New Home Construction in the Short Hills Area

New Home Construction in the Short Hills Area

I wanted to focus on some of the high-end homes on the market, specifically in Millburn and Short Hills. Many of our clients are interested in new construction and there are many misconceptions about what it takes to get into new construction and what you get for the money. First, there is very little new construction under $2 million. Actively on the market, there are two homes that are under $2 million and they are both on White Oak Road.

Of the 37 homes that are on the market above $1.7 million, one-third is new construction. Comparatively, 1/3 of the houses that have sold in that $1.7 million range were new construction as well. In the past 12 months, 81 homes have sold in that price point and 25 of those were new construction.

In regards to the $2-2.5 million price point, you typically get between 0.3-0.4 acre lot, 6-7 bedrooms and 6-7 bathrooms. When you breach the $2.5 million price point, you can expect to get between about a ½-3/4 of an acre lot. The average days on market for these homes is 75 days, but this can be larger due to the fact that some homes are re-listed and the selling price is about 95% of the list price. Since the homes are built on spec by the builders, it takes time for the price to come down to market value; this is where the buyers usually come in. The most raved about features for new homes is the high ceilings, low maintenance and ten year warranty.

If you have any questions or interests in these homes, please call me (973) 214-0691. Thanks and have a great day!

Summit NJ Offers Several Great Fitness, Health and Sports Facilities

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It’s gorgeous outside! And when there is beautiful weather, naturally people want to get out there and get active! So today, we wanted to share with you some of the fantastic options that are available to Summit NJ and area residents when it comes to getting out and getting busy.

We have some great fitness and health facilities, starting with the traditional sports clubs like the YMCA and other community centers. There are also some great options and various programs offered by places like the Lifetime Club in Berkeley Heights or the newest craze to hit the Summit area, Equinox – a city gym that has branched over to our neck of the woods.

Julie and her family spends a lot of time at the Chatham Club – a unique club that offers all the typical stuff you would expect from a sports club but with so much more. You can engage in squash and fencing plus the facility is used by many area private schools as a training spot for squash and other sports.

How about a tour of these and other great things in the lovely Summit area? Just give us a call. As your trusted real estate advisors we’d love the opportunity to show you around...

908 418 3390

The Craze For New Construction

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When you consider moving to this area you will notice that many people tend to gravitate toward new construction homes. There are several reasons for that. It’s safe to say that most people love new and shiny things – and when buying a home it’s no different. But aside from that, quality brand new homes are constructed with the latest trends in mind. They are built to code, sometimes using state-of-the-art features and materials and often have high trending features that buyers today want.

Depending on when you get in on the process of buying a brand new home, there is the added benefit of being able to customize homes to suit them to one’s specific needs. The luxury features that come with new construction are exactly what buyers are often seeking and no matter how updated a resale home is sometimes it’s just not enough.

Currently in our marketplace we have homes that are completely move-in ready, some are waiting for your input on things like counters, floors, and other finishes and still more homes are so early on in the process that you can completely customize them.

New homes are a little harder to come by – there is not always enough land in the areas that people want new homes in so unless builders come in and tear down existing homes sometimes finding the perfect combination is a stretch. Most of these homes in our area start at around $2M; if you’d like to see one of my listings or any other on the market right now – call me today!

Multiple Offers – How to Win

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Everyone’s talking about it. The market is on fire and if you’re a seller, THAT’S GREAT! But if you’re out there trying to find a home to purchase right now there is plenty of competition and quite frankly, it’s probably getting to be very difficult.

But through my many years of experience and dealing with multiple offer situations while representing the buyer’s side of the transaction, I’ve developed some very effective strategies to help you win the bid. Here are five tried and true ways to turn up the heat on your offer and get it noticed.

Know Your Limits Then Reach for the Sky
Now’s definitely not the time to be playing negotiating games. Sure, that might have been a strong strategy just a few years ago when there was an overabundance of homes on the market and not near as enough buyers to accommodate them. But today, it’s a completely different story. Figure out the highest price you are able and willing to comfortably pay in a multiple offer situation and don’t be afraid to offer that much.

Make It Clean, Make It Simple
As a Realtor® that also represents sellers, I often come across a stack of offers and am sitting there sorting through them with the expectation they will be presented to the seller. The last thing I want to do is confuse the seller with jumbled language, lengthy verbiage or unreadable handwriting leaving us both to wonder what an offer says. Write a simple, clean offer with as little room for confusion as possible without being vague. A simple cover letter summary page is a great way to highlight the bullet points of your offer.

Demonstrate Financial Strength
No seller wants to dapple with offers that are not 100% solid in terms of financial viability. When looking at several offers, a small earnest money deposit or limited down payment can be viewed as lack of interest of worse, appear to be an inability to afford the property. If you are offering to make a down payment, show proof of funds through a letter from your bank or investment firm and make sure to include a preapproval letter from your lender.


With Down Payment and Deposit, Less Is Not More
When sellers are reviewing offers they are looking for what they perceive as strong interest. It goes without saying that more money is a demonstration of high interest level but how you offer to pay is another consideration. Cash offers are always very attractive since they entail fewer contingencies and procedural hurdles to jump through. But even a larger down payment is more attractive than very little money down. If you can afford it, put down at least 10 percent on the home and submit an earnest deposit amount of at least 1% of the purchase price.


Minimize Contingencies
Many offers contain contingencies, upon which the purchase agreements depend before being executed. For instance, a buyer might make an offer on a home contingent of the sale of their existing home. There are also inspection and mortgage contingencies. You may not be able to eliminate all of them but whenever possible try to be flexible. Shorten the length of time for buyer investigations by offering to schedule your inspections soon after your offer is accepted.
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These are just a few of the strategies we employ when serving our buyer clients in what is a very strong seller-controlled marketplace. If you’d like to hear some more of the tricks we have to get you the home of your dreams, contact me today at 973-214-0691.