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Join me at my office for a terrific seminar! Have an opportunity to meet my broker, a mortgage rep and a real estate attorney. Remember, as always: No Obligation, Just Information!
It’s that time of year – houses are being painted, walkways are being paved and power washed, beds are being mulched and decks are being stained… My husband (and sometimes real estate partner) is the 2nd Assistant Chief at Liberty Corner Fire Company in Basking Ridge. The tones sounded just after 1:30 this morning and the team was called to fight a structure fire here in town. I was thankful when he came home around 6:45 and said that everyone was safe and the house wasn’t completely destroyed. I asked if he knew what caused the fire - but he didn’t. It didn’t matter – they got it out, and that’s what was really important.
Later in the day, we were chatting again about it and he said that he had a hunch that rags were left in the garage when they shouldn’t have been. I guess I’m not the only one who had no idea that rags used to apply stain or to clean the brushes used to apply it, could COMBUST if not treated properly.
When working with wood stains or paints (especially linseed oil based), you need to be very careful about how you store the rags that are used… they need to be separated, soaked in water and then stored in a metal bucket full of water. They should NOT be left in the garage or anywhere against the house.
How many of my blog readers are using Twitter? I have to admit that I am still somewhat skeptical. Facebook? Easy – I love it, and I’ve reconnected with so many people from my past. It’s a fun place to “hang out” when I need a brain-break during the day. I see both social and business uses with Facebook and it’s easy to use. Look me up at facebook.com/JBlanchardHomes.
Twitter – that’s a different story! TweetMe, TwitterLater, Mr. Twitter, Twitterhood, Twello…there are so many offshoots – and I find it confusing! Should I make my profile private? (What good is that?) Should I make it so I have to manually approve follow requests? (I want it that way – I don’t need every Tom and Jane following me!) But, I haven’t figured out how to do that without making my profile private and I WANT to show up on the public timeline – otherwise, what’s the point? I consider myself pretty technically adept – however, when it comes to Twitter, I feel like a twit. Wait, I think that’s twitter lingo for someone who tweets…!!
Anyway, follow me at twitter.com/JBlanchardHomes and maybe you can help me figure it out!!
Or just keep coming back to www.Basking-Ridge-Real-Estate.com and keep up to date on the latest Basking Ridge real estate market!
8 properties went under contract this past week in Basking Ridge. That means offers were negotiated, attorney review was completed and inspections are underway on the following properties:
240 Potomac Drive listed for $215,000
118 Alexandria Way listed for $315,000
184 Smoke Rise Rd listed for $649,000 (SOLD in less than a week!)
33 Amherst Dr listed for $649,900
77 Huntington Road listed for $769,900
5 Rachel Court listed for $1,199,000
221 Woods End listed for $1,195,000
4 Royal Oak Drive listed for $1,850,000
There are an additional 11 properties that are working through attorney review.
Please call me if you would like more information about any of these Basking Ridge homes or visit my Basking Ridge real estate website for more information on what has sold by month.
New to the Basking Ridge market are the following 15 properties (note that some of these have been available for quite some time but have been relisted):
92 Jamestown Road listed for $199,900
243 English Pl listed for $270,000
2606 Hemlock Pl listed for $350,000
66 Aspen Drive listed for $409,900
33 Cannon Court listed for $479,999
13 Bradford Ln listed for $549,000
76 Patriot Hill Dr listed for $619,000
86 Atlas Road listed for $620,000: relisted with a new broker
244 Patriot Hill Dr listed for $634,900
28 Gold Blvd listed for $765,000
2 Scotsman’s Way listed for $849,000
77 Stockmar Dr listed for $949,000
130 Culberson Rd listed for $1,100,000
55 Butternut Lane listed for $1,795,000
184 Smoke Rise Rd listed for $649,000
As of this evening, there are a total of 254 listings showing active in the MLS.
Please call me if you would like more information about any of these Basking Ridge homes or visit my Basking Ridge website to sign up for listing alerts in and around Basking Ridge.
I think the answer to that question depends on who you ask!
The following information was taken directly from the Tax Assessor page on the Bernards Township (Basking Ridge) website, and summarizes the mission and procedures for determining tax assessments here in Basking Ridge:
- The Mission of the Office of Assessment strives to maintain a fair and equitable tax base for the community based on sound assessment practices. Our plan is to treat all property types and owners impartially.
