement investment?
Look outside, not inside.
While studies show that you'll only recoup 80 to 90 cents on every dollar you spend to upgrade your kitchen or bath, professional landscape designers estimate that improvements to your lawn and garden can boost your home's value by 7 percent to 15 percent. Those findings have been confirmed by survey results from the Gallup Organization and the National Gardening Association, or NGA.......continue

New Jersey School Report Card

2007-07-17T07:56:00.002-04:00

NEW JERSEY SCHOOL REPORT CARD
One of the major goals of the Department of Education is to increase school- and district-level accountability for educational progress by communicating useful information to members of the public to be used in measuring how well their schools are doing. The New Jersey School Report Card has provided the public with information about every school in New Jersey since 1995 when the Legislature mandated the annual accountability report. ........continue

Feeling that your home no longer meets your needs?

2007-06-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

Which makes more sense, move or remodel?
By Michael Giusti • Bankrate.com
It happens suddenly, over a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper, or perhaps as you make your way across the obstacle course of clutter that was once your living room. Your house doesn't fit your needs, and you can no longer deny it.......continue

Interview: David Bach .. Real Estate is Local!

2007-05-16T08:35:00.000-04:00

"Automatic Millionaire Homeowner" author talks about investing in real estate and today's marketplace.

By Elizabeth Razzi • Bankrate.com

How do you feel about investing in real estate given the current state of housing markets?

Real estate is not national; it's local. At the end of the day the only market that matters is the one you're investing in, the one you're buying in. If you're thinking of buying a home, you have to ask: Where? Why? How long do you plan to live there? People are always doing better buying for the long term....continued

Consumer Reports gives guidance on when to replace an appliance

2007-04-13T12:41:00.000-04:00

Fix It or Replace It?
Daily Real Estate News April 11, 2007

The May 2007 issue of Consumer Reports offers consumers a timeline to determine when it’s time to say goodbye to old appliances that aren’t operating properly. The magazine took into account age, typical repair and replacement costs, and improvements that have been made in newer models.The following list shows the age when it’s more sensible to replace an appliance rather than fix it:
6 years: dishwashers, over-the-range microwaves, and top-freezer refrigerators

7 years: clothes dryers and top-loader washers

8 years: Bottom-freezer and side-by-side refrigerators, electric or gas ranges, electric wall ovens, and front-loader washers

Source: Consumer Reports (04/10/07)

How Long should a roof last, a door, a whirlpool...?

2007-04-13T12:24:00.000-04:00

Study Sheds New Light on Life Expectancy of Home Components

By any reckoning, a home is expected to last many years and serve several successive generations. But what about the individual components that comprise the house? How many years of service can a home owner reasonably expect from a roof or a door, a window or a whirlpool tub?
A new NAHB study sponsored by Bank of America Home Equity takes some of the mystery out of the subject with the caveat that numerous factors, including use, maintenance, climate, advances in technology and simple consumer preferences can have a dramatic effect on product longevity.

Go to the study (pdf format).
© 2007

Boost your Curb Appeal

2007-04-13T12:21:00.000-04:00

Simple Ways to Boost Curb Appeal
DIY Network TV expert advises:

The outside of a home can be just as important as the inside in attracting buyers. Maureen Gilmer with the DIY Network offers the following five cheap and easy ways to improve curb appeal:
1. Edge it. Make the distinction crisp between lawn and flowerbed or sidewalk. Replace old edging materials with tumbled concrete payers — the heavier they are the better they stay in place.
2. Mulch it. Cover bare ground with two inches of attractive mulch.
3. Stain it. Old concrete walks, steps, and planters crack, stain, and discolor. Cover them with new colored concrete stains. The result unifies paving and mimics more expensive stone.
4. Color it. Worn out fences can give the property a black eye. Stain them with muted colors like warm gray, soft green, antique gold, or subtle blue.
5. Plant it. Buy whole flats of six packs of single color annuals.
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Maureen Gilmer (04/07/07)

Spring is traditionally the busiest time .....

2007-03-29T08:12:00.000-04:00

Spring is bargain time for home buyers
By Michael Giusti • Bankrate.com
Two years of stormy real estate markets appear to have created an ideal climate for bargain-minded house hunters who know where to look.
Real estate experts say a switch in the psychology of the housing market has helped buyers to see the silver lining around the housing market storm cloud and usher in the fine shopping weather.
"We are now in a solid buyer's market," says David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). "It has been a seller's market for many years, but now we are seeing people across the country making deals and bringing prices down."
A loss of confidence on the part of real estate investors triggered the psychological switch, he says. "What happened was, investors pulled out in droves, and the housing markets went dead," Lereah says. "When the investors stopped buying, regular buyers got scared."
That fear drove many house hunters to the sidelines, waiting to see what would happen -- worrying that housing prices would continue to fall. ....continue

