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Existing-Home Sales Rise in March

Sales of existing-home sales rose in March, continuing an uneven recovery that began after sales bottomed last July, says the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®. Existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops increased 3.7 percent in March from February. The sales pace is 6.3 percent below March 2010. Sales were at elevated levels from March through June of 2010 in response to the home buyer tax credit. Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 3.9 percent in March but are 12.1 percent below March 2010. The median price in the Northeast was $232,900, down 3.0 percent from a year ago.

Christie Launches Website Detailing Property Tax Records and Other Vital Public Information

In an effort to increase government transparency, Governor Chris Christie recently launched a website that provides the public with data that makes it easier to understand New Jersey’s public finances. Included on this website, www.YourMoney.NJ.Gov, is an interactive map that displays the Garden States’ 3.1 million property tax assessment records. With the new property tax feature, REALTORS® and consumers can check individual records in their town or community, jump from record to record and compare assessments and taxes from one town to another. Records detail the address, block and lot number, property class, owner name, value of land and buildings, and the prior year’s taxes. The database will be updated annually.

In addition to property tax records, the Governor has made available performance budgeting data from 22 agencies, seven years of State spending and revenue data, 276,299 pension recipient records, data from nineteen independent authorities and purchasing data for 7,994 state vendors. Be sure to visit the website frequently to provide your feedback and view upcoming reports.

Get the Facts

Despite the national trends and statistics you might have heard, the old adage that all real estate is local has never been truer. Market facts in New Jersey, combined with national incentives, make now a good time to get active in New Jersey’s real estate market. Here's why:

• Seven-year real estate appreciation in the Garden State -- at 37% -- is five times the national average. More

• Mortgage rates are near historic lows, giving buyers a better chance to secure low payments for years to come. More

• Housing affordability – determined by home prices, income data and other factors – is high in New Jersey. More

• Increased Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan limits means more money is available, expanding your purchasing power. More

• The NJ Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) offers low-interest loans and down payment assistance to first-time home buyers. Find out more about those programs and the Live Where You Work initiative for all eligible buyers.

New Jersey’s Homegrown Advantages

With unique and attractive neighborhoods, great schools, and other benefits, New Jersey is a great fit for the three rules of real estate – location, location, location. See what makes the Garden State such a great place to live and check out our interactive map to see specific county information and local real stories.

Local Conditions

The market varies throughout the Garden State. Find out more about local markets with recent metro area reports from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®: Atlantic City • Edison • Newark • Trenton

Today's real estate market presents many unique opportunities for first-time home buyers. From low interest rates to foreclosure properties and short sales, the current economic climate puts homeownership within reach for many who might have thought they couldn't afford it.

Many first-time home buyers may not be aware of the numerous aspects involved in the home-buying process, however. As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I, along with my team, am aware of the many pitfalls that can trip new buyers up along the way. Here are five important tips to keep in mind when embarking on homeownership.

1.Study: Do your homework before you buy and be sure to review the closing numbers of comparable homes in the neighborhoods you are exploring. Use the Internet, including social media sites, to garner as much information as possible about homes that interest you and the communities in which they're located. Bring this information to your real estate agent who can interpret it and put it within proper context to your needs.

2.Credit: With today's tight lending standards, it’s imperative to clean up your credit score before applying for a mortgage. A bad credit score may not just affect your rates, but may prevent you from getting a mortgage altogether.

3.Get preapproved: Getting your mortgage preapproved gives you extra leverage with home sellers. Not only will you know what the purchase parameters are, but you may be able to negotiate a better purchase price because you can close with more certainty and more quickly. Work with your real estate agent to negotiate a mortgage contingency.

4.Title: Make sure any new additions or construction to an existing home have been properly filed with the local municipality and have been approved.

5.Inspection and appraisal: Getting a home inspection is imperative in order to weed out any hidden problems, such as mold or termites, before you sign the contracts. Problems found during the inspection can potentially be used as a bargaining chip with sellers. Likewise, an appraisal is a must to ensure the value of your purchase.

Working with a professional real estate agent is essential for all home buyers, but especially first-time home buyers. Make sure the agent you select is experienced, informed and a local expert on the areas you're considering. For more information, e-mail our team, and please forward this to other first-time home buyers you may know.

The Edgewater Square project in New Jersey will rise where Unilever once had a research and development complex.

By SANA SIWOLOP
Published: April 23, 2025

EDGEWATER, N.J. — When Lois Fein moved to Edgewater in 1984, the three-and-a-half-mile-long borough, which sits eight minutes south of the George Washington Bridge, had a waterfront so blighted with dilapidated old factories that it was impossible to see the Hudson River. The borough, which hugs a thin strip of land along the river, still bears traces of its gritty past, including a large Hess oil terminal between shopping centers on River Road, a main thoroughfare. But like other Gold Coast communities in Bergen and Hudson Counties, the waterfront here currently draws attention for its dense lineup of luxury rental apartments and condos.

Now plans are moving forward to remake the last large piece of waterfront property in Edgewater, a 22-acre site that once held a large research and development complex for Unilever, the food and consumer products giant. In 2004, Unilever sold the site to National Resources, a developer based in Greenwich, Conn. It wants to convert the site to a mixed-use center, at a cost that may reach $250 million. This development, to be called Edgewater Square, would bring both more residences and some 75,000 square feet of retail space to a community that real estate professionals say has already turned into a potent pocket market for retailing.

