Jersey Shore Views...

The Jersey Shore Housing Market Heats Up in 2012!

Little Egg Harbor Housing Market - If the first weekend of 2012 is any indication, homes sales are on the rebound in the southern Ocean County communities of Barnegat, Manahawkin, Tuckerton and Little Egg Harbor.

Judging by the inquiries on my listings of homes for sale in Manahawkin, Little Egg Harbor and Barnegat, the race is on!

Add to that, a showing on Saturday with a follow up Sunday…the Jersey Shore housing market is poised to explode!  While the faxed contract doesn’t guarantee a closing, it’s a solid offer!

And why not buy a home now in Little Egg Harbor, Manahawkin or Barnegat? 

Mortgage rates are low and home prices are low.  I’m not talking only REO and short sales.  Home prices haven’t been lower, even before the boom (bubble) years!

If you’re buying a home at the Jersey Shore, now is the time!  Contact a Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta 609-384-6121.

In June, when prices are up, you don’t want to say; would of, could of, should of!

Call 609-384-6121 today for homes for sale at the Jersey Shore!

Little Egg Harbor NJ - Has the housing Market Hit Bottom?

The housing market in Little Egg Harbor slowed in 2011, and prices decreased.  But the question most asked, "Have we hit bottom?"

First let's look at the figures to date for the Little Egg Harbor Housing Market in 2011.

So in looking at these figures, I'm looking at a reduced sale price range from 2010, but also a decreased number of homes for sale listed on the market in Little Egg Harbor. 

I know it's boring, but take a look at the 2010 figures.

 My read; We're ready for a rebound in real estatesales and prices in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. 

But take note; there will not be the extraordinary yearly/monthly increases in value that we've seen in passed year.  I think there's a leveling going on and we'll see a leveling in property values in 2012, and traditional increases in 2013 along the lines of 3% to 4%.

The unfortunate news for homeowners; that 3% to 4% increase is on your current value...not your assessed value or what you paid for the home.

If you'd like a current assessment of your home’s value Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta can provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to see how your home would be valued if it was for sale.  Or if you’re stay put you might qualify for an appeal of your tax assessment.  No guarantees, but I can provide that information to help YOU make the decision!

Laura Giannotta
Click on any of the links below to:

How to Proceed with a NJ Tax Appeal
Search the Jersey Shore MLS
Find out about buying or selling a home at the Jersey Shore
Contact a Little Egg Harbor REALTOR®

And take that we will…from the ‘What Exit’ jokes to attorneys vs chemical plants…the Garden State has been at the brunt of many jokes.  This one’s for real ... We’re rich according to tax rates but do we expect too much?  We, New Jersey, are listed as 14th out of a list of 15 as the worst run states.

" New Jersey

State debt per capita: $6,551 (6th highest)
Pct. without health insurance: 13.2 percent (21st lowest)
Pct. below poverty line: 9.5 percent (4th lowest)
Unemployment: 9.2 percent (15th highest)

Despite having the second highest median household in the country, New Jersey in recent year  performed poorly in a number of areas. Most notably, the state has the sixth highest state debt per capita. Its credit rating was also downgraded from AA to AA- in February 2011 due to concerns over its massive state employee retirement obligations."

New Jersey is trying to turn it around, so if you like to be part of the process, first thing to do if you live here is call me or go anywhere and register to vote.

This is a real estate blog, because you invest in the place you live…So expect Little Egg Harbor a REALTOR® Laura Giannotta at the Jersey Shore to send you a voter registration card, and the most up to date information on state, county and municipal elections!

{The attorney vs. chemical plant joke goes this way…”Why does New Jersey have more chemical plants than attorneys ?  Answer:  Because California had first choice.}

Open House Sunday November 20^th Heritage Bay Barnegat New Jersey

Join me at 5 Cardinal Place in Heritage Bay from 12noon until 3 pm Sunday November 20^th.  You’ve got to see this expanded 2 bedroom 2 bath home.  It’s offered at $220,000.

Heritage Bay, a 55+ community in Barnegat at the Jersey Shore, offers active adult living in a small community with only 292 homes.  While Heritage Bay is relatively small compared to other 55+ communities at the Jersey Shore, there are plenty of activities in the clubhouse, and social clubs for every interest.

Heritage Bay is located on West Bay Avenue in Barnegat, across from the Genudari’s Shopping Center.  It’s convenient to the Garden State Parkway, shopping and the Barnegat Bay.

Need directions to 5 Cardinal Place in Heritage Bay?  Click here for bing map directions to Barnegat

Little Egg Harbor’s Winding Run Development 

The history of the Winding Run development in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore is an interesting one.

Kara Homes began construction at the height of the housing market.  At times it seemed like the price point for these homes was increasing monthly.  The sale price for these new homes topped out at almost a half million dollars.

The bottom fell out for Kara Homes, a New Jersey based development company in 2006, and they declared bankruptcy.  That was the beginning of the housing market decline in southern Ocean County.

The uncompleted homes were finished by another builder.  But many Winding Run buyers, whose homes were not started, lost big.