- The Assessor is responsible for identifying and placing a value on every parcel of land within the confines of the Township’s borders. The values are derived through the formulation of models developed from closed comparable sales and uniformly applied to comparable housing styles for design, quality, and location. These values become the final assessed values for residential properties and should closely reflect 100% of market value.
- The final property assessed values are reviewed and updated on an annual basis. For tax year 2006 and thereafter, the annual program will continue. All assessments are based on market trends by neighborhood, styles, size as of October 1, of the pretax year. Ratable totals may increase or decrease depending on these trends and the property condition.
- All properties are scheduled for re-inspection on a four-year rotation, which enables the adjustment of our property data base for alterations and improvements that may not have had building permits. Any properties not physically inspected will be estimated based on typical attributes of comparable housing. Annual reassessing and the re-inspection process contribute to more equitable and uniform assessments throughout the Township.
I was thrilled to find that information on the website. I did not realize that the township strives to have assessments reflect market value at 100%. I knew that Basking Ridge assessed on a yearly basis and I knew that they compare “apples-to-apples” so to speak – by looking at neighborhoods with similar homes ie: a house on Peachtree Road won’t be compared to a house on Stockmar Drive and town homes are only compared to other town homes in the same development. I think that Bernards Township has 200 distinct neighborhoods delineated for this purpose.
I had also heard – I think while I was at a Jeffery Otteau seminar last fall – that assessements in Basking Ridge are about two years behind the market.
This afternoon, I reviewed closed sales from the last 12 months – excluding new construction which hadn’t been assessed. I calculated the ratio of sale price to assessed value and then averaged it. There were approximately 300 sales, the data was a bit inconsistent – depending on the list date of the property, some were compared to 2007 taxes and some were compared to 2008 taxes, but for purposes of our discussion, I’m not sure if that matters.
The average sale in Basking Ridge closed at a price that was 98% of tax assessment. I broke it down further by price range and then again by single family versus town home/condo. In the under $600,000 range, the average ratio was 96%; between $600,000 and $1,000,000 the average was 100% (that surprised me, so I calculated it twice!) The average for properties that sold over $1,000,000 was also 100%.
Basking Ridge Townhouses and condos sold at 98% of assessment (150 sales) and Basking Ridge single family homes also sold at 98% of assessment (142 sales)
What sort of conclusions do you draw from this information?
For more information on the value of YOUR home in the current market, visit the Basking Ridge Real Estate website.
Based on how busy I’ve been and the number of calls that are coming in on my Basking Ridge (and Bernardsville and Bridgewater) listings, I have a hunch that market absorption in Basking Ridge has significantly improved. So I’m spending some time tonight reviewing the numbers.
Since I didn’t report the information last month, I can’t show you the comparisons, though on June 3rd I did blog about the $1m+ range as well as Basking Ridge overall. Based on what I calculated tonight, the overall township rate has improved, but the higher level price range hasn’t changed much. Here are the numbers by price range:
- Under $300,000 – 3 months of inventory with 33 homes available
- $300,000-$600,000 – 6.5 months of inventory with 91 homes available
- $600,001-$999,999 – 4.7 months of inventory with 66 homes available
- $1,000,000 and over – 6.7 months of inventory with 67 homes available
The overall market absorption in Basking Ridge is 5.2 months with 257 properties available. An absorption rate between 5 and 6 months is indicative of a balanced market, a market in which neither buyer nor seller have the upper hand. If we can maintain a normal market absorption rate, maybe, just maybe, we’ll begin to see some appreciation of our Basking Ridge real estate values once again!
For more information about the properties available in and around Basking Ridge, visit www.Basking-Ridge-Real-Estate.com to sign up for listing alerts.
I think that Market Absorption is a great way to monitor the market, but it’s not the end-all-be-all. Monitoring it too closely is sort of like getting on the scale every day when you are on a diet – - it will make you crazy! It’s enough to know that Basking Ridge Real Estate is highly desirable. Basking Ridge schools are second to none and we have a relatively easy commute to New York City. In fact, the fact that it is a little longer of a train ride than Summit or Westfield has probably worked in our favor when it comes to keeping our property values a little bit lower – making it an affordable choice for a home on a sizable piece of property and for keeping our taxes in check.
