Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp
I had my first encounter with the eastern cicada killer wasp while showing condos. I saw one of these near my garage at home and they are scary looking, but harmless to humans (unless you step on a female or otherwise try to hurt her). Males have no stingers, but will seem like they are chasing you while trying to find female wasps.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_cicada_killer
Cicada Killer Nest
Fig. 2: The nesting hole and the soil dug out by a cicada killer. Photos by Zachary Huang
http://www.cyberbee.net/column/stinging/cicadakiller.shtml
Don't think I could do that.
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~hollidac/fingerperch.html
New Ice Cream Store in Matawan NJ
I had the pleasure of attending the opening day of a new ice cream store in Matawan. I was invited by a Keller Williams agent in my office who is the listing agent for the store.
K’s Brain Freeze. Love the name and the ice cream is great too.
I tried about 7 of the 40 flavors. My favorites were Toasted Coconut, Kahlua Chocolate Crunch, and Tiramusu. I am an ice cream lover and I can say that the flavors were great. Creamy and flavorful. They have hard ice cream, soft serve, and more.
The staff was curteous and friendly.
Located at 334 Main St, Matawan, NJ at Rt 79 & Rt 520 (Main St & Broad St) diagonally across from Colonial Shops. Open 12noon – 11pm ~ 7 Days a Week.
Tell them you heard about them from Tracy Gibson, Keller Williams on MostlyMonmouth.com
Have We Hit Bottom in Monmouth NJ Real Estate?
The news media and recent reports from the National Association of Realtors may lead us to believe that we are coming out of the buyer’s market and seeing an increase in market activity. The stats in Monmouth County are not bearing that out.
Remember real estate is local, really local. Even though the overall numbers in Monmouth County may show one thing there will always be pocket of local real estate activity that may not show the same as the larger area.
Having said that, I will show hear some stats from my local MLS, the Monmouth Ocean MLS for all of Monmouth County. For statistics for a smaller area, contact me through my website at NorthernMonmouthHomes.com and will will provide you stats for more specific areas.
Here is a graph showing the number of homes sales per month for the last year. As you can see it doesn’t look that much different than last year. The real estate market is cylical and the spring summer cycle is generally an up cycle. So it is premature to think that because we are having increasing homes it automatically means we have hit bottom.
Notice that in July ‘08 the homes sales for that month were 449 and in July ‘09 there were 471. Not much of an improvement.
Let’s look at the inventory of homes on the market. Again the inventory rises and falls in seasonal cycles.
Number of homes available in Monmouth County in July ‘08 was 4603 and in July ‘09 it is 4637.
We all hope the bottom is near, but unfortunately the signs are not there yet. To make things worse there are likely more foreclosures that will hit the market in the coming months increasing inventory and effecting prices negatively.
All is not glum, however, house are still selling. In Monmouth County, as we saw in the first graph, hundreds of houses a month are selling. If you have a house to sell you need a real estate agent who knows how to get your house sold in any market. Don’t take chances by just picking any agent you come across, choose carefully.
Buying Foreclosures in Monmouth County, New Jersey
A lot of people have been asking about buying a foreclosure in Monmouth County, NJ.
Let’s begin our discussion by defining the relevant terms. Technically, a foreclosure is a bank owned property or REO (real estate owned). The foreclosure process has been completed and the bank now owns the property. Next the bank lists the property with a real estate agent to sell it. This differs from a pre-foreclosure where the owner of the home still owns it, and probably still lives in it, but is the home is in the process of being taken in a foreclosure auction (in our county is it at sheriff’s sale). You probably have heard of short sales, in which the bank takes less than what is owned as payment in full for the mortgage. A short sale is done on a pre-foreclosure property. I will do another post on buying a short sale.
Here are the pros and cons of buying a foreclosure:
Pros:
Probably discount price
Possible special financing from lender
Cons:
Property is generally in poor condition
Bank processes are slow, you must have patience
May have to sign special addendums from the bank
May have difficulty getting funding
During the foreclosure process sometimes the homeowner becomes angry and damages the property or removes items that would normally remain such as appliances, light fixtures, and even kitchen cabinets (actually happened with one of my listings.) So REO properties are generally in poor condition.
REOs can often be purchased for below market value. When the bank puts the property on the market, it generally lists it for market value, but as time passes, the bank will instruct the real estate agent to make price reductions. During this time the property is being taken care of by the real estate agent on behalf of the bank. But since it is usually vacant at this point, the home is vulnerable to vandals or in winter pipes bursting.
When making an offer on a REO you must keep in mind that the bank usually will not make any repairs to the property, you are taking it strictly “AS-IS.” So, if your home inspection shows any major defects your only choice will be to cancel the purchase, pay for the problems yourself, or try to renegotiate the purchase price with the bank. If you do go forward with the purchase you need to be prepared to take on the problems and responsibilities of the property both the ones you can find yourself or through a home inspection and hidden problems that may not be found before the purchase.