Cranford NJ Economic Revitalization

2007-03-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

What does it mean? What does it takes to be successful?
By: Kathleen Miller Prunty
Director, Downtown Management Corp .
Economic development. Smart growth. Transit-oriented development. Density. Redevelopment. Mixed-use projects. You read and hear these words everywhere these days in discussions about the future of states, cities and communities like Cranford. What does it all mean?
Simply put, these are all tools available to communities like Cranford to achieve economic revitalization for our downtown and stabilize the local property taxes. We already understand that a successful and thriving downtown is a valuable community asset. We must also remember that the reputation and economic health of the downtown has an impact on the town. Cranford is fortunate to have tremendous opportunities for projects and improvements that will re-energize the downtown and reduce dependence on property taxes for services.
Cranford can have a thriving downtown, development that fits our community and a stronger tax base that provides tax relief to the homeowner. It will not happen by accident. It requires an evaluation and recognition of the strengths and weaknesses, planning based on that information and a commitment to the long term community vision. .......continued

Real Estate is location, location, location...

2007-02-16T07:16:00.000-05:00

Home sales fall, but prices still rise
Friday, February 16, 2007
BY BETH FITZGERALD
Star-Ledger Staff
New Jersey's 19.9 percent fourth quarter plunge in existing-home sales was nearly double the nation's 10.1 percent slump.
But housing prices continued to climb in New Jersey, with the Atlantic City area leading the country with a 25.9 percent home-price surge.
Nationally, existing-home sales fell in 40 states and median home prices declined in nearly half of the metropolitan areas surveyed, according to the fourth-quarter report from the National Association of Realtors.
But home prices were up in the four New Jersey metropolitan areas included in the survey. The Atlantic City area's 25.9 percent jump brought the median home price to $339,800. In the Trenton/Ewing area, the gain was 18.9 percent, in Newark/Union County it was 3 percent and in Northern New Jersey/New York it was 2.3 percent.
Price are rising in the Atlantic City and Trenton/Ewing areas because these markets are more affordable and are drawing an influx of buyers, according to Bill Hanley, president of the New Jersey Association of Realtors and manager of Weichert Realtors in Metuchen. Yesterday morning, one of his clients became the successful bidder on a condo in Hamilton that had attracted three offers in only two days on the market, "and the price was $60,000 less than an identical condo in Edison," he said.
Hanley said actual sales fell in New Jersey, even as prices rose, "because sellers who have decided they can't make what they want on their homes are taking them off the market and staying where they are."
"I have a beachfront property that had a price reduction, and 10 people inquired about it -- people are coming out of the woodwork, and investors are coming back to the shore," said Dennis Allen of Astick Realty in Brigantine near Atlantic City.
A lot of the action is in the $500,000 to $700,000 range. Allen said buyers who bid too far under the list price see houses snatched away by more aggressive bidders. "The sellers have stopped panicking, prices have stabilized and I think in the next year or so prices will start rising again," Allen said. ........continued

School Report Card

2007-02-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

NJ Star Ledger 2006 School Report
Most recent school report from the Star Ledger......continue

Local Activity is picking up....

2007-01-22T09:40:00.000-05:00

Experts: NJ job growth slow; home prices correcting, not crashing
LINDA A. JOHNSON
Associated Press
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - New Jersey is likely to see job growth of only 0.6 percent this year, down 50 percent from last year, when it already trailed far behind the national average, according to the Rutgers Economic Advisory Service's semiannual forecast.
The growth rate will average 0.9 percent over the next decade, Nancy Mantell, director of the advisory service, said Wednesday at a university conference for economists and other number-crunchers.
Real estate expert Jeffrey Otteau told conference attendees that the widely forecast crash following the recent housing market bubble might not happen.
"It's beginning to look like this will be a correction and not a crash," said Otteau, president of the Otteau Appraisal Group of East Brunswick.......continued

House-hunting a learning process

2006-12-30T13:31:00.000-05:00

House-hunting a learning process

Sunday, December 10, 2006 By JENNIFER V. HUGHES
SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

Searching for their first home, Richard and Jeannine Buffong learned an important lesson: Sometimes you find out just as much about what you want from the houses you don't buy as from the one you do......continued

The American dream of home ownership is alive and well..

2006-12-14T08:04:00.000-05:00

HISPANICS ARE THE NEW FORCE IN HOME SALES
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
BY SAM ALIStar-Star Ledger Staff
When 36-year-old Olga Huayguas arrived from Peru 18 years ago, she never dreamed she would one day own her own home, let alone two homes and a deli.
She did not speak English. She had no credit history in the United States. And she had no money for a down payment or closing costs.
Then she met Yolanda Barreto, a real estate agent and owner of UNIcasa Showtime Realty in West Orange, which regularly works with Hispanics. Huayguas told the agent she was tired of living in a cramped apartment with her four children, ages 2 to 19 -- and tired of paying $1,200 a month with nothing to show for it.
Barreto, also a native of Peru, soon was teaching Huayguas the basics of personal finance, how to clean up her credit and, ultimately, how to secure an affordable mortgage and a piece of the American dream. ....... continued

The Real Estate Market is local....

