Homes for Sale in Bergen County

Bergen county news with an emphasis on aspects affecting real estate, residency and community issues.

Homes for Sale Time
Real Estate in Bergen County Simmers Down
Bergen County Towns Receive Grants
Englewood Delays Property Revaluation
Home Owners Survey by National Association of Realtors

Homes for Sale Time

Springtime is here, and "open house" and "for sale" signs are to be seen everywhere. However unlike other spring seasons, realtors are working harder this year. For example, a house in Teaneck has been up for sale since a few spring seasons now. The Teaneck home owner reports that while buyers come, see and like the house, nobody offers to buy it. The asking price set by the buyer has also been reduced now, due to these reasons. A standoff situation is seen in Teaneck, Cresskill and most parts of Bergen County. Thus while sellers feel that their house is worth much more, buyers are cautious and are waiting for the real estate bubble to burst. Home listing in Bergen County rose by 52% from last year and stood at 6,268 for Bergen County homes. However, sales have been lesser and 26 percent fewer Bergen County homes sold last month than in April of 2005, according to the data.

Real Estate in Bergen County Simmers Down

The real estate market in Bergen County and most parts of New Jersey is slowly coming to a simmer, say experts. The market apparently seems to be shifting from a buyer's market to a seller's market, as home listings outnumbered home sales two to one in the first quarter of 2006. Sellers thus need to be cautious as to how they must price their house and must market it well. Bergen County has reported a five-month inventory of homes in the first quarter, which means that it would take that long to sell all the homes on the market at the current pace, as per a report put forth by Jeffrey Otteau, owner of the Otteau Appraisal Group in East Brunswick. This is much higher, compared to the three-month inventory in the first quarter in 2005. The average number of Bergen County home sales was also seen to drop by 11 percent compared with the first quarter of last year. However the average number of listings increased 84 percent as per the report.

Bergen County Towns Receive Grants

Seven Bergen County towns will now benefit with smart growth projects. This comes through as these seven towns received a total amount of $332,500 in the form of state Smart Future Growth Grants. This funding will be put to use towards housing projects that support smart growth initiatives in the form of downtown revitalization or parking improvements. The Bergen County towns that received the funding include the names of Teaneck that has received $55,000. This amount will be used for a comprehensive commercial and commuter parking study which will provide strategies for coordinating the current parking operations and recommend possible improvements. Englewood has also received $55,000 which will be used to design and implement a comprehensive parking model that can better manage the city's parking and overall traffic system. The five other towns that received funding include Maywood, River Edge, Fairlawn, Elmwood Park and Wanaque.

Englewood Delays Property Revaluation

The Englewood property revaluation that took ten months and $639,000 to complete may not go into effect, as the city has decided to void the new assessments. This delay has been approved by the Bergen County and New Jersey state tax boards and has seen mixed reactions among people. While few would have saved money on taxes with the assessment, some would have had to pay more. The amount for redoing the property assessments would be borne by the city taxpayers. While few state that the revaluation was rushed near the end, leaving Englewood home owners little time to review new assessments, some stated the delay was due to new construction in the city that could lessen the tax-bill shock for homeowners. However many feel the delay has more to do with politics than anything else. Officials also stated that as the housing market might cool this year, assessments would make more sense when they are not done at the height of a real estate bubble.

Home Owners Survey by National Association of Realtors

The 2006 National Association of Realtors Profile of Second-Home Owners revealed that baby boomers continue to dominate the home market in second home purchases. A growing number of second home owners of up to one in ten are seen to be the minority segments. The report also revealed that today many residents own multiple properties besides their primary residence. Statistics also revealed that for all second home owners, the most recent property was purchased a median of six years ago. However, most have held additional properties for longer periods also. Among the most recent investment owners who purchased with mortgages, half said down payment funds came from savings, 28 percent from equity or sales proceeds of their primary residence, and 18 percent from the sale of other real estate.

Home in Bergen County for Your Family

You and your family deserve the best of what Bergen County has to offer, and Anat knows right where to find it for you. Let Anat walk you the process of looking for a new home for you and your family. Start with this FREE inclusive report, containing:

14 Questions to ask a Realtor
5 Powerful Buying Strategies
9 Deadly Mistakes Home sellers Make
Additional Reports
How To Get Top Dollar In Any Market
Making the Move Easy on the Kids
Six Ways To Beat The Stress Of Buying A Home
Different Reasons to Own Your Own Home
Things You Should Know about Moving
When Selling a Home

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