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"TRUTH IN NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE" ( Vol #2 ) 2010 Market Trend Messages:

Sat, 22 May 2010 00:33:00 -0400

"TRUTH IN NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE" ( Vol #2 ) 2010 Market Trend Messages:

LEISURE LAND & PROPERTIES REALTY - Robert J. Gaffney / Sales Executive - 570-228-9126

My Mission Statement:

"To inform the public in the TRUE Real Estate market currently effecting New Jersey, and to educate consumers in making better informed decisions on purchasing a home."

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The market is hot and the home prices are the best they've been in years. Take advantage of the current events unfolding in the real estate market.

Grab a piece of the AMERICAN DREAM while you have the advantage.

I can help you find a property throughout Northern New Jersey. Either in, Hudson, Bergen, Passaic, Sussex or Morris Counties.

Call Robert J. Gaffney for information on any available properties. No matter what you're looking for, For Rent By Owner, Lease with Option To Buy or a regular home purchase.

I can also help you in searching for rental properties.

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A FEW FACTS ON THE NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE MARKET:

2010 Market Trend Messages:

• Taking into account a number of factors, homes are more affordable now than they have been since the beginning of 2001. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ "affordability index" is a measure that factors the average price of home sales, mortgage interest rates, average family income and other economic indicators to determine how affordable owning a home is in a particular area. The current affordability index for New Jersey is 133.2, which is for the 4th quarter of 2009.

• Increasing levels of affordability mean a home purchase is within reach for more New Jerseyans than the same time the year before. The median price of a single family New Jersey home in the 4th quarter of 2009 is over 8 percent lower than in the 4th quarter of 2008.

Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

• It is important to remember that real estate is cyclical. Home sales in New Jersey remain healthy, although there has been a decrease from the height of the market in 2005. Even without the federal home buyer tax credit incentives, right now is an excellent time for financially capable consumers to buy because of high affordability and near record-low mortgage rates.

• Buyers and sellers need to feel comfortable with their decisions about whether now is the right time to purchase a home. For most people, purchasing or selling a home is more than a strictly financial decision. Whether it’s finally realizing the joy of raising a family, celebrating a long-awaited retirement, or relocating to pursue better employment opportunities, for many people a real estate transaction is the realization of a dream. Individuals should talk to a REALTOR® about the real estate options that exist and will help them to achieve their dreams.

• It is important to remember that during this period of transition, sellers may get less for their house than other homes in their neighborhood might have in the past few years but, in turn, they may pay less for the next house they decide to purchase. In addition, buyer incentives help sellers. The more buyers able to enter the market, the larger your potential pool of purchasers will be.

• The 2009 median price of a second home in New Jersey was $246,300. Because of the relatively high amount of inventory, there are plenty of affordable options that, when paired with low interest rates, could be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Who wouldn’t want their investment to double as a vacation getaway and a foundation to build lasting memories?

• A REALTOR® should be the first point of contact for consumers who are interested in purchasing or selling a home. REALTORS® have the expertise to help consumers navigate local real estate market conditions. With the help of New Jersey’s approximately 50,000 REALTORS®, the complexities of regional, state, and local housing markets can be demystified and many misperceptions can be corrected.

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Just a phone call away.

Please call me on my cell @ 570-228-9126 for immediate assistance.

or e-mail me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Please be sure to visit www.robertjgaffney.com to leave a comment about this or any article and to sign up to become a member for instant updates to your e-mail with specific Real Estate information.

I appreciate the feedback.

Thank You

Leisure Land & Properties Realty

Robert J. Gaffney - Sales Executive "GO-WITH-GAFFNEY"

98 Sparta Avenue

Newton, NJ 07860

(CEL) 570-228-9126 (preferred contact #)

URL: http://www.robertjgaffney.com

E-MAIL: robertjgaffney@hotmail.com

"Se Habla Espanol"

"TRUTH IN NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE"

Wed, 19 May 2010 11:41:00 -0400

"TRUTH IN NEW JERSEY REAL ESTATE"

My Mission Statement:

"To inform the public in the TRUE Real Estate market currently effecting New Jersey, and to educate consumers in making better informed decisions on purchasing a home."

Leisure Land & Properties Realty -

Call Robert J. Gaffney @ 570-228-9126 for more information.

The market is hot and the home prices are the best they've been in years. Take advantage of the current events unfolding in the real estate market.

Grab a piece of the AMERICAN DREAM while you have the advantage.