2006-12-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

What Statistics on Home Sales Aren’t Saying

NYT imes 12/06 2006
By DAVID LEONHARDT
Down in Naples, Fla., a fast-growing city on the Gulf of Mexico, there was an auction of houses about a month ago.
An auction isn’t the usual way to sell a home, but it can make sense for people who don’t want to leave their houses on the market for months at a time and also don’t want to take the first offer to come along. So on a Saturday morning inside the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club, a few dozen houses went on the block in front of about 500 bidders.
Based on the official housing statistics, you might have guessed that the sellers would have made out just fine, despite all the talk of a real estate slump. According to one widely followed real estate index — tabulated by the government agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the average house in Naples sold for 20 percent more this summer than it would have a year earlier.
But that wasn’t what happened at the auction. In fact, if you were at the beach club that Saturday, you could have been excused for thinking that the real estate market was crashing.
One three-bedroom ranch house with a pool sold for $671,000. In 2005, the same house sold for $809,000. Another house, just steps from Naples Bay, sold for $880,000 at the auction., compared with $1.35 million a year earlier. On average, the houses that changed hands at the auction had fallen about 25 percent in value since 2005, according to Thomas Lawler, a real estate consultant who analyzed the auction’s results.
Now, Naples is not a typical housing market. House prices nearly tripled in the first half of this decade, and speculators, who are more likely than residents to sell a house in a panic, flooded into the area in recent years. But with that said, Naples is not as unusual as you may think.
The truth is that the official numbers on house prices — the last refuge of soothing information about the real estate market on the coasts — are deeply misleading. Depending on which set you look at, you’ll see that prices have either continued to rise, albeit modestly, or have fallen slightly over the last year. But the statistics have a number of flaws, perhaps the biggest being that they are based only on homes that have actually sold. The numbers overlook all those homes that have been languishing on the market for months, getting only offers that their owners have not been willing to accept.
In reality, homes across much of Florida, California and the Northeast are worth a lot less than they were a year ago. The auction in Naples may have exaggerated the downturn in the market there, but not by much. Tom Doyle, a Naples real estate agent, estimated that a typical house there, sold in the normal way, would go for about 20 percent less than it did the previous fall.
In the Boston area, prices have fallen about 10 to 15 percent since the middle of 2005, estimated Chobee Hoy, who owns a real estate brokerage firm in Brookline. Jerome J. Manning, who runs the Massachusetts-based auction company that conducted the Naples sale, told me he thought that values had dropped about 20 percent around Boston. (The government, meanwhile, says the average price rose 1 percent from last summer to this summer. But here’s all you need to know about how well the government tracks the Boston market: the index excludes any mortgage larger than $417,000.)
In September of last year, Ms. Hoy sold a one-bedroom condominium in Brookline for $395,000. She recently sold another apartment of the same size in the same building for $300,000. Since March, her firm has been listing a house in the Fisher Hill neighborhood of Brookline that cost $995,000 when it last sold, in the summer of 2004. Ms. Hoy expects it to sell this time for less than $900,000.
The market in northern Virginia is similar: prices are down 10 to 15 percent, according to an analysis by Mr. Lawler, a former Fannie Mae executive who’s based there. In Portland, Me., the typical house has lost about 10 percent of its value in the last year and a half, said Bill Trask, the former head of the local Realtors’ board.
In New York City, where co-op boards generally bar the door to absentee speculators and creative mortgages, prices seem to have slid a bit in the last few months, but only to roughly their 2005 levels. In the New York suburbs, though, values have fallen perhaps 10 percent or more since last year. Prices also appear to be down in Sacramento and San Diego.
For many homeowners, of course, the decline doesn’t much matter. They didn’t really benefit from the run-up, and they won’t suffer from the decline. And for any renters hoping to buy a home, the fall in prices is downright good news.
Unfortunately, there are also a lot of families that took on huge mortgage debts based on the ephemeral peak values of their properties. In effect, they cashed in on the housing boom without cashing out. As Ed Smith Jr., the chief executive of Plaza Financial Group, a mortgage brokerage firm near San Diego, said, “So many people picked up their homes, turned them upside down and shook them like a piggy bank.”
The withdrawals have been so big that the average household in Boston now has slightly less equity in its home than it did in 2000, according to an analysis by Moody’s Economy.com that took inflation into account. And that analysis used the house prices reported by the National Association of Realtors, which appear to be more accurate than the government’s data right now but are still too rosy.
Then there are the people who bought their homes in the last couple of years and made almost no down payment. Many of them may now be underwater, owing more on their mortgages than their houses are worth.
Most worrisome, growing numbers of these families are falling behind on their mortgage payments, and they won’t be able to bail themselves out by refinancing or selling their homes. “We’re now going to combine a high amount of debt with falling home values,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Economy.com.
For the broader economy, this may turn out to be just a hiccup. Big piles of debt can often look scarier than they really are. Then again, the housing slump of 2006 may also be the start of something larger. Mr. Zandi considers it to be “the most significant threat to the global expansion.”
Over the last few decades, the world’s financial system has endured a crisis roughly once every three or four years. There was the stock market crash of 1987, the Asian and Mexican meltdowns in the 1990s, the dot-com implosion of 2000 and, most recently, the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. We may now be living on both borrowed money and borrowed time.

