Westfield, NJ

SEAN CARROLL, WESTFIELD NJ REALTOR EARNS PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION TO HELP HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE

SEAN CARROLL of TEAM CARROLL of RE/MAX CLASSIC GROUP has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by "distressed" homes in the foreclosure process.

Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

In the Union County, NJ area, more the number of homes in danger of foreclosing is clearly on the rise. As job losses mount, and real estate prices have come down, more distressed properties are surfacing in the area. It is happening in all price ranges. Local experts say that even high-priced homes are not immune.

"This CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales," said Sean Carroll. "It is so rewarding to be able to help sellers save their homes from foreclosure."

To provide free information for homeowners in distress, Team Carroll has even created a website designed specifically to help these clients at www.HomeOwnerHelpSite.com. Sean Carroll says of this website: "We've tried to layout an easy to read informational website for clients who want information about short sales vs. foreclosures, and other options such as mortgage modification

Alex Charfen, founder of the Distressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., said that Realtors® such as Sean Carroll with the CDPE designation have valuable training in short sales that can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure. These experts also may better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience, he said.

The Distressed Property Institute opened in January 2008 and provides training on-site and online. The CDPE is the premier designation for Realtors helping homeowners in distress and handling short sales.

"Our goal is to educate as many people as possible so we can help as many homeowners as possible," Charfen said.

For more information about CDPE designation or to find a certified distressed Realtor in your area, please call 1-800-482-0335.

Hey everybody! There are some terrific deals out there for you first time buyers. If you want to save a bunch of time and not bounce from website to website only to find incomplete information, check out this link below.

For a complete list of homes (Including Property Addresses!!!!) along the NYC Train Line in these and other great NJ Towns log onto:

http://www.NJAreaRealEstate.com

No phone calls....no hassles....just the information you are looking for!

a free service provided by

RE/MAX Classic Group

908-898-0800

Happily, Real Estate activity in Westfield has not screeched to a halt, as shown by the 38 contracts signed since the 1^st of the year. Selling at the current pace, and if no more homes are listed, Westfield would sell out in 8.9 months (absorption rate). That is down from 12 months last fall, though it took some considerable price positioning to get there, as the chart also shows.

Westfield is faring pretty well, because. . .people want to live here!

What separates the dozens of houses sold from the multitude of "on-the-markets?" What makes a seller sincere right now? The successes are prepared, presented and priced in a truly businesslike way.

Location and "move in" are very powerful now, along with value. You can see that houses sold all over the price spectrum, and if you know our town, they sold in a wide variety of locations too. The sellers and agents made honest assessments of the location and size of the houses (historic decisions) and the market preparation (current decisions) and priced what they really had to offer. Many of the houses with long market times, and reductions, sold quickly after they repositioned themselves. In other words they won as soon as they started fishing in the right pond.

If you would like to see the listings and pictures behind the story, please drop me a line. Scott@LuxuryHomesNJ.com

Our portfolio true jumbo mortgage rates held steady on most programs for Jumbo Mortgages in New Jersey.

Despite the Fannie Mae High Balance Loan Program being introduced, loan limits have remained at $417,000 for Fannie Mae loans in much of New Jersey(Atlantic, Salem, Mercer, Warren, Gloucester, Burlington, and Cape May Counties come to mind), and are at $625,500 in the rest of the counties in New Jersey. The sad truth of the Fannie Mae High Balance loan program is that the pricing is not very competitive as well, due to several pricing adjustments.

Our true jumbo loan programs, called our Insight Program, allows for higher loan balances at extremely competitive terms! This includes loans over $417,050 regardless of the County.

Currently we have the following Jumbo Rates with 0 points as of business close on 2/20/09**:

10/1 ARM

30/15 Balloon

Call Michael Byrne at 908 531 6170 or 800-999-2489 x7972 for current rates.

30 Year Fixed

15 Year Options, and shorter fixed terms available: Call for quotes

Typical minimum FICO scores of 680 to 700, depending on the program. Full Doc loans only. Subject to verification of post closing assets and full underwriting.* Jersey Shore Lovers: This program is available for second homes as well.

Currently this program is available for loan to values of up to 80% on purchase money/rate term refinances to $750,000, 75% on purchase money/rate term refinances up to $1,250,000, and up to 70% Financing to $1,500,000. A one-time floatdown option will be considered, should rates drop on this program.

We also have other Jumbo and Super Jumbo Products available in the Garden State. Call for details on these ever-changing products. The Insight Program outlined above is a portfolio product and we also have many relatioships with investors who will buy jumbo loans in NJ. We recently have added another jumbo investor with slightly different guidelines that offers some synergy with the Insight Program.

We also offer competitive pricing on FHA, VA and Conventional Loans in New Jersey. See my recent blogs such as these for details: New Jersey FHA Success Stories and VA Financing in New Jersey . We underwrite and fund these loans in-house.

Michael Byrne

908 531 6170 Cell

www.refi-fhasecure.com

www.mortgageprosforum.com

* Guidelines subject to change without notice and subject to final investor underwriting **Price adjustments for loans over $750k on fixed rate loans: add a .125% for fixed rates over 750k for the 10 year, .25% in rate to the 30/15 Balloon, 15 and 30 year, add .375% for the 20 year.

Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services, L.P. is licensed by the PA Department of Banking as a first mortgage banker and licensed pursuant to the PA Secondary Mortgage Loan Act; Arkansas Mortgage Company License; Licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act; DC Mortgage Lender and Broker; a Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee (#15499); Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee; Kansas licensed Mortgage Company; Massachusetts Mortgage Lender and Broker (#MC-3052); Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department (#10192-MBB); Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance; Licensed Mortgage Banker NYS Banking Department; a Mortgage Lender and Broker in Rhode Island; Gateway Funding is also authorized or exempt as a mortgage banker in AL, CO, CT, DE, FL, IN, IA, ME, MD MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WV, and WI. This is not an offer to extend credit to any individual who may be entitled to a more complete disclosure per RESPA, TILA, HOEPA or any other more applicable federal, state or local law or regulation, Rates, Terms, Fees and Equity requirements are subject to change without notice. For qualified borrowers only. Equal Housing Lender. © 2009 Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services, L.P.

Ct. Super Jumbo Loan Programs Delaware Jumbo Loans New Jersey Jumbo Loans NY Super Jumbo Loans

Here are the raw numbers for Westfield NJ for the 2 month period from December 1 through January 31. Later this week, I will be posting the 4th quarter numbers and comparing that quarter to the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter from a year ago, so you can see where are market is, and maybe even where it is going.

Here is the data for those 2 months:

Closed Sales: 19 (this is very low compared to past months)

Avg. Sales Price: $785,842

Avg. Final List Price: $828,421

List to Sale Price Ratio: 94.8% (this is as low as I've seen this number in a while, indicating a very sharp decline in home prices in the 4th quarter, like I shared in prior blogs)

Avg. Days on Market: 66 (you can still sell fast with proper pricing and marketing)

Check back for more numbers soon for other towns, and for the quarterly reports and comparisons! Thanks for reading.

www.TeamCarrollNJ.com