| "How's the market"? As you can imagine, that is the question that I get asked the most. On my website I have a market report section that is updated every quarter. Click on your town on the right hand side bar for your updated report. If your town is not included- email us and we will send one to you. You may be surprised to note that in Rumson,for instance, the price ranges that are currently selling the most are $500,000 - $600,000 and over $2M Homes. Over $3M still take longer on average - the luxury market for obvious reasons always takes longer in any market. Rates remain low, inventory is still high, so plenty of choice, and with some very motivated sellers It is a GREAT time to buy. I believe in real estate. I bought my first home when I was 19 years old in London, which is currently one of the highest priced cities in the world!. I continue after 20 odd years in this business to believe in it. I have continued to buy and just recently purchased a home in Middletown and a 1768 farmhouse in Eatontown. For those first time buyers or if you have not owned a home for three years the $8000 credit is good until December 1st, 2009. Use it. The second most common question - " When will we hit bottom"?. Simple answer - "I don't know', and guess what neither does anyone else!!. I do sense the decline in buyer confidence abating and that we appear to be leveling off. This does not mean that prices will suddenly go back up, as with any cycle it takes a long time for the cycle to complete. It does not spike and plummet like the stock market, and I do not see prices going up anytime soon. Therefore,my advice to the seller who is thinking of waiting- you might have to wait for several years just to get back to where we were 2 years ago. For the buyer, I advise moving ahead in this period before mortgage rates move upward and change the affordability factor. Smart sellers have been moving with the market, pricing correctly the first time and selling quickly, freeing up equity to invest in other real estate. Remember, selecting a realtor is not like choosing a pair of shoes. Please consider the size of the transaction before deciding to place the responsibility upon a friend or acquaintance to represent you. Besides intelligence and knowledge, look for integrity and ethics. Some agents do less transactions but with better results. Speaking as an agent consistently in the top 1% of my industry, I encountered agents wiling to take short cuts with their ethics and integrity; these actions usually represent the agents interests better than yours. Meaning you may get your house sold, but at the short end of the stick, and sometimes end up being in a position of having to take less than you might have. Even a good agent is only as good as their client allows them to be. In some cases the client ignores good advice and ends up selling for less later on. When I opened Resources Real Estate, I decided to open a specialized boutique agency that would "out behave" other agencies and provide an unprecedented level of expert advice and service to clients. In some instances it may not be what the client wants to hear, but it is only when one has factual honest information the client can make informed decisions. A few years ago, we realized that in order to maintain our high level of quality, not only did we have to continue to be selective with our choice of agents,we also would have to be selective with our clients. We have evolved into the premier 'go to; private boutique agency. We will not compromise our standards to become a McAgency, with high numbers, and a string of unhappy clients. I suggest you interview us first before making any real estate decisions, and get the honesty your deserve - if we are not a good fit, then by all means we both have the option not to work together. Either way our consultation is at no charge. A large part of my business comes as personal referrals from previous clients and from professionals like accountants and attorneys. I appreciate the confidence placed in me and I invite you to watch some client videos to get more of a sense of what we are about at RESOURCES Real Estate. Carolynn |