People are Selling and buying all year long

2006-11-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

Top Tips for Home Buyers and Sellers During the Holidays in 2006
by Mark Nash

Searching for or selling a home in November or December can be stressful in addition to the built-in holiday frenzy. These simple tips for buyers and sellers can minimize stress and possibly facilitate a sale.
Sellers.
Consider potential buyers spiritual backgrounds in your market before decorating for a holiday.
Less is more when decorating a home for the holidays while you are trying to sell. Streamline the amount of holiday specific decorations you display.
Large over-size Christmas trees and other holiday decorations consume space that might make rooms or landscapes appear smaller.
Install and remove exterior holiday decorations 2 weeks before and after holiday.
Turn off lighted holiday decorations before showings, buyers should focus on your home and not your decorations.
If you are having out-of-town house guests, ask your real estate agent to postpone showings until after your guests depart.
Display summer photos of home and gardens to inform buyers of the features of the home in other seasons.
Before showings remove snow, ice and leaves from walkways and driveways. Don't overlook outside entrances to basements, garages, and porches. Pet dropping are a turn-off to buyers.
Buyers.
You can find motivated sellers at year-end, but don't think they'll give away their home. Do your homework before drafting a real estate contract. Look only at sold comparable's from the last six months.
Don't be afraid to ask for concessions from sellers. Popular give-backs from sellers to buyers are: property and transfer tax rebates, closing cost credits and paying mortgage points.
When performing a home inspection in wintry weather, it's easy to forgo adequate roof and air-conditioning condenser reviews. If you can't see or operate a structural or mechanical system, ask for an extension until the weather improves.
Patience rules at the holidays. Everyone is busy, and if it takes an extra day to view a property, it's not uncommon.
Both.
If you plan to close the purchase or sale of a home near a holiday, check with your agent, title company and lender to verify two business days before closing that they have all the required documents and funds have been wired to complete the transaction.
If you are closing on your new home, select a mid-week day, early in the day, to schedule your closing time, to accommodate last minute delays by a mortgage loan processor, insurance or title company.
If you plan to move during the holidays, keep in mind that moving companies will require more notice and could charge additional fees for packing, moving and delivering household goods on week-ends and holidays.

Continued development of housing alternatives...

2006-10-24T08:17:00.000-04:00

Not for Nuclear Families Only

By ANTOINETTE MARTIN

LIVINGSTON
LIKE many older suburbs that grew up fast during the baby-boom years, Livingston evolved as a homogeneous place offering a lifestyle for families: a detached home with the requisite lawn and two-car garage, plus quick access to the Mall at Short Hills in Millburn.
What happens when residents who lived that lifestyle don’t want to leave, but need a different kind of housing? Those who know Livingston well say that the town is adapting to accommodate them. The process has been slow, both local builders and town officials acknowledge. But zoning changes enacted eight years ago are having their effects, and Livingston has a variety of options opening up.
One is a project by Sam Gershwin’s company, Westminster Communities, for 54 condominiums near St. Barnabas Hospital, aimed at young couples as well as empty-nesters. As Mr. Gershwin, a longtime Livingston resident, sees it: “This a desirable location that not many people want to leave. If they do, then many of them want to come back.”
Work began last summer on Mr. Gershwin’s project, Cedar Gate at Livingston, which is designed to appeal to both ends of the age spectrum at the high end of the price scale.
There is also an elegant new condominium complex called the Pointe at Livingston opening near the downtown area. Millennium Homes, the builder, says the project’s more than 300 units are selling rapidly.......

Let's not forget the taxes....

2006-10-24T08:14:00.000-04:00

Monday, October 23, 2006

NJ Election 2006 – Taxes and The U.S. Economy
The editors of the Star-Ledger in their article, The best choices in the House races”, tell us that: “Taxes and the economy are a major focus of the campaign in the 7th District”. Why just the 7th remains unclear. We believe most voters in New Jersey are focused on those issues, although little ink has been spilled by the state’s largest paper on the facts surrounding federal taxes and the U.S. economy.We believe most voters favor keeping the U.S. economy growing as it has for the past 19 consecutive quarters since the “Bush tax cuts” were enacted. These tax cuts have facilitated a growing economy, low unemployment, federal tax revenues at record levels, the stock market hitting all-time highs, as well as, a shrinking U.S. budget deficit. Not to mention the side benefit of saving every New Jersey taxpayer money (see chart below).

Some good advise on determining your offer...

2006-10-10T10:47:00.000-04:00

Lowballing in a Cooling Housing Market

Current market conditions will spur home sellers to consider lower offers, but don't expect them to panic, says Real Estate Adviser Steve McLinden....continue

I am always prepared to negotiate on your behalf...

