New Jersey Real Estate Agent

Tax Credit Amendment Was Approved by the US Senate                  

Princeton real estate is not completely immune from the woes of the housing market and the general economic recession everywhere else in the country. We discussed the effect of President’s Obama, TARP and potential actions by US Senate in my previous article. TARP has already had impact on Princeton real estate having stabilized banking companies and thus preventing further job losses. Many homeowners in Princeton area work in financial and related industries and the relatively low foreclosure rate in the area could have been much higher without TARP.

Last evening, the United States Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan amendment, creating a $15,000 tax credit to individuals who purchase a home in the next year. Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) were the sponsors of the amendment. here are the highlights so far:

• Direct tax credit twill apply o any home-buyer who purchases any home.
• The amount of the tax credit would be $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less.
• Purchases must be made within one year of the legislation’s enactment, and
• The tax credit would not have to be repaid.
• The amendment would allow taxpayers to claim the credit on their 2008 income tax return.
• Allowes only purchases of a principle residence
• Recaptures the credit if the home is sold within two years of purchase (tp prevent misuse)
• The amendment would sunset the current $7,500 housing tax credit on the date of enactment.

While the final details of the Stimulus Bill are still being debated, these provisions would help stabilize Princeton real estate by making purchasing a home in the Princeton area more affordable for the fist time buyers. It would also encourage the buyers who were waiting on the sidelines to come in the market to take advantage of this credit.

NJ Property Real Estate Taxes, Real l Estate Transfer Taxes, and The Economy -Poll Results

New Jersey real estate property taxes are too high – say 95.5% of the people surveyed by the NJAR® Governmental Research Foundation.  If you live in Princeton NJ, or any other town in the state of New Jersey your reaction may be: “Duh…”. You don’t need this study to know the obvious -you have your bank accounts as proof:)

Recently we examined the effects of the proposed initiatives of President Obama, TARP and Senate on the Princeton NJ homes for sale. This study some obvious and some interesting facts.

NJ Real estate property taxes

On the solution to reduce NJ property taxes the study* found:

• 36.3 percent favor consolidation of government services,
• 26.8 percent favor changing the way schools are funded,
• 12.8 percent favor reforming the state pension system, and
• 12.3 percent favor reducing government services.
• 40.2 percent believe reducing taxes and government fees is the most important issue government leaders should work on in the next two years.

Princeton NJ residents know that several attempts to consolidate Princeton Borough and Princeton Township have been defeated. It’s interesting, but not surprising given the traditional NJ political stance,  that there is no overwhelming support for reducing government services.

New Jersey Real Estate Transfer Tax

• 47.4 percent of residents support a proposal to eliminate state realty transfer fees.
• 86 percent oppose the idea of imposing a local realty transfer fee.
• 67 percent oppose the concept of enacting a seasonal rental tax.

It’s interesting that less then half of the surveyed want to eliminate realty transfer fees.  I have not met Princeton home buyers who decide not to buy their home because of the transfer taxes.

Stimulating NJ Economy

• 95.5 percent believe that the real estate industry and housing market are important to New Jersey’s overall economy,
• 52.6 percent of people believe the state is on the wrong track,
• 32.5 percent believe it is headed in the right direction,
• 34 percent believe improving the economy and attracting more jobs to the state is the most important issue facing New Jersey.
• 67.4 percent oppose raising the gas tax to pay for expanding and improving the state’s transportation infrastructure.
• 54 percent prefer creating conditions that give incentives to builders to construct affordable housing rather making polices that require them to do so.
• 76.7 percent opposed eminent domain being used for the purpose of economic development.

Overall, the findings are not surprising. New Jersey believes in the critical importance of the housing market, wants government to reduce real estate taxes and fees, yet not willing to to use eminent domain or reduce governments services.
May be it does come under the category of “duh”:)

*Source: NJAR® Governmental Research Foundation

Want to know know how the sate of New Jersey Housing impacts the value of your home?….

Thinking of buying or selling your house In Princeton NJ area -  We can help
If you are considering buying or selling a home in the Princeton NJ Hopewell Princeton Junction Montgomery  area…

Contact us at (609)-553-4175 for a FREE quote and to find Princeton Mortgage options and to search all Princeton Lawrenceville Princeton Junction Montgomery and Princeton homes for sale right now..