Are you enjoying this Basking Ridge real estate blog? Please comment and let me know what sort of information you find most useful and interesting and please, by all means, tell your friends about it!
10 properties went under contract this past week. That means offers were negotiated, attorney review was completed and inspections are underway on the following properties:
127 Smithfield Ct, listed for $269,000, DOM: 61
269 Penns Way, listed for $295,000, DOM: 35
98 Elmwood Ct, listed for $339,999, DOM: 110
5 Brook Ave, listed for $410,000, DOM: 59
38 Maple Run, listed for $549,000, DOM: 104
393 Mountain Road, listed for $899,000, DOM: 90
80 Shannon Hill Rd, listed for $1,049,000, DOM: 63
51 Stockmar Drive, listed for $1,099,999, DOM: 14
81 Blackburn Road, listed for $1,175,000, DOM: 55
64 Vanderveer Drive, listed for $1,189,000, DOM: 18
There are an additional 8 properties that are working through attorney review.
Please call me if you would like more information about any of these Basking Ridge homes or visit my Basking Ridge real estate website for more information on what has sold by month.
New to the Basking Ridge market are the following 11 properties (note that some of these have been available for quite some time but have been relisted):
225 Arrowood Way $359,900
116 Countryside Drive $374,000
21 Prescott Court $479,999
2 Raleigh Court $548,000
20 Riggs Court $575,000
12 Hancock $659,00
65 Lake Road $725,000
76 Huntington Road $749,000
13 Witherspoon Lane $918,900
22 Sentinel Drive $999,999
10 Rachel Court $1,199,900
Please call me if you would like more information about any of these Basking Ridge homes or visit my Basking Ridge website to sign up for listing alerts in and around Basking Ridge.
that Basking Ridge has gone GREEN?
The township has already recieved several awards and recognitions of achievement including the Certificate of Enviromental Stewardship from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection. We have been named as a Tree City, USA by the The National Arbor Day Foundation and the Bernards Township Sewerage Authority has been selected as a Green Building of America.
You will find recycling containers in the downtown businesss areas as well as in our parks. We have 3000 stormwater catch basins, we have green parking lots and loads of bike and walking trails. These are just a few of our townships initiatives to Go Green!
For more information, visit www.Bernards.org and click on the Being Green link.
Contact me for all of your Basking Ridge needs; if I don’t readily know the answer, I will be happy to research it for you!
Society Hill is a Hovnanian built development of about 800 units – townhouses and condos – split into two associations (Bernards I and Bernards II). Constructed in 1985, there are several different floor plans:
- Two bedroom units: An interior and an end unit. Featuring 2.5 baths, and two master bedrooms, one model with an added sunroom (an extension of the living room).
- Three bedroom units: Several models including end units as well as interiors. Each featuring three bedrooms and 2.5 baths, one model with an added sunroom.
- Condos: Three levels – penthouses have cathedral ceilings and fireplaces.
Some of these units back to woods and several have lovely pond views. Both Bernards I and Bernards II feature a pool and a club house. These units do not have basements or garage. The community allows dogs.
Search the townhouse market on my website, or keep up to date with notification of new listings. Check back regularly to see what has sold in Basking Ridge.
The Bernards Township Department of Parks and Recreation presents Plays in the Park, a Summer Concert series and Movies and Games in the Park. Schedule is as follows:
Summer concerts are on Tuesday nights at 7:00 starting July 7th at Pleasant Valley Park with the Ridge High Auditorium as a rain location. Featured performers, in the following order: The Koots, Jimmy and the Parrots, Hoi Polloi and Beatlemania Again
Movies in the Park are on select Wednesday nights at 8:45 at Harry Dunham Park – rain or shine. Movies are: Hotel for Dogs (PG) on 7/1, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (PG) on 7/8, and Kung Fu Panda (PG) on 7/22.
Family Game Nights are on select Wednesday nights (time TBD), featuring Guitar Hero on 7/15 and Wii Sports on 7/29.
Plays in the Park at 8:00 in the Pleasant Valley Park Ampitheater. Featuring Oliver (7/9-/711 and 7/16-7/18) and You Can’t Take it With You (7/24-7/25 and 7/30-8/1).
All events are FREE – Bring a blanket or lawn chair for concerts, movies and plays.
See you there!