2006-09-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

Haggling down home and car prices like a pro
By Holden Lewis

Fishing has been defined as a jerk on one end of a line waiting for a jerk on the other end.
Selling big-ticket items such as houses, cars, appliances and jewelry is a lot like fishing. Salespeople, including savvy homesellers, hook you and reel you in by using a variety of negotiation strategies. They use those time-tested tactics on you whether you want them to or not.
Since you can't avoid the salesperson's negotiating ploys, your only defense is to recognize what he's doing. You then have the chance to use some of those tactics yourself -- becoming the fisherman instead of the fish.
It's called haggling. How well you do it could be the key factor in determining the price you agree to pay for your new home or car........continue

What kind of Neighborhood is it?

2006-09-03T15:56:00.000-04:00

I am always being asked for information about the towns that I work in. I think this is a good place to start when you are looking for information about communities that you are considering. Sperlings Best Places Try it and let me know if you like it (or don't like it).

Schools are important even if you don't have children...

2006-09-03T15:45:00.000-04:00

Schools in a town can have a significant effect on real estate value, tax rates and quality of life. I think this is so important that have the link on the Menu to NJ Monthly Magazine Top High Schools on my web site www.UnionCountyHomes.info
Another fantastic source of school info is http://www.greatschools.net/ . They have info on all grades, all over the US.

Show your home in it's best light..

2006-09-01T14:52:00.000-04:00

Show off the details - Spruce Up an Open House
09/01/2006
BY LESLIE BANKER

Use these quick and easy tips to ensure that potential buyers appreciate a home's finer details from the moment they walk through the door.

When potential buyers look at a property, their eyes should be glued to the architectural highlights that lend to the home’s character: the crown molding, the built-in cabinets, the lavish fireplace, the open floor plan. But if your sellers didn’t get a head start on cleaning and packing, there’s a chance buyers will instead focus on the cluttered shelves, the old family photos, or the less-than-sparkling windows.

....Some simple improvements might be the difference between a home that sells quickly and one that languishes on the market. Here are few key points for making a home’s finest details stand out:

Start with the entryway. What is your first impression as you approach the house and open the front door? The lawn should look well tended and the landscaping cared for. Exterior architectural features, such as columns or a front porch, should be on display — not hidden behind overgrown shrubs. Garden tools and lawn ornaments should be tidied up or removed altogether.
Tackle the clutter issue. You’ve undoubtedly heard this advice before, but that’s because it’s so important: Sellers will have to deal with clutter sooner or later, so they ought to do it sooner, before potential buyers have already come and gone. Clutter detracts from the home and should be packed up or thrown away. Pay special attention to the kitchen, where prospective buyers are sure to spend much of their time.
Shine doorknobs, handrails, and more. Add a layer of sparkle in each room and the hallways by polishing the doorknobs, handrails, hinges, vents, and lighting fixtures — especially if you want to draw attention to vintage features or unique details that make the home stand out from the rest. Clean the molding and baseboards, too.
Show off the windows. Those bay windows can be a major selling point — if they’re clean, that is. A good cleaning (don't forget the screens!) will help to highlight the style of the windows, bring in natural light, and draw attention to great views. Pull the curtains back so potential buyers can appreciate the full shape of each window.
Accentuate closet space. In older homes, small closets are a common challenge. They’ll look bigger if they’re organized and not stuffed to the gills. A buyer should be able to look into a closet and be able to visualize placing his or her belongings into it. Box up non-essential items and store them in a rented storage space, an attic, a basement or a garage. A closet will look much more organized if, instead of a tangle of wire hangers, you use matching plastic or wooden hangers.
Pack the personal items. Family photographs, children's artwork, and religious or ethnic decorations make it difficult for potential buyers to see the space as their own. Ask the sellers to move their personal items out of sight. Potential buyers also don’t need to see the seller’s prescription medications, toothbrush, or socks hanging out to dry.
Conquer stale smells. While a seller might not think twice about, or even notice, the smell of cigarette smoke, a kitty litter box, or dogs, a potential buyer is sure to be turned off. This can be a delicate issue, but it’s necessary to address. ...... keep odors to a minimum by smoking outside, paying more attention to the kitty litter, or generally being aware of the issue.
Beyond these tips, there are some other things that you can do to enhance home showings. Place a vase of fresh-cut flowers in rooms that you want buyers to linger longer. On the kitchen table, a big bowl of fresh fruit such as apples, lemons, and limes makes a wonderful centerpiece. And use lighting to enhance special details, such as the marble kitchen counters or high ceilings. If you feel that you need extra help to prepare a home for sale, you can contact professional stagers in your area, who can provide a range of services to home owners.

....As you know, first impressions are a big deal in real estate. A home with great architectural details should be able to sell itself. Make sure that distractions that could deter buyer interest are eliminated so that it’s easy for potential buyers to say, “This is the one for me.”

Condo's in New Jersey...