Sometimes the home inspector will not be able to inspect all systems if the property has been winterized or the utilities turned off.
If the properties you are considering are in poor condition it is likely you will need to make a low offer in order to make it worth your while to take on the problems that the house may have. If you will be making low offers be prepared to have many of your offers rejected. But keep going and you will likely find a bank who will take you up on it.
It is also worth pointing out that banks tend to take their time in making a decision as to whether or not to take your offer or make a counter offer. You must be very patient. Your patience is the tradeoff for getting a bargain.
There is one other pitfall that you need to be aware of. If the property is in poor condition it will be nearly impossible for you to get a conventional mortgage loan. You will either have to buy the property with cash or use a rehab loan. FHA offers a rehab/purchase loan program for this purpose.
So, if you would still like to purchase a bank-owned foreclosure in Monmouth County, NJ. Contact me and start making offers.
If this all seems too much for you, please shoot me an email or give me a call. There are other bargain properties that are not bank owned that may enable you to achieve your dream of homeownership.
I Owe You a Monmouth Real Estate Report
Ok, I have no excuse. I owe you the first quarter Monmouth Real Estate report. Well, maybe I do have some excuses, but I won’t bore you with them. Except to say that I was swamped in April getting my income tax return (correction: extention to file).
Trust me, the report is high on my list and I will get it done and posted as soon as I can. How about I distract you with this?:
Monmouth Real Estate – 2008 in Review
Well, it has been a tough year on many counts, especially real estate. As you can see in the chart below the inventory has stayed high and sales have stayed low throughout the year. Inventory has come down slightly by the end of the year, but sales also declined.
Monmouth County NJ - Inventory vs Sales
Comparing the fourth quarter of 2008 with the fourth quarter of 2007 shows average days on market is slightly higher than this time last year. Inventory is slightly higher than this quarter last year and number of sales are significantly lower. Median home prices have also declined, by about 10% in the last year.
2008 vs 2007 Sales Compared
We are currently at almost 17 months of inventory. This means that at the current rate of sales it would take 17 months to sell off the current inventory. We are not at the bottom yet.
For a detailed analysis of your town, contact me.
Seasons Greetings!!!!
May your Christmas be filled with many Blessings
Happy Hanakkah
Monmouth Real Estate – Third Quarter
Third quarter inventory in Monmouth County is pretty much flat with about 10% of the houses on the market selling. If you need to sell you need to be in that 10%.
Sales are on the decline after being on the rise for the first half of the year, this is a normal seasonal trend, but shows no sign of a market turn around.
Days on marking is hovering around 94 and we are currently at 14 months inventory. This means that at the current rate of sales it would take 14 months to sell off the current inventory.
The conclusion is that prices are still coming down, so if you are planning to buy this is a great time because interest rates are also low.
If you have to sell, you will need your home to be in good condition and at a lower price than the competition.
Call me and I will help you figure it all out and get the best price in today’s market in the least amount of time, with the least amount of hassle.
*Data is compiled from Monmouth Ocean MLS.
New Jersey Realty Transfer TAX
If you are selling your house you have the usual closing costs including the commission you will pay for your real estate agent, who will split their commission with the buyer’s agent and the brokers for both sides. But if you have not sold a house in a while you may not be aware that in New Jersey we must pay tax to sell our homes. This tax is called the Realty Transfer Tax. It would be nice if the government would have made this an “easy to calculate” tax, but they have not. But never fear, you can figure the amount of your expected tax over at Vested Title.
New Jersey Realty Transfer Fee Calculator
Monmouth Real Estate Midyear
We can now look back and see what the the first half of 2008 was in terms of the real estate market. This post covers all of Monmouth County. To get the stats for your specific town, please contact me by visiting my agent website: NorthernMonmouthHomes.com.
First the good news: The number of home sales in Monmouth County has been steadily rising throughout the first half of 2008, but sales still lag behind those for the previous 6 months. Even so, this is still good news. We need sales to increase to reduce supply.
In addition, the Days on Market of houses that are selling has gone down slightly. This could be related to a number of factors including: more realistic pricing, and/or more buyers who are motivated to buy.
The bad news is that prices are still declining and inventory is still rising so the competition is increasing rapidly. Only the homes with the best value are selling. Buyers want more for their money (more features, more space, better condition). If you are a seller you need to price your house so it is giving the buyer more than the comparable houses, for the same money, or if both houses are equal, your price needs to be lower to get the buyer to see value and choose your home.
Current inventory is the highest since August 2006, a staggering 4900 single family homes on the market in Monmouth County as of June 30, 2008.
Buyers are in a market of opportunity, but it won’t last forever. With interest rates low and prices down, now is the time to buy. When rates go up, the window of opportunity will close for many buyers.
Remember, if you want a copy of my market report for your town or would like a printable copy of these charts contact me through my agent website (link above.)