I can help you find a property throughout Northern New Jersey. Either in, Hudson, Bergen, Passaic, Sussex or Morris Counties.

Call Robert J. Gaffney for information on any available properties. No matter what you're looking for, For Rent By Owner, Lease with Option To Buy or a regular home purchase.

I can also help you in searching for rental properties.

A few facts on the New Jersey Real Estate market.

•With home prices reaching low points across the country, New Jersey’s unique advantages still make it a smart place to invest in real estate. In the long term, New Jersey homes appreciate better than the nation as a whole. On average, long-term appreciation of homes in the Garden State have been shown to exceed the national rates 5 times over.

•Mortgage rates are near historic lows. Though some buyers are waiting for home prices to hit rock bottom before entering the market, buyers that are looking to take advantage of long-term savings realize that now is the perfect time. If you wait to buy a home thinking prices will fall, you run the risk of interest rates climbing higher, which can have a major impact on your monthly payment.

•Loan limits on mortgages secured by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have been increased in high-cost areas, such as New Jersey, until December 31, 2010. The home loan limit you can receive from the federally-backed agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is set at 125% of your local area median home price and is capped at $729,750.

•The current rates are good news for sellers too. With low interest rates, more buyers will be able to enter the market.

•Waiting for prices to drop could cost you. A buyer obtaining a 30-year mortgage of $300,000 right now at a 5 percent interest rate will pay approximately $1,610 each month in principal and interest. If that same buyer waits until sale prices drop five percent, he/she runs the risk of interest rates going up. A 30-year mortgage of $285,000 at a 6 percent interest rate will cost the buyer $1,708 per month in principal and interest. Those few percentage points can equate to thousands of dollars over the course of a mortgage.

Just a phone call away.

Please call me on my cell @ 570-228-9126 for immediate assistance.

Thank You or e-mail me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Leisure Land & Properties Realty

Robert J. Gaffney - Sales Executive

98 Sparta Avenue

Newton, NJ 07860

(CEL) 570-228-9126 (preferred contact #)

URL: http://www.robertjgaffney.com

E-MAIL: robertjgaffney@hotmail.com

"Se Habla Espanol"

Trulia Real Estate Advice & Opinions

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:43:00 -0400

Real Estate Advice & Opinions

Get this Widget

Homeowner Price Reductions?

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:44:00 -0400

Homeowner Price Reductions?

While reading an article in the Star Ledger this morning I came across a segment that talked about "Homeowners lower prices in bad market". I'm finding that the Real Estate market and industry is still a mystery to the average person. It never ceases to amaze me that homeowners put their homes on the market in a bad economy and still expect to get the price they thought up, with no market analysis, no professional direction or guidance and hope to sell the house quickly.

The article states, A quarter of the homes on the market in New Jersey have seen atleast one price reduction". When a home is placed on the market it all depends on several factors to when the property enters into a contract and closes the sale. The most important factor is price. The home can be updated, newly remodeled or have many modern upgrades just installed, but if the price is not set according to the current market and existing home sales in that particular neighborhood any realtor can tell you that atleast one or more price reductions are in the cards.

I have been on many listing appointments in my career and I've turned down many listings due to overpricing. It does not benefit me or the homeowner if the price is to high compared to all the other homes that fit the same criteria currently on the market and nearby the subject property. Sure many realtors out there will take the listing and have the home sit on the market selling all the other homes currently for sale, usually part time realtors with regular jobs and excited with the notion of just getting a listing, but what does that do for your listing. All it does, is show other realtors listing properties in that neighborhood that it's much easier to sell their listings by pointing out to thier clients the value they can achieve on his or her home compared to the over priced homes on the market, but they can get it for much less.

With the economy the way it is, with no end in site, the bargain hunters are out in droves. People on the verge of losing jobs, losing 401K plans that was meant for down payments on a first home or losing the home due to falling behind in mortgage payments the average first time homebuyer or the investor is looking to capitalize on the misfortunes of others. The problem, with all of the sub-prime mortgages that were handed out to the majority of the homes on the market today a good portion of them are trying to sell just after a pre-foreclosure, foreclosure or have no choice because they have to sell as a Short Sale. For those of you who are not familiar with "Short Sales", it is when you have passed through all of the above mentioned and now you have to sell quickly before the bank repossess the home and you end up owing what ever the amount is above what the bank sells the property for plus attorney fees, taxes and penalties.