2006-08-27T18:50:00.000-04:00

Squeezing the suburbs

The Record
Sunday, August 27, 2006 By SCOTT FALLONSTAFF WRITER

North Jersey is on the cusp of a condominium and town-house building boom that some feel will slowly change the suburban character of the area into an even denser collection of bedroom communities.

It also has spurred concern among some planning experts who say the projects may stall as the real estate market continues to slow from its record pace.
Developments totaling at least 14,000 units of high-density housing have either been proposed, are before local boards, or have recently been approved in Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Hudson counties, according to a review of building data by The Record.
Construction is slated across the region, from massive developments such as the 2,580-unit EnCap Meadowlands Golf Village in Rutherford and Lyndhurst to smaller projects like a 68-unit apartment complex in Butler.
The reason for the focus on high-density housing is simple: Land is difficult to find in North Jersey and density drives real estate profits.
This decade's boom has been fueled by low mortgage rates, steady population growth, increased investment in real estate and government incentives for builders to use former industrial tracts, say real estate agents, developers and economists......................................

Cul De Sac - French for Dead End?

2006-08-27T18:39:00.000-04:00

or
Why Some Towns Place Roadblocks on Cul-de-Sacs

August 27, 2006
National Perspectives

By CARLA BARANAUCKAS
NORTHFIELD, Minn.
ON a crystalline day in early August, grumbling yellow bulldozers and excavators dug into a broad swath of black earth just east of the city limits here, within earshot of both the farm operation the acreage had been part of and the suburban landscape into which it will be absorbed.
Tucked inside the fifth addition to the subdivision Rosewood is Larkspur Court, the type of cul-de-sac that has long been an iconic feature of American suburbs.
But here and in other areas across the country, this staple of suburban development is drawing criticism from a growing number of planners and government officials, who say it should become an endangered species.
Highly popular after World War II, the cul-de-sac is essentially a dead-end residential street, often but not always ending with a large circular patch of pavement allowing vehicles to turn around. The form was initially embraced as something that promoted security, neighborliness and efficient transportation.
Homeowners found that the cul-de-sac limited traffic, creating a sense of privacy, while encouraging ties among neighbors, who could hardly avoid one another. Developers liked the cul-de-sac because it made it possible to build on land unsuited to a grid street pattern and because home buyers were willing to pay a premium to live on one.
Now the cul-de-sac is excoriated in certain quarters, especially by New Urbanists, as a detriment to security, community and efficient transportation......................................

This Trend is throughout our metropolitan area...

2006-08-07T09:25:00.000-04:00

The Houses That Wouldn’t Move
By VIVIAN S. TOY

Kirk Condyles for The New York TimesFrank and Lynn Balducci, with their daughter, Emily, held seven open houses and still haven’t sold their colonial in Bethpage, N.Y.
With inventory soaring, buyers are taking their time and sellers are lowering their sights.

Lighting can help as well...

2006-08-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

Even the lighting can make a big difference.....

Click on the link for the article...

Architecture Coach: Light Done Right: "This article was published on: 08/01/2006

In the spotlight Light Done Right Lighting can do wonders for the look and feel of a home, both inside and out. Get tips on setting an inviting mood and showing off the home's best features......

BY BARBARA BALLINGER"

Staging: Showing Your Home At Its Best

2006-08-02T20:13:00.000-04:00

As the inventory grows some prepping can mean a quicker sale at a higher price. I can provide professional references but some simple things can make a difference.....

Staging Tips

Clear out the closets and their clutter. Encourage the sellers to hold a yard
sale or donate unwanted household goods to charity.
Pack up extra toys,linens, small kitchen appliances, and the like and store them offsite or in the garage.
Be sure the trees are trimmed, the shrubs are pruned, and the lawn is
mowed and watered regularly. Turn on the sprinklers for five minutes 30 minutes
before the open house. It makes the lawn and driveway sparkle.
Sellers should refrain from cooking anything that leaves a distinctive odor (fish,
garlic, cabbage) and from introducing any other unappealing odors into the
home.
Ask the sellers to have a professional service clean the home, including the carpets and the windows.
Set the dining room table with attractive linens, dishes, and stemware.
For open houses ask the sellers’permission to serve cookies and coffee; people will linger longer.
Arrange fresh flowers throughout the home and have a fire in the fireplace in fall and winter.
Add extra lamps in dark rooms or dark corners, and turn on the lights when you show the home to prospective buyers.
Remove stacks of magazines, ashtrays, sports trophies, family photographs, and other distractions.

—Barb Schwarz, in “How to State Your Listings So They Sell Quickly,” The Real Estate Professional, July/August 1998) —Some of the tips in this section were adapted from “HomeStaging: The Key to Successful Selling,” by Matthew Vossier and Liz Talbot, National Relocation & Real Estate, Vol. 13, No. 6

If You're Thinking of Living In/Mountainside, N.J.; A Rural Borough of Single-Family Homes

2006-08-02T13:50:00.000-04:00

Prices quoted are a out of date but some interesting info in any case. I have removed some of the out of date info..... Please check the NYTimes.com Archives for the complete article.