Copyright © 2009 Faina Sechzer, Princeton REALTORS and your Princeton Real Estate Consultants specializing in Princeton, Lawrenceville, Hopewell, Princeton Junction and Montgomery Real Estate.

All rights reserved. This information cannot be copied, reproduced, transmitted, distributed, displayed or published.

Could TARP and the plans proposed by the president Obama and the Congress effect Princeton Homes For Sale?
President Obama’s plans could help Princeton homes for sale; TARP has already had impact on the Princeton real estate including first-time homes buyers, Princeton home sellers and many homeowners.
Princeton real estate homes for sale remained relatively immune to the devastating affects of the economy meltdown with median prices of Princeton homes for sale up and the foreclosures levels are relatively low. This may not continue if further fiscal interventions are not made.

The conditions in Princeton and neighboring towns of Hopewell homes for sale, or for Montgomery Township real estate, where the median prices have already declined.

Even with the median prices of Princeton real estate being up, many homeowners who bought their Princeton homes in the last several years and had to sell now, did so for prices equal or less to what they paid.

This week I discussed with a Princeton economist the impact on the Princeton homes for sale of the President Obama’s plans and the Proposals in the Senate. These ideas would apply to Hopewell real estate and to homes for sale in Montgomery Township. Here are the highlights of this discussion along with my interpretations:

• Many residents of Princeton, Hopewell, West Windsor and Montgomery Township are employed in the financial and related businesses in New York. That’s why Princeton is a great place for people relocating and moving from other areas. It is also why stabilizing financial institutions has critical impact on the Princeton real estate.

• TARP has already helped by infusing money into financial institutions and preventing many local residents from loosing their jobs.

• Had the financial sector on New York been not helped by TARP, Princeton would have not been the relative oasis of housing stability compared to other areas in the country. Employees in the financial sector loosing employment would drive up the foreclosures which so far have been few in the area.

• Various assistance parts of the bailout provisions could help first time Princeton home buyers and as well as many homeowners.

• The Federal program to buy mortgages to drive the mortgage rates to the 4.5% could help first time buyers to be able to afford Princeton homes for sale. It could also help those who’s income has been effected by the pay cuts to refinance and hold on to their homes, preventing rise in foreclosures and further declines in the real estate prices.

• The plan to use TARP to establish a special bank to buy toxic assets would shore up the banks’ balance sheets so they could start lending. Available credit could help both first time Princeton home buyers and those who need to refinance.

• Senate’s idea discussed now to offer 4% fixed 30 year mortgage rates could provide a big boost to Princeton home buyers. As proposed, it would reward those who have good credit history and saved for the down payment on their home in Princeton, Hopewell or Montgomery Township.

• Princeton is not an inexpensive choice for many home buyers. Lowering the mortgage interest rates and the idea of $7500 to $15,000 credit for first time home buyers could make more buyers to come able to afford Princeton homes for sale.

• Assisting first time home buyers could do a lot for the whole spectrum of Princeton homes for sale. When first time home buyers come into the market it has a trickle up affect and triggers more transactions in the higher price ranges.

Thinking of buying or selling your house In Princeton NJ area -  We can help
If you are considering buying or selling a home in the Princeton NJ Hopewell Princeton Junction Montgomery  area…

Contact us at (609)-553-4175 for a FREE quote and to find Princeton Mortgage options and to search all Princeton Lawrenceville Princeton Junction Montgomery and Princeton homes for sale right now..

Copyright © 2009 Faina Sechzer, Princeton REALTORS and your Princeton Real Estate Consultants specializing in Princeton, Lawrenceville, Hopewell, Princeton Junction and Montgomery Real Estate.

All rights reserved. This information cannot be copied, reproduced, transmitted, distributed, displayed or published.

To Sell Princeton Homes – Sellers need to understand Buyers

If  you planning to sell your Princeton home, you need to understand home buyers profile or, in other words, how home buyers behave and their mind set when they are looking to buy a home in the Princeton area.  This is the basic concept for marketing any product and it applies to home selling as well.  If you as a Princeton home seller understand the behavior of the buyers’ you could tune your marketing to meet the buyers’ way of thinking. Unfortunately many home sellers in and around Princeton don’t have the information to understand the how home buyers look for their new homes.

