Barbara Weismann

One thing you should know about Bergen County is that it really is very dog friendly. We have 5 dog parks here run by the County Government located in Leonia, Lyndhurst, Ridgewood, Wallington & Woodcliff Lake. As a result, no matter where you are in Bergen County, you're no more than a 20-30 minute drive to a dog park. I take my dog, Samantha, to the Woodale County Park on Prospect Avenue in Woodcliff Lake and it's wonderful.

If you've ever had a boxer, then you'll know they are high energy dogs. Our boxer, