Is Fall the Time to Sell Your Home in Our Market?

Inventory is growing in our market, but you shouldn’t expect home values to dip. If you’re a seller, I suggest you put your home on the market now.

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What’s been happening with our Jersey City/Hoboken area market so far in 2018? How should sellers feel about our fall market moving forward? Let’s look at the latest year-to-date statistics and how they compare to the same numbers from 2017.

The number of new listings in Jersey City increased 35% from 798 to 1,216 homes on the market. There are more homes for buyers to choose from, and this increase has created a healthier market in downtown Jersey City. The number of sales, meanwhile, decreased from 477 to 402. That’s not a huge change, but keep in mind that we have a lot of new construction inventory that’s not showing up on the MLS. Sales are still out there and buyers are still buying—you just need to give them a reason to buy. 

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Sales are still out there, and buyers are still buying—you just need to give them a reason to buy.

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In Hoboken, the number of new listings increased 22% from 1,139 to 1,460 homes on the market. Unlike Jersey City, though, the number of sales in this area increased slightly from 688 to 705.

This data tells us that a shift is happening in our market, but I don’t think home values are going to dip because the banking industry is still very strong. If you’ve been on the fence about selling, I recommend that you do it now.

On that note, we’re confident that our marketing strategies can help you get your home sold for top dollar, so if you would like to get started now, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

If you have any further questions about our fall market, feel free to give us a call or send us an email as well. We’d love to help you.

What Should You Ask an Agent Before You Hire Them?

If you’re looking to hire an agent to help you purchase a new home, ask these three questions to ensure they’re the right pick for you.

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There are three things that you should ask a potential buyer's agent before you decide to work with them. This is especially true since we’ve reached the hot, competitive spring market.  

1. “How many homes did you sell in the last 12 months?” The national average, according to the National Association of Realtors, is four or five homes in 12 months. We’re seeing agents out there that are doing 100 or more transactions, but even if the agent is doing 24 or 25, it’s a healthy balance that indicates they know what they’re doing.

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   An agent’s last three clients can let you know how their processes went and whether or not they had a good experience.

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2. “Can I reach out to your last three clients?” Ask if you can reach out to the last three buyers they helped purchase a home. Those people can let you know how their processes went and whether or not they had a good experience. Did they trust the agent? 

3. “What strategy will you use to get me into the home?” What are they doing to inform you about the market? In areas like Hoboken, Jersey City, Chatham, and Summit, we’re seeing a lot of bidding wars. They’re not as common as they were in the past, but you definitely want to make sure that your agent is going to put their best foot forward in order to ensure that you get the property you desire for the price you want and in the time frame you want it.

If you have any questions for me about buying a home or hiring an agent, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you.

4 Different Loan Products for Homebuyers

As a homebuyer, you should know what your options are when it comes to financing your purchase. I’ll go over four different types of loans for you today.

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There are a number of different loan products that you can use to purchase your home. I’ll go over four of them today. 

The first and most popular loan is conventional financing backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This loan requires 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% down, and you can use this option on a condo or single-family home. 

The second is FHA financing. An FHA loan lets you move into a home with as little as 3.5% down. The private mortgage insurance rate does end up being a bit higher, but the FHA loan also works well with a lower credit score. 

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   An FHA loan lets you move into a home with as little as 3.5% down.

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The 203k loan is similar to the FHA loan but it allows you to rehab the property. The 203k program gives you money to make upgrades and renovate the home. Of course, they are going to come in and monitor the work to make sure that it’s done by a qualified contractor. Still, that’s a great product if you want to renovate a bank-owned or short sale property. 

The final product is the homestyle loan. This is similar to the 203k loan but you do have to put a bit more money down than you would for an FHA. You can’t use the FHA or 203k on a condo, but you can use a homestyle loan. The homestyle loan will also finance construction costs. Again, they will monitor your process to make sure you are working with a qualified contractor. This is a great product to use.


If you have any other questions about buying a home, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!