January 9, 2000

If You're Thinking of Living In/Mountainside, N.J.; A Rural Borough of Single-Family Homes

By JERRY CHESLOW
THE dense concentration of retail stores and strip malls along New Jersey Route 22 turns to greenery and office buildings for 2.7 miles as the highway threads through the Union County borough of Mountainside. Under a 50-year-old zoning ordinance designed to preserve the beauty of the borough, retail services, except for restaurants and a multiplex movie theater, are banned along the highway.
''Our municipal officials were always concerned that the highway not become a jungle of strip malls,'' said Mayor Robert F. Viglianti. ''We were challenged in court by developers, but our zoning was upheld.''
Just off the highway, the peaceful tree-lined streets -- many lacking sidewalks -- are also evidence of early zoning that was designed to preserve the rural character of Mountainside. There are no apartment buildings, condominiums or town houses, and virtually all the 2,400 housing units are owner-occupied single-family detached homes. Most of the houses were built before 1970 in a variety of styles, including Capes, split-levels, colonials, ranches and bilevels.
Some Streets at the top of the First Watchung Mountain, has a view of the Manhattan skyline and backs up to the Watchung Reservation, a 1,945-acre Union County park.
''The higher you go up the mountain, the better the view of New York City and the higher the price,'' per a local realtor.
She described recent sellers as mainly empty nesters, and the buyers as a mixture of young professional couples in their late 20's to early 40's and older people seeking to escape the higher taxes in neighboring municipalities.
Despite its relatively high housing prices, the borough has the lowest effective tax rate of the 21 Union County municipalities, the mayor said. Largely responsible for the tax rate are the 225 corporations that have offices or light industrial facilities in the borough. Besides the highway office buildings, these concerns are in an industrial zone just off Route 22 on Sheffield Street.
Indeed, taxation has been a major concern of Mountainside residents since the borough split from neighboring Westfield in 1895. At the borough's founding meeting, a resolution was passed condemning the use of tax dollars paid by the local farmers for the improvement of the Westfield downtown. The borough took its name from the fact that it was the side of Westfield that included the mountain.
THE only shopping area is the three-block retail district on Mountain Avenue. It was renovated three years ago with interlocking concrete paver sidewalks and Victorian-style streetlights. Most of the cost of the $330,000 project was provided by a grant from Union County. Longtime residents say the retail district looks very much like it did in the 1930's, when it was built.
''We even have most of the same stores, but under different ownership,'' said Marilyn Hart, a retired university professor who has lived in the borough since 1934. ''We have a bakery, a deli, a grocery store, an antiques shop, a shoe store, a bank, a couple of restaurants, and a post office, among others.''
For supermarket shopping, many residents go to Westfield. The closest large malls are about a 15-minute drive away -- Short Hills to the north and Menlo Park to the south. Among the better-known restaurants in town are the Spanish Tavern and the Alexis Steak House, both on Route 22.
Melissa D. Clappsy, 29, and her husband, Nicholas, 34, bought a four-bedroom colonial on a half acre on New Providence Road in Mountainside in January 1998. Both are professionals -- he works in international shipping in Manhattan and she works as a marketing professional for a brokerage firm in Jersey City. They saved for a home in Mountainside while living in a rental apartment in Bayonne, N.J.
''We wanted something that felt suburban, but was close to New York City,'' Mrs. Clappsy said. ''Living here really is the best of all worlds because we are near shopping and entertainment, yet have a peaceful, quiet life style.''
Mrs. Clappsy said that she was also attracted by Mountainside's educational system, since the couple are considering starting a family.
About 40 percent of the population is 65 or older, Mayor Viglianti said. However, housing turnover is already having an impact on the K-8 Deerfield School, the borough's sole school, where enrollment has grown by 8 percent, to 614, in the last year. The school superintendent, Gerard A. Schaller, said that by 2005 the student body is expected to grow by 41 more students.
''We are already using every inch of our building and will have to find more space,'' he said. ''Studies are now being conducted to determine how to manage our growth.''
Currently, the school is supplementing its space with two trailerlike classroom modules. Among the more permanent solutions under consideration are an addition to the school or the takeover of another building that is leased to Union and Morris Counties for a combined special-education program.
Deerfield starts foreign-language instruction in kindergarten, with a world languages program that teaches children some basic French and Spanish vocabulary. Each classroom has a cluster of five computers with Internet access. By mid-January, Dr. Schaller said, the school will complete its network, which will connect all the building's computers, including those in the school library.
Mountainside students go on to Governor Livingston High School in neighboring Berkeley Heights, to which the borough pays tuition. Currently 220 Mountainside youngsters are at the school.
The high school offers 13 advanced-placement courses in English, history, mathematics, the sciences and foreign languages. It has 18 sports teams, and its Highlanders marching band is renowned for its bagpipes and kilts. Two years ago, the band defeated 28 other high school bands to win the Atlantic Coast championship.
Of last year's 182-student graduating class, 95 percent went on to higher education. That class had a combined average verbal and math score of 1,101 on the College Boards, which was 95 points above the state average.
Mountainside is also home to Children's Specialized Hospital, an 87-bed facility on New Providence Road, providing rehabilitation services. It was established in 1891 as the Children's Country Home.
About a third of the borough is public parkland, most of it county-owned and administered. This includes about half the Watchung Reservation, on the borough's northwestern border with New Providence, and most of the 147-acre Echo Lake Park, on the southeastern border with Westfield.
THE reservation has woodland trails, a new playground, the county-owned Watchung Stables and the Trailside Nature and Science Center, which features a planetarium, a weather station, a natural history museum and a butterfly garden.
Echo Lake Park provides boating, fishing and free concerts on Wednesday and Thursday evenings during July and August. The most widely used municipally owned recreational facility is the Mountainside Pool complex, just south of Route 22. It includes an Olympic-sized pool, a children's pool, a basketball court and a picnic area. Annual membership costs $190 per family. A complex of four tennis courts is located between the municipal building and the pool, just south of Route 22. Residents pay an annual $20 permit fee to use the courts.
The Mountainside Historic Preservation Committee is headquartered in and runs a museum in the historic Deacon Andrew Hetfield House. In 1760, the deacon built the structure as a wedding present to his daughter Abigail, who married a local tanner named Smith Williams.
Mr. Hetfield later fought in the Revolutionary War and is buried in the Westfield Cemetery. The beige center-hall colonial with two bay windows on its first floor is on the National Register of Historic Places. On Constitution Plaza just off Route 22, the house has a collection of historic photographs, artifacts and period furniture. It is open Sunday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m. in the spring and fall. Admission is free. On The Market GAZETTEER POPULATION: 7,100 (1999 estimate).
MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME: $140,000 (1999 estimate).
AREA: 4.1 square miles.
MEDIAN PRICE OF A ONE-FAMILY HOUSE: $315,000.
TAXES ON MEDIAN HOUSE: $5,000.
MEDIAN PRICE ONE YEAR AGO: $300,000.
MEDIAN PRICE FIVE YEARS AGO: $250,000.
GOVERNMENT: Mayor Robert F. Viglianti, Republican, and six council members. Mayor is elected for four years and council members for three-year staggered terms.
CODES: Area, 908; ZIP, 07092
SCHOOL SPENDING PER PUPIL: K-8, $9,901; high school, $12,500.
DISTANCE FROM MIDTOWN MANHATTAN: 24 miles.
RUSH HOUR COMMUTATION TO MIDTOWN: 56 minutes to Port Authority Bus Terminal via New Jersey Transit bus; $5.30 one way, $39 weekly.
CRIME OF THE CENTURY: In 1831, two men broke into the home of a wealthy farmer named Baltus Roll in what is now Mountainside. They dragged him outside, beat him and dunked him in a puddle of icy water. His wife fled the scene and called neighbors, who entered the house and found Mr. Roll's body in a pool of blood. The killing was reported in newspapers throughout the country, which called it ''the crime of the century.'' Two local thugs -- Peter Davis and Lycidius Baldwin -- were reportedly seen near the house shortly before the incident. Davis was arrested and Baldwin committed suicide. Davis was later acquitted for lack of evidence. A hillside that was on Mr. Roll's property was later named Baltusrol Mountain. In 1895, when a golf course was built near the hillside, in neighboring Springfield, it adopted the name. Over the years, the Baltusrol Golf Club has been host to seven United States Opens.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Betting on Demand for a Castle - New York Times

