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 516 (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

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.

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.

1. The Ocean –

   When I was a little girl we went “down the shore” for vacation every year for a week.  We went Seaside Heights, which is in Ocean County, but that is still not far away from my home in Matawan. 

   All through my childhood, I have great memories of those yearly stays “down the shore.”  The beach, the ocean, the boardwalk, the pizza, the Kohr’s Ice Cream (Custard), the rides, the shopping, Lunch at Sinns and much more. 

   Every time I visit the Ocean (about a 20 min drive from my house), I re-live many of those memories. Unfortunately, I don’t visit as often as I should.   But it is still there, never changing.  Whether I visit Sandy Hook, Long Branch, or Ocean Grove, it is a wonderful feeling.  My dream is to own a beach house someday.

2. Shopping –

   Wow where do I start.  You can shop at Monmouth Mall, Freehold Raceway Mall, or Seaview Square Mall.  In the mood for small town shopping there is Red Bank, Matawan, Freehold, Spring Lake, and more. 

3. Eats –

   Here is a good place to start, the Asbury Park Press Best of the Shore Awards.  Here are the 2007 winners for Best Eating and Drinking.  Say no more.