Posts Tagged ‘Basking Ridge Market information’

Many people think that next to the winter holidays, the summer is the worst time to sell a home. I have to disagree!  Just this weekend – a holiday weekend – I negotiated a contract on a Society Hill townhouse, fielded a call from another agent looking for comp information as she was negotiating a contract, and my partner Gerry and I both showed homes.  There is a definite market out there.  In fact since June 20th, there have been 14 contract sales in Basking Ridge.

A few years ago, I wrote about selling your home in the summer months - now I have some additional tips for you:

Summertime means barbecues, outdoor fun and lots of sunshine, flowers and greenery. The commonality among all of those rites of summer is that they draw attention to a home’s landscaping and outdoor spaces. Homeowners who are selling their home in the summer months should make an effort to highlight their home’s usable outdoor space.

In addition, sellers with their home on the market during the summer should keep these considerations in mind:

• “Stage” your backyard so that buyers can envision themselves relaxing and entertaining there. Power wash your deck or patio as well as your outdoor furniture, replace worn-out cushions and make sure to have a few simple outdoor accessories.
• A fully landscaped yard will save buyers time and money. Ensure your front and back yards appear maintained by trimming overgrown trees and shrubs, and making sure your lawn is manicured regularly.
• Inside, keep your home cool for showings and Open Houses. Setting the air conditioner to a comfortable level, or using fans and opening windows to let in a cool breeze, will help buyers focus on your home and not how warm they are.
• Guard against heat-related smells by emptying all garbage cans and fully cleaning your home before any showings, focusing specifically on bathrooms, laundry rooms and kitchens

These tips will help ensure that as potential buyers are considering their options, your home will outshine the competition!

Good Luck and have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Consumers are busy buying houses, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which announced this week that its Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.4 percent in August to its highest level since March 2007. The uptick in pending home sales marked the seventh consecutive monthly increase, the longest in the series of the index which began in 2001.

A forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed to purchase a home, the Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast jumped 8.2 percent from July and is 12 percent higher than August 2008. 

Conditions remain ideal for purchasing a home. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are averaging less than 5 percent and nearing the all-time low set in March. In addition, first-time buyers still have a few weeks to get under contract in time to take advantage of the $8,000 buyer tax credit.

Are you interested in buying or selling your Basking Ridge home?  Click here for to see what’s for sale in Basking Ridge or here to get an estimate of your home’s current value.

If you follow my site, you know that I post monthly closed sales.  One thing I also do is categorize and analyze the data.  One thing I haven’t done is figured out how to graphically display it in a meaningful way.  So each month, I capture the data, I look at it and draw some conclusions in my mind – maybe I share them with Carl as we watch television (I always seem to be watching televsion with my laptop in my lap), but it doesn’t go much further than that.  Well, except that all the data in my head helps me do my job better!  Anyway, I thought I would share this month’s stats.

Break down by Townhouse community:

The few things I find worthy of comment: we had the exact same number of closed sales in September, 2008.  The average sale price of a single family home that closed in September, 2009 exceeded $1,000,000 – that was very surprising to me given that inventory in that price range has been high and sales have been slow.  At first glance, average over all sale price also looks high to me. 

Soon, I will work on the best way to post this information each month…. if you have any ideas for me, please let me know!

If you are thinking of buying a home in Basking Ridge,  view Condo and Townhouses for sale or check out the single family home listings.  Thinking of selling?  I can help you understand the value of your Basking Ridge Home.