2006-07-19T10:51:00.000-04:00

Betting on Demand for a Castle - New York Times: "Betting on Demand for a Castle "

THERE is a castle being built on speculation here beside the Saddle River: an 18,000-square-foot manse with a turret, two libraries, four laundry rooms, a six-car garage, nine full baths and a 14-seat home theater. The price tag says $12.9 million.
If they build it, will a buyer come?

Good Student Test Scores Boost Home Values

2006-07-14T18:26:00.000-04:00

REALTOR� Magazine - Daily News: "Daily Real Estate News | July 14, 2006
Good Student Test Scores Boost Home Values
Student scores on state proficiency tests can drive up housing prices, a new study suggests."

Town of Westfield, New Jersey -- Welcome to the Town of Westfield, New Jersey Web Site

2006-07-14T15:39:00.000-04:00

Town of Westfield, New Jersey -- Welcome to the Town of Westfield, New Jersey Web Site
Welcome to the official web site of Town of Westfield in Union County, New Jersey. We are continually expanding the content to create a central Westfield resource center for our residents and visitors. Check back often for the latest updates."

Westfield Has 50+ Restaurants!

2006-07-14T15:12:00.000-04:00

A wide variety of cuisines are available in downtown Westfield. Check out this great ad.

http://www.westfieldtoday.com/documents/Westfield/doc_6427.MPG