New Jersey Buyers’ Profile

National Association of Realtors has just released the Buyer and Seller profile report for New Jersey. This report has some interesting things about the buyers Princeton home sellers should keep in mind.

• 89% of home buyers used Internet to search for homes;

• 89% used a real estate professional during the search

• 42% of home buyers first learned about the home they purchased from a real estate professional;  30% learned form the Internet.
• 50% of the buyers used social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace during their search.

• Typical Internet searcher was 35 years old and visited a median 15 homes.

• Typical non-Internet home buyer was 52 years old and saw a median 7 homes.

• The typical home buyer searched for a home for a median 12 weeks.

Sellers’ Marketing Strategies

It is easy to see that Internet is one of the most important tools the buyers use in their search. This means you as a seller have to have the kind of Internet presence that beats ll the other competing Princeton homes for sale.

• Being on the Realtor.com is just simply not enough.

• There are a lot of young buyers which means your marketing strategy has to be targeting this demographic.

• Your marketing plan has to include exposure to the social networking sites.

• Buyers expect to find their dream home within 12 weeks, which leaves only a short window of opportunity to impress them before a competing property does.

The numbers are pretty telling in terms of what the Princeton home sellers strategies should be. Look for more marketing strategies in the upcoming posts. If you can’t wait give me a call at 609-553-4175, contact me here or shoot me an e-mail fsechzer@yahoo.com. You can also connect with me on all the social networking sites I participate in.

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Princeton NJ Homes for sale are the main focus of this blog. NJ, Princeton real estate sellers and buyers often ask if multiple offers happen in the Buyers market. The answer is “yes” and this article looks at the reason why.

Back at the end of the summer 2008, I wrote an article “Princeton Buyers Market and Multiple Offers” about

Princeton houses multiple offers

multiple offers happening at that time. Last week New York Times reporter Antoinette Martin to ask if this is still the case. My answer was that it is still possible -some Princeton properties for sale still have multiple offers. I wanted to to take a broader look at the issue, not limited to my experience only.  I examined all the home sales in Princeton New Jersey in the last 6 months to see how many Princeton NJ homes sold over asking price. Princeton property sale over asking price is usually a good indication of several buyers competing for the specific Princeton house.

This is what I found.

1. In the period of June – September 2008 out of 103 Princeton houses sold, 18 (17%) were sold over the asking price. Thirteen houses out of these 18 – were sold for less then $1,000,000.

2. In the period September -December 2008 the situation changed. There were only 51 houses sold in NJ Princeton. Of them 2 (4%) were sold over asking price.

3. There were homes that sold over asking price multiple times. What made these homes special? I found several common threads:

- desirable location combined with amenities, such as 134 Moore Street, and 229 Moore Street, NJ Princeton.

- pricing the homes at the pre- 2005 prices.

4. The increase over asking price for many of these Princeton homes was nominal. The ones that had significant increases had either superior location, such 21 Vernon Circle, NJ Princeton or had lowered the price to the level that attracted multiple buyers.

5. Multiple resales. Five Princeton houses sold over asking price were sold in the last 5 years. Three out of these five, were priced below the sale price in 2005 and 2006.

6. Of the Princeton houses sold over asking price only 2 lowered the price after the initial listing price. This is very important information for home sellers in NJ Princeton. If the home is priced right from the beginning it could attract multiple offers even in the weak market.

7. The situation was different for Montgomery Township homes for sale. During the period June -December 2008 there were 132 homes sold in Montgomery Township. Only 8 (6%) were sold over the asking price.

8. For Hopewell homes for sale there were 103 sold during this period, with four (5%) over the asking price.

Data is based on TREND MLS -1/8/2009 considered accurate, but is not guaranteed.

Want to know if your home could sell over asking price? Call 609-553-4175 for a confidential review. I cover NJ Princeton, Princeton Junction, Montgomery Township, Lawrenceville New Jersey, Hopewell.