Homes for sale in Millburn New Jersey | Millburn NJ Real Estate 09/27/2011

  But we have granite is  one of those comments home owners make that both make me cringe and feel badly. Home owners are generally smart about many things however when it comes to assessing the value of the improvements in their home the line between financial investment with a return in mind and simply doing something because it brings them joy gets very blurry. Many people have an intuitive sense on what it means to be the nicest home on the block, however that’s usually a superficial judgement from the outside. How many homes don't look particularly grand on the outside only to find the homeowner spent $75,000 on an exquisite marble bathroom on a $400,000 house?  I saw a bathroom just the other day that would have fit nicely in a home ten times what this home was worth. Can we say ... 03/23/2011

How to sell your home without an agentShould you sell your home without an agent?One of my RSS feeds is wikihow. It's generally a fun lighthearted breezy read that covers all kinds of fun things I'm somewhat interested in reading about but would never actually do, like how to make a kimono girl origami, how to make a cup cake in your microwave oven, or How to Build a Homebrew Kegerator. Today's entry is how to sell you home without an agent. Since I've never really tried to escape from a sinking car or tried to make healthy cooky dough bites, I never really knew how good or bad this information was.The steps outlined in Wikihow are:Read more on how to sell your home without an agent here. 03/07/2011

    Jane Seymour will be appearing at the Wentworth Gallery in Short Hills to promote her art work tomorrow (March 4th) from 7-9 pm and Saturday, (March 5th) from 4-7 pm.     You can have her art work dedicated to you and have your picture taken with her. You'll need to RSVP at 973-569-9776.    And you thought the only exciting thing at the mall was the new Ipad2!     03/03/2011

  Many prospective buyers place great importance on the quality of a community's school system. A Race to Nowhere is a heartbreaking and thought provoking documentary that is being screened nationally. If Education is important, you owe it to yourself to find a local screening.   More information about A Race To Nowhere here. 03/01/2011

You can say anything, right?   If you're reading this, you are part of the publishing revolution. you are either participating as a reader of mostly free content or are an active blogger yourself. The blogosphere has likely revolutionized publishing forever. It has officially toppled governments and there is no putting that Genie back in the bottle.   Just ten years ago anyone with something to say would need to submit their work to a publisher, who was strictly in control of distribution. Unless we’ve been living in a cave, we know today the web has allowed a meritocracy in publishing. Anyone can post anything and it’s instantly available to everyone. What is most interesting can go viral and what is not gets relegated to the forever archives of Google.   The good news is that most of... 02/18/2011

              Our Goal is excellent customer service, continuos improvement and we strive for perfection!    Whenever I hear people or companies' goals for excellent customer service or striving for perfection, I can't help but feel how those statements are lip service that let people off the hook.    Someone can offer terrible service while striving for perfection. Companies can stink but as long as they stink a little less than they stunk yesterday, they are true to their continuos improvement mission.    Getting a knife stuck into me and then having it pulled out halfway probably isn't going to make me very grateful. How many times do we feel that way in our everyday life while surrounded by 'striving' to be the best euphemisms?   Our typical semi-annual foray into Nordstroms coincid... 02/03/2011

How Buyers Can Find Their Money Sooner is a reprint of our blog from 2009. This topic is still one of the least understood concepts by so many buyers that we decided to update and re-post it. One of the scariest financial mysteries to many home buyers surrounds the tax advantages of mortgage interest and property taxes. Although most buyers conceptually get that there are advantages to home ownership, the actual numbers don’t generally make their way into most people’s financial planning and typically come as pleasant news at tax time. The news turns less pleasant when buyers who weren’t aware of the tax advantage realize they might have made other decisions (specifically affording more house) than they really did. Buyers that do understand these tax advantages can lower their monthly ... 02/02/2011

Vote here to keep the Millburn Kindergarten program as all day. Anyone who has kids, or anyone who has seen cranky parents that have kids knows just how little a half day program gives a parent. There is a better way and there are other ways to conserve that don't impact the already impacted family core! Vote!!!!     01/26/2011

  In music and in real estate, getting the timing right makes the difference between hitting the sweet spot or falling flat.   Many salespeople try to instill a sense of immediacy on their clients, so how does a buyer or seller get it right?   My market is a bit of an anomaly. In the past two weeks I was able to get an offer accepted over 5 others for a home, got another client's offer rejected even though they were $60K over asking, and am working with clients that have been eyeing a property for several weeks.   In the first two cases, there were multiple offers and the homes went in the first week on the market. These were hot properties and it didn't take much arm twisting for my clients to see it also. The third has not exactly flown off the market in the past 90 days, and my clien... 03/29/2010

  Millbun Bucks Convention With A Strong Seller's Market. That's what the latest Otteau report should have been titled. Millburn's sales to unsold inventory for January shows a 5.9 month supply of homes. As most agents know, 7.8 months is considered a neutral market (neither a seller's nor a buyer's market). Many buyers are very surprised when their offers are rejected or when they find themselves in a bidding war because they've been hearing the media's generalizations. Real estate is local, and in some instances it's hyper local. Maplewood, just next door has a 8.4 month supply of inventory (essentially neutral), Livingston has a 7.3 month supply, and Summit has a 9.2 month supply. These are all lovely and desirable communities with seven figure properties, yet they behave differentl... 02/24/2010

  Millburn rocks! Music is a topic near and dear to my heart, so I'm delighted that this year's Millburn Rocks will take place March 19th at the Maplewood Country Club. Yes, I know that a Millburn event in Maplewood is a bit odd, but that's what makes the world go around! The proceeds of the event will go to completing the Communication Arts Program for all seven Millburn public schools program (a very good thing) and will feature the B Street Band. If you've heard these guys, they're a joyous Bruce Springsteen tribute band and a great time. Come support this great cause and have a really fun time in the process! 02/17/2010

This week's snow days cancelled the Wednesday meeting at the Bauer Center. A  Millburn NJ non-profit group of residents will be holding an informational meeting on February 24th and  is asking all interested residents to attend their public meetings and public meetings the township is holding on allowing the Chai Center to build a 16K square foot building should be permitted.   This meeting is rescheduled for February 24th at the Bauer Center in Taylor Park at 7:30PM. For it or against it, see what your neighbors are thinking!     02/13/2010

There is a scheduled for Wednesday 2/10 at 7:30PM to address whether the Chai Center should be permitted to build a 16,350 square foot building outside of the normal guidelines. This bulding has raised loud cheers from those for the project and loud cries from those against it. Whether you are for it or against it, please attend the meeting at the Bauer Center and voice your opinion. The building is being proposed by the Chai Center (http://www.chaicenter.net/). Those opposed have created a website at http://savemillburn.com/ 02/06/2010

  Yesterday I put out some individual towns, but how did the county do in general? How do certain communities compare to the larger county? It’s very important for both sellers and buyers to understand specifics and how they compare to the larger surroundings. Reality is local! Here are the numbers for all of Essex County for the entire 4th quarter of 2009:       2006 2007 2008 2009 Average # Of Offerings/Monthly 594 474 478.7 460 Average # Of Sales/Monthly 388.7 283 209 319 Supply & Demand Ratio 65% 49% 44% 67% Unsold Inventory 2374 2750 2717 2397 Projected Absorption (Months) 6 10 13 8     The unsold inventory dropped dramatically from 2008 and is essentially at 2006 (market high) levels. The number of average sales per month also jumped and reversed the trend from the previous two y... 01/24/2010

    Millburn NJ December / Q4 Numbers Are finally Out!   There must have been a ton of numbers to crunch, but the results are in. The following is for the entire 4th quarter of 2009:       2006 2007 2008 2009 Average # Of Offerings/Monthly 25.7 22.7 19.7 21.7 Average # Of Sales/Monthly 17 17.3 8.3 16 Supply & Demand Ratio 66 76 42 74 Unsold Inventory 105 76 72 73 Projected Absorption (Months) 6 5 9 5     2009 did not have the weakness of 2008 and Millburn continues to be one of the hottest markets in our area. Sales were double of the previous year and 5 months of available inventory in this fabulous community signifies a strong seller’s market. For more information on how this affects your plans, call me at 973/219-9200 or visit www.greatnjproperties.com.     Analysis and forecast cour... 01/23/2010

The South Mountain, Eagle Rock, and Hilltop Reservations will be closed for the 2010 Essex County Deer Management Program. Whether you’re horrified at killing Bambi or glad for a Venison dinner, you might want to steer clear (pun intended) on those dates.The hunt will be:South Mountain Reservation: January 19, 21, 26, 28 February 2,4 Eagle Rock / Hilltop Reservations: February 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25 For further info, the Essex County information line for the 2010 Deer Management Program is 973-621-4400. 01/15/2010

    I received a phone call from a computer yesterday. It was AT&T with an important message asking me to call a particular number. The computer had that familiar very pleasant with just a hint of urgency tone.I recently cancelled my AT&T service and said goodbye to my beloved iPhone as the service in my area stinks. This isn’t an AT&T bash, I’m sure they’re a fine company with excellent coverage all over the universe, just not here.A realtor having spotty cell service is close to professional suicide, so you all understand my dilemma, but I digress. I called the number the computerized voice indicated and waited until a live operator came on the line. She thanked me for calling AT&T and asked what she could do for me.I told her that I was merely returning her computer’s phone call and ... 01/14/2010

  I had an interesting listing presentation last night. Everything went smoothly. I was well prepared with a ton of useful information for my prospective sellers, an empty nest couple in too much house. We all got along very well, the home was impeccable, we agreed on the fair market value for their lovely home, and then I asked the fatal question: where are you planning to move next? They both looked at each other, and what ensued was the kindhearted quibble / debate / semi-argument that only married couples can have. I sat quietly for a few minutes while they discussed what they wanted to do and it was clear they couldn’t agree because they simply did not know themselves. He wanted a backyard to grill and have alone time (but no yard maintenance, please), she wanted a big kitchen to ... 01/12/2010

The Wall Street Journal has been saying it, the NY Times has been saying it, I’ve been saying it, and only a few consumers are hearing it.Many self described ‘savvy’ buyers that are waiting for the spring market to get into full swing will be surprised to learn that their dream home just got much more expensive. Just today interest rates in my local market crept to 5.375%, which is a 3/8% difference from two weeks ago. What does this mean? On a $400K mortgage for 30 years, that house just got $32,000 more expensive!What will happen to those buyers that are on the fence? The cost of sitting will get costlier, and it that dream home will be much more difficult to afford. Some economists are predicting more than a 2% rise in interest rates. Personally, I think that’s a doomsday scenario f... 01/07/2010