The undeveloped portion of the small Winding Run development was then sold to Ryan Homes.  Ryan built and offered their own models.  Those homes are smaller and were priced far below other new homes in the area. 

This has caused problems for home owners of Kara built homes, because along with the overall decline in home prices over the last several years, new homes could be had for far less.  The result is short sale and REO’s. 

There are currently 5 homes actively being marketed in Winding Run.  They are priced from $290,000 to $370,000.

As a result of Kara bankruptcy the roads are not properly paved and storm drainage system in the development is inadequate.  Little Egg Harbor has already claimed the Kara performance bond. 

It’s unknown if or when or if the Township of Little Egg Harbor will step in to remedy the situation.

If you’d like more information on homes for sale in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore, contact Little Egg Harbor Realtor® Laura Giannotta at 609-384-6121.

There is this fellow, as the story goes, that had been lost and walking in the NJ Pine Barrens for about 10 days. (It could be true, the Pinelands of NJ is more than one million acres and very confusing once you get in there!)

Finally he sees the home of a religious 'Piney'.

Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The 'Piney' finds him and nurses him back to health.

Feeling better, the man asks the 'Piney' for directions to the nearest town and on his way out the back door, he sees a horse.

He goes back into the house and asks the religious 'Piney', "Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?"

"Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say 'Thank God' to make it go and 'Amen' to make it stop," the religious man says.

Not paying much attention, the man says, "Sure, ok."

So he gets on the horse and says, "Thank God," and the horse starts walking.

Then he says, "Thank God, thank God," and the horse starts trotting.

Than man was feeling brave, so he said, "Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God" and the horse just took off.

Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he's doing everything he can to make the horse stop.

"Whoa, stop, hold up!!!!"

Finally he remembers and shouts, "Amen!!"

The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff.

Then the man leans back in the saddle and says, "Thank God."

Foreclosures Are Making Us Sick!

What are the full effects of foreclsoure on society?  

New research by a joint Princeton University and Georgia State University study inidcates the threat of foreclosure is making us sick!

Two economists and have measured just how unhealthy the foreclosure crisis has been in some of the hardest-hit areas of the U.S.  They showed a direct correlation between foreclosure rates and health in residents of New Jersey, Arizona, Florida and California.

Each state was analyzed by ZIP code, comparing foreclosure rates to reports of emergency-room visits and hospital admissions for stress-related conditions from April 2005 through December 2009.

Their conclusions published last month by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that an increase of 100 foreclosures corresponded to a 7.2% rise in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for hypertension, and an 8.1% increase for diabetes, among people aged 20 to 49.

This will cause bigger problems in the future because many of those seeking emergency room services are unemployed and without health insurance to pay the hopsital bills. 

Now there's a call for health care dollars in any government funding to deal with the crisis in the housing market!!  Read the NY Times op-ed . 

The days are getting shorter, and the nights cooler here at the Jersey Shore.  While we are not treated to the dazzling autumn colors that our neighbors to the north experience; the oak, maple and birch trees scattered among the scrub pines usually put on a colorful display.

But this year, according to the atmospheric experts/prognosticators, we don't have the usual color due to high humidity.  So I've noticed other things...

I don't know what bush this is, but I took notice of the unusual color...looks more like spring

A Front Row Seat to an Unbelievable Migration!

It's not birds doing the migrating, or even snowbirds (New Jerseyans who head south for the winter), it's an insect...It's the Monarch Butterfly, and they're on the move!  

They're gathering by the thousands and building up roost sites now at Cape May Point.  The Monarchs are just waiting for favorable winds to carry them across the Delaware River for their long migration south, and winter in the warmer climes of Mexico.

Scientists too have gathered at the Cape May Point State Park to tag Monarchs to study their migration.  Biologists know where they go, but they're still studying the migration route.

It seems they gather in New Jersey, wait for just the right wind to cross the Delaware River, then the Monarchs travel down the coast and cross over through Florida and Georgia and then on to Mexico.

If you'd like to check out this spectacular event, and watch a free tagging demonstration be at the Cape May Point State Park at 2pm Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

If you'd like to see pictures of the Monarch Butterfly roosting and the butterfly tagging, check out these photos from the Press of Atlantic City.

What would a winter at the Jersey Shore be without books?    In Barnegat at the Jersey Shore we're getting ready for the short cold days of winter.  Furnace filters are being changed and lawn sprinkler systems drained.

And the Barnegat Library is set up for it's Annual Fall Book Sale.  The book sale runs from Wednesday until Friday October 7th while the Library is open.  It's sponsored by the Friends of the Barnegat Library.  The Library is located at 112 Burr Street off West Bay Ave.

Stock up on your winter reading; there are paperbacks and hardcovers, fiction, biographies, self-help, religion, politics, sports, travel, a section for children/teens and loads of cookbooks!  DVD's, CD's, books on tape and VHS tapes are also available.

Stop by, spend a few bucks, get your winter reading and support the Barnegat Library. 

If you're thinking about making Barnegat at the Jersey Shore your home, give me a call.  I'll show you the community, it's neighborhoods and all the homes for sale.  Contact Barnegat REALTOR® Laura Giannotta, 609-384-6121.