“Tenants in general are very excited about coming to Edgewater,” said Jon P. Schweitzer, whose investment company, Landmark Resources, based in Scotch Plains, bought a shopping center on River Road in 2004. “Because of the affluence and high education of the community, its youth and its diversity, it’s become a real hotbed for retail.” Unilever’s old site, where products like Dove soap, Wisk laundry detergent and Snuggle fabric softener were developed, still has a high fence, but National Resources has already taken down half a dozen buildings. It has also begun to address environmental contamination that John Candelmo, a construction official for the borough, described as minor. This spring, the company expects to break ground on a 22,000-square-foot municipal building that will act as a centerpiece for Edgewater Square and replace a severely cramped and outmoded structure that the borough has used since 1908.

Plans for Edgewater Square call for 300 rental apartments and 120 condominium lofts to be housed in two old Unilever buildings parallel to the Hudson River. Eventually, National Resources also hopes to offer a 1,600-foot-long public walkway along the Hudson, a parking deck for some 1,300 cars, and a host of local and national retailers in at least five new buildings. “The goal is to create a Main Street for Edgewater,” with the municipal building near stores, said Matthew K. Harding, president and chief operating officer of Levin Management, a North Plainfield brokerage firm that is marketing the retail space. Lynne Ward, a principal at National Resources, said her company saw an opportunity at the Unilever site because the borough’s population had more than doubled over the last 10 years, to about 10,000 residents, and its demographics had flip-flopped. “Edgewater has become cosmopolitan, and it has become young,” she said. Retail developers have not always had an easy time in Edgewater. Local residents and real estate executives remember the ho-hum lineup of mostly service-oriented retailers that used to dominate the community shopping center on River Road that Landmark Resources now owns.

But in November, a Trader Joe’s food store opened at the 90,000-square-foot center, called the Marketplace at Edgewater. While Mr. Schweitzer hopes to keep the center’s neighborhoodlike feel, his company has already spent $3 million on renovations. Edgewater’s retail mix is changing to reflect the borough’s more cosmopolitan makeup. While it has long been home to Mitsuwa Marketplace, which has a number of Japanese retailers, it now has four other main shopping areas. They include Edgewater Towne Center, home to a waterfront Whole Foods store, as well as Edgewater Commons, a mostly big-box center that includes Target and Staples stores. In the last five years, the borough has started to get more upscale retailers like Guess and Anthropologie at City Place, a mixed-use retail, residential and hotel complex north of the Unilever site. “People are starting to realize that even though an area like Paramus may have everything, if you can open up a second store in Edgewater, you can do very well,” said James Aug, a senior vice president at the retail services group of CB Richard Ellis in Hoboken.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/re...ref=realestate

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

RISMEDIA, September 25, 2010—Existing-home sales rose in August 2010 following a big correction in July, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million in August from an upwardly revised 3.84 million in July, but remain 19.0% below the 5.10 million-unit pace in August 2009. 

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales still remain subpar. “The housing market is trying to recover on its own power without the home buyer tax credit. Despite very attractive affordability conditions, a housing market recovery will likely be slow and gradual because of lingering economic uncertainty,” Yun said. 

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.43% in August from 4.56% in July; the rate was 5.19% in August 2009. Yun added, “Home values have shown stabilizing trends over the past year, even as the economy shed millions of jobs, because of the home buyer tax credit stimulus. Now that the economy is adding some jobs, the housing market needs to steadily improve and eventually stand on its own.”

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $178,600 in August, up 0.8% from a year ago. Distressed homes rose to 34% of sales in August from 32% in July; they were 31% in August 2009. NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of a real estate company in Tucson, Arizona, said consumers have been getting mixed signals about the housing market. “People understand the good affordability conditions with stable home prices in most areas, but they’re concerned about the economy and speculation on Wall Street,” she said. “We need to stick with the facts about the long-term value of homeownership and avoid unrealistic assessments. Tight credit and slow short sales are ongoing problems—expediting short sales will help the market recover more quickly.”

Total housing inventory at the end of August slipped 0.6% to 3.98 million existing homes available for sale, which represents an 11.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 12.5-month supply in July. A parallel NAR practitioner survey shows first-time buyers purchased 31% of homes in August, down from 38% in July. Investors rose to a 21% market share in August from 19% in July; the balance of purchases were by repeat buyers. All-cash sales slipped to 28% in August from 30% in July.

Single-family home sales rose 7.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.62 million in August from a level of 3.37 million in July, but are 19.2% lower than the 4.48 million level in August 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $179,300 in August, up 1.2% from a year ago.

Single-family median existing-home prices were higher in 10 out of 19 metropolitan statistical areas reported in August from a year ago (the price in one of 20 tracked markets was not available). Existing single-family home sales were down in all 20 metro areas from August 2009.

Existing condominium and co-op sales increased 8.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 in August from 470,000 in July, but are 17.1% below the 615,000-unit pace in August 2009. The median existing condo price was $174,000 in August, which is 2.8% below a year ago. Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 7.9% to an annual level of 680,000 in August but are 24.4% below August 2009. The median price in the Northeast was $260,300, up 7.6% from a year ago. For more information, visit www.realtor.org OR www.loisandjohn.com.

Thank you,

Lois Fein and John Schwartz

Associates of Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty, Fort Lee , New Jersey

Senate Clears Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension; May Pass as Early as This Week

By Steve Cook and Brett Arends

RISMEDIA, November 5, 2009—After two weeks of delay, the Senate cleared the way to pass a seven month extension and expansion of the tax credit for homebuyers. By an 85 to 2 roll call vote, the Senate voted to cut off debate on a package of measures that includes the homebuyer credit, making it virtually certain that the legislation will reach President Obama for his signature this week. 

The homebuyer tax credit, due to expire at the end of November would be extended through April 30 of next year. First-time buyers who are in the process of making a purchase would not need to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 credit if they close after the November 30 deadline.