For example, if you owe $250,000 on a mortgage, you've only owned the home for two years and through the sub-prime loan you purchased the home with a 95, 97 or even a 100% (no down payment 30 year home loan) what do you think the price is going to be? Now, lets say that home is in Woodbridge, the Star Ledger says the average of listings with price reductions are 28% and the average price reduction is 6%, you now put your house on the market at $250,000 because that is what you owe and you don't want to go into debt on a home you don't own. Now, 28% of other homes on the market in your neighborhood have had price reductions already at a rate of 6%, your price should be to start around $235,000. The problem is, you're starting off $15,000 in the hole, you don't even have an offer on your home yet and you can guarantee the prospective buyer will try discounting the price even further.

The Star Ledger also comments on "Home Sales are often driven by the price which nearby homes have sold", I've understood it to be always driven by the price at which nearby homes have sold, comparatively speaking.

This is nothing new folks, price reductions have been around since the first piece of real estate was sold. It's called negotiating the price. If the price is to high, the property will sit on the market and sell all the other homes around it. First you'll see a Century 21 sign on it, then a Coldwell Banker, then a Weichert sign and finally a "For Sale By Owner" because the property has gotten stale and all the realtors, "who are the people who generate the prospective buyers" know about it.

Well, the good news is price reductions will benefift the first time buyer, as well as the move up buyer and the investor and the economy. Price the house right the first time and you should be able to save yourself thousands of dollars in taxes, recurring fees from the bank and the always dreaded Attorney fees which could mount up to a large portion of what you may end up owing in the long run.

Robert J. Gaffney - Sales Executive

Leisure Land & Properties Realty

Off: 973-293-3267

Cell: 570-228-9126

"Rentals, Home Sales, Commercial or Business, NO JOB TOO SMALL"

Give me a comment, what are your thoughts on the current real estate market or my article, I welcome any opinions, good or bad.

Should I buy a house now or wait till prices hit bottom?

Fri, 22 May 2009 07:22:00 -0400

No one has a crystal ball to determine when is the best time to purchase a home. Many in the media and financial institutions would have you believe they know when the time is right. I'm sure clients of Bernie Mahoff thought they were getting the best, up to the minute stock and mutual fund information that money could buy. Unfortunately, the only thing the money they were investing with Mahoff was buying was expensive cars, jewelry and multiple properties for Mahoff. How did that work out for you?

The only thing you can do as a potential home buyer is trust yourself. Only you can determine the best time to buy a home according to your own financial and personal situation. As long as your head is not next on the chopping block at work, you have enough money to cover closing costs and down payment and your happy with the choice of home you picked out of the many homes that are on the market is when you should take the plunge to purchase a property.

Take it from someone that has been working in this real estate market for the past fifteen years, I've been through the ups and downs, the mid 90's were good, the late 90's were great, but the market we have today started roughly in 2005 when the banks were forced, by the government, to provide housing for low income buyers. The government told the banks and mortgage company's give loans to low income buyer's. Now, I'm sure the banks and mortgage company's either heard, "or else" or interpreted some other meaning to what was said, but nevertheless, the flood gates were opened, the water's were parted and the sky opened up to the real estate and mortgage market we see today.

The government already has Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting those in the government in the mortgage business. I just can't wait to see the day that Obama is carting client's around in the White House limosine, attending Open House's and writing contract's posing as a Realtor. Well, wouldn't that be the next step? Well he was a community organizer. Yeah, community organizer, Senator, President of the United States then Realtor, makes sense, doesn't it? I wonder, was Obama ever an Amway salesman? Anyway, you get the idea.

If you need any further assistance in any real estate transaction or information I would be glad to help you, just give me a call. By the way, I hope you enjoyed the article, let us know if you have any input that could be helpful.

Robert J Gaffney - Sales Executive

Leisure Land & Properties Realty

Off: 973-293-3267

Fax: 973-293-3567

Cell: 570-228-9126

Foreclosures / Bank Short Sales and Auctions

Wed, 20 May 2009 14:26:00 -0400

FORECLOSURE / BANK SHORT SALES AND AUCTIONS

The new thing for banks these days is to try to be in the Real Estate business. Too many times lately banks and mortgage company's are stuck in the middle of collecting the mortgage and foreclosing on your home. But, these day's, as it has occurred many times in the past, financial institutions are faced with a new fad called Short Sales. Now, to understand how Short Sales work, once you get behind in your mortgage you start to receive the letters in the mail from your bank/mortgage company. READ MORE ON www.robertjgaffney.com

Depending on the bank/mortgage company, you may have up to a full year before any foreclosure proceedings begin. Once your property is in pre-foreclosure you may have time to put the property on the market, as long as you haven't ignored the letters in the mail and you've come to grips with the fact that you are in danger of losing your home and any credit rating you may still be hanging on to. The pre-foreclosure or foreclose process has started and you have had the chance to list your property with a realtor or on your own.

