: February 2012

The mild winter weather here at the Jersey Shore might be credited for the record number of Manahawkin home sales in January, getting the 2012 Jersey Shore real estate market off to a great start!

Manahawkin Housing Market Activity January, 2012

Thirty four homes sold in Manahawkin in January, 2012.  That’s a welcome sign…in 2011 only two months saw more homes sold.  In May last year, 32 Manahawkin homes sold and there were 40 home sold in June, 2011.

Another good sign is the number of Manahawkin homes under contract.  Compare this to the Manahawkin housing market just one year ago.

 Manahawkin Housing Market Activity January, 2011

While prices were higher last year at this time, compare the median sale price of Manahawkin homes price in January, 2012 to one month ago.

The Manahawkin housing market usually heats up in April.  We’re seeing an early surge in activity this year.  But uncertainty in job market continues to hamper the full housing market recovery in Manahawkin and all over southern Ocean County at the Jersey Shore.

If you’d more information on homes for sale in Manahawkin at the Jersey Shore, or any particular segment of the housing market in southern Ocean County at the Jersey Shore, contact Jersey Shore REALTOR® Laura Giannotta at 609.384.6121.   

A Hazy Shade of Winter (Speechless Sunday)

Actually, it’s a sign of spring here in southern Ocean County, where the NJ Pinelands meet the Jersey Shore. 

The NJ Forest Fire Service is conducting controlled burns along Route 539, west of the Parkway in Little Egg Harbor.

The NJ Forest Fire Service sets the small fires to clear underbrush which could intensify wildfires.  New Jersey's spring wildfire season starts in March.   

The sky was Jersey Shore blue today, but not so on Route 539 in the Pinelands!

All Housing Market Trend Reports Are Not Equal! 

The Jersey Shore means many places to many people.  It could be a family vacation home on Long Beach Island or a bungalow in Ocean Gate.

Ask anyone who lives here, they won’t tell you I’m from north or south Jersey.  They’ll tell you they live ‘down the shore’.

This presents a problem when examining housing market trends in New Jersey.  Ocean County (my part of the Jersey Shore) is poorly represented in the data.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR®) uses local market trend reports, but how accurate are they?

Well consider NAR® reports only four categories for NJ housing market trends.  

·        The Atlantic City region, covering Atlantic County.  

·        The Newark-Union region which includes Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, and Union counties. 

·        The Trenton Ewing Region which covers only Mercer County.  

·        The Edison Region, which in addition to covering Ocean County, includes Middlesex, Monmouth, and Somerset counties.

Count them…only 11 counties.  Problem is that New Jersey has 21 counties.  Basing a housing market trend analysis on these mismatched groups is misleading.

That is the basic problem with national and regional housing market trend reports.  Ocean County at the Jersey Shore isn’t anything like Somerset County.  Everything from home prices, income and employment (or unemployment) is different.

The median home price in Somerset County in December, 2011 was $325,200 while it was $226,000 here in Ocean County. 

If you further magnify the housing reports to focus on Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore, the median home price was $157,200 at the end of 2011.

Little Egg Harbor 2011 Home Sale Prices

So if you’re thinking about moving to southern Ocean County at the Jersey Shore, call Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta at 609-384-6121.

Let’s look at the individual towns; Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor, Manahawkin or Tuckerton.  We’ll examine recent home sales, the homes for sale and determine the LOCAL housing market trends at the Jersey Shore.  

When we do, I think you’ll find this is a great time to purchase a home at the Jersey Shore!

Subscribe to this blog, I’ll be examining market trends in Little Egg Harbor and other southern Ocean County communities!

We’re having a heat wave here at the Jersey Shore.  Temperatures have been in the high 50’s and 60’s.

It’s quite a difference from the winter of 2011 when our shovels and snow blowers were getting a real workout. 

Unseasonably warm weather is welcome at the Jersey Shore…but it’s wreaking havoc in my garden.  My Jersey Shore garden is suffering bulb confusion!

Looks more like April!

Take advantage of the snow free roads at the Jersey Shore.  Get your vacation home shopping started early.  Contact Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® Laura Giannotta at  609-384-6121.  Let's find your new home! 

Homes in Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore are still selling, but not at the pace of one month ago.  December, 2011 home sales in Little Egg Harbor were above average, but January, 2012 home sales declined.

In January, 2011 only 10 homes sold in Little Egg Harbor, but the median price of those Little Egg Harbor homes sold in January 2011 was more than $15,000 over the $165,750 recorded last month.

So if you’re planning to buy a home in Little Egg Harbor, what are you waiting for?

Are you afraid of prices declining further?  Don’t be!

Ask this Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® about EquityLock, Home Price Protection™.  It provides financial protection to homeowners in the event their home’s market value declines at the time they sell their home. If the market drops when the homeowner sells, EquityLock Solutions will pay the difference no matter what the home is sold for.

Learn more about how Keller Williams Atlantic Shore is working to protect home buyers with home price protection.

A Basement in Your Ocean Acres Home...Can You Live With Out It?

Three bedroom 2 bath single family homes in Manahawkin's Ocean Acres are listed anywhere between $150,000 and $299,000. There are 28 homes listed for sale in this section of Stafford Township within that range, only 8 have basements.  

Three bedroom 2 bath homes seem to be a popular home size for first time home buyers at the Jersey Shore. 

But, first time home buyers in Manahawkin should take note of the savings realized in homes without a basement.

The $150,000 to $299,000 price range is what homes are listed for.  Savvy buyers realize what counts is not what the Ocean Acres home is listed for, but what it sells for. That's what matters to buyers (and their appraisers) and sellers in Manahawkin.

Sale price tells it all! From the sales since January 1, 2012 it would appear that a basement will cost you about $30,000 in a 3 bedroom 2 bath home.

Statistics from the Jersey Shore Multiple Listing Service show four homes with 3 bedrooms, 2 bath sold since January 1, 2012 in Manahawkin's Ocean Acres. Only one of these home was a short sale. Even so, check it out.

So if you can live without a basement you could save a significant amount on your 3 bedroom 2 bath home in the Ocean Acres section of Manahawkin.

The Power of Blogging is Ongoing or Are Tax Appeals That Interesting!

I wrote a blog last year about property tax assessment appeals in Little Egg Harbor and New Jersey.  I explained that the NJ state regulations for the tax appeal process apply statewide, not only in my corner of Little Egg Harbor at the Jersey Shore.   Last year, I got calls from several home owners, and all were successful in the Little Egg Harbor tax appeals.

Well guess what, good things multiply!.  I've already completed one Jersey Shore tax assessment appeal market analysis in 2012, and I'm working on 6 others....all calling from a search on the Internet  (A February, 2011 blog)!

If you're a New Jersey real estate agent you know we don't charge for this service, a Comparative Market Analysis. 

But I do ask that these callers (and emailers) to mention me to friends and family that are ready to buy or sell.  And though I email the report, I also drop off a hard copy.

The one referral I got last year equals time spent.  The requests I have this year will equal more than time spent.

If you think you want to appeal your New Jersey taxes read about the tax appeal process , and this Little Egg Harbor REALTOR® will provide the information you need so you can figure out your options.  Remember, this Comparable Market Analysis is not an appraisal.

What you need to know about tax appeals at the Jersey Shore in New Jersey.

‘Green Labels’ Confuse Me!

You’ve decided a painting project will help you get through the dreary days of winter.

Simple right?  Not if you’re trying to be environmentally responsible.  Interior paints are not all environmentally equal.

There are five ‘green designations’ for paint…and they don’t all test for the same things!

Greenguard:  Measures VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) levels, and only allows trace amounts.  Manufacturers measure the paint during drying and pay $3000 or more to Greenguard for testing and logo use.

Green Seal:  Measures VOC’s, some hazardous and rates performance.  Manufacturers pay $2500 to $9500 for Green Seal testing and logo use.

Green Wise:  Limits VOC’s and odors.  Part of the membership fee that companies pay is used for product testing by the Coating Research Group, an industry organization.

GreenSure:  Sherwin Williams created and self-regulated.

Green Promise:  Benjamin Moore created regulating VOC’s in the base paint and colorants.

If you’re planning some painting this winter (especially with the windows sealed against the Jersey Shore’s wintery wind) do some research first.    

 Atlantic City’s Steel Pier Regresses (One Woman’s Opinion)

The new owners of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier plan to resurrect the diving horse act much like the original attraction made famous in the 1920’s.

The plan was announced this week, when the Casino Redevelopment Authority approved its contribution to the first phase of the Steel Pier improvement project.

The diving horse act made two month reappearance in 1993, but was cancelled following protests by animal rights groups.

The new Pier owners claim the diving horse is iconic, and people need to look at the big picture.  They claim this small part of the Steel Pier redevelopment will bring family entertainment back to Atlantic City.

To the developers my question is, what are you thinking?  I would never bring children to a spectacle like this.

Jeff Hirst, a New Jersey native who now resides in Ohio, has started an opposition petition.  This proposal to bring back diving horses to Atlantic City outrages me, if this outrages you too sign Jeff’s petition.

Barnegat NJ Homes for Sale – January, 2012 Barnegat Housing Market Report

There are 292 homes for sale in Barnegat, NJ.  This includes single family homes, condos and adult community homes.  Prices for single family homes that sold in January range from $84,900 for a 4 bedroom 1.5 bath government owned home in the Settlers Landing section of Barnegat Township to $370,000 for a 5 bedroom 2.5 bath home on almost a half-acre in the Brookville section.

Two of the homes that sold in January were in Barnegat Township’s Heritage Point and Four Seasons adult communities.  In Four Seasons at Mirage the 3 bedroom 3.5 bath home sold for $263,000, after lingering on the market for more than 500 days.  That home was first listed in March 2010 at $359,000.  The 3 bedroom 3 bath home in Heritage Point sold for $318,000, after only 32 days on the market.  Also sold in January was a manufactured home in Barnegat’s Pinewood Estates Adult Community.

The days on the market tells the story!  If you want your home in Barnegat, or anywhere in southern Ocean County at the Jersey Shore, to sell price it right.  Call Jersey Shore REALTOR® Laura Giannotta to find out if your home is market ready and what it might sell for in today’s market.

This home in Barnegat’s Heritage Bay adult community is listed at $220,000.

Check out all 5 Cardinal Place, Barnegat has to offer!