By the way, it is my duty to let people know that may be currently facing this tragic situation, it would benefit anyone to use a realtor, especially for this. I say this because whoever is going to handle the sale of the property will have to in constant contact with banks, mortgage company's, appraiser's, home inspector's, buyers, attorney's as well as many other individuals involved in the sale of the property.

Now, you have your property on the market, you just found a buyer that is interested in your property. The buyer comes back with a contract and it gets excepted. Now what? You have a property that was just agreed upon for sale, but it is also in the middle of a pre-foreclosure or foreclosure process. Now the task at hand is to convince the bank/mortgage company to agree to accept the terms and conditions of the buyer and, more importantly, the price the buyer is offerring. Unfortunately, unless the buyer is purchasing the property for more than your property owes on the mortgage you will have to deal with the bank/mortgage company to see if they will accept the price.

Through personal experience, banks/mortgage company's will try to hold off, be very difficult or just try to ignore the request's made to close the transaction quickly. Banks/mortgage company's do not want to agree on a sale of a property, especially if the property is being offerred at below market value or less than the amount owed on the note.

At this point, if the purchase amount is less than what is owed on the property it will feel as if you no longer are the owner and you have to ask permission to sell your own property.

The newest craze is putting properties on the auction block instead of conventional sale. In my opinion, this is the reason why the banks/mortgage company's are "holding off" on approving Short Sales. The media likes to tell the public that Short Sale's are moving properties for the banks and the banks/mortgage company's are cooperating fully with the public. NOT TRUE.

The moral of the story, the earlier you can put the property on the market for sale, before it goes into pre-foreclosure or foreclosure, the better. I realize how difficult, frustrating and embarrassing it can be to lose your home, but it can be quite invigorating to help yourself out of your problem and not let it get to the control of others.

Robert J Gaffney - Sales Executive

Leisure Land & Properties Realty

Off: 973-293-3267

Fax: 973-293-3567

Cell: 570-228-9126

Apartments For Rent In Today's Market.

Tue, 19 May 2009 17:44:00 -0400

I recently saw an article in my local newspaper which let's potential renters know landlords are dropping rental prices dramatically. Obviously, due to the fact potential renters are not renting at the moment. On the same turn of the coin it mentions in good towns like Montclair, Cedar Grove and Caldwell there going fast. Which tells me potential renters are renting units quickly. Now come on folks, this is the real estate market, just like the stock market it has it's up's and down's. I've been selling and renting real estate for almost fifteen years and the towns mentioned that are doing well have always done well. In this economy people are looking for the best bang for there buck, "nothing new". Renters are looking for as many free services as they can get, such as free garbage pick up, all utilities included, use of yard space, etc..... Now, the reason these towns are still doing well in this economy is school systems, good public services and easy access to transportation, especially transportation with the never ending threat of higher gas prices.

People are still looking for the same ammenities they have always been looking for. The dark cloud that has fallen over everyone these days is the rising fear of losing your job from one day to another. This has become the main pitfall that landlords and potential renters have been hit with lately, not the location. Remember the the three L's in real estate, location, location, location. It still carries the same meaning today.

$8,000 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers.

Mon, 18 May 2009 18:01:00 -0400

Real Estate:

The $8,000 tax credit in the stimulus package is for first time homebuyers to make it easier to purchase a property. The $8,000 credit is a good thing, but buyers have to be aware if you purchase a home and you use the credit you need to own the home for three years or more before reselling.

The tax credit can make the Amercian dream of homeownership a reality for potential buyers who previously could not afford the investment.

Although, If you need to resell before the three years you will have to pay the money back at a very high interest rate.

If you are considering using the $8,000 tax credit you need to use it before Dec 1, 2009.

The $8,000 tax credit was only one of the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law on Feb 17, 2009.

Americans need to know what are the advantages and pitfalls of using the $8,000 tax credit.

Give us your thoughts on the $8,000 tax credit that was provided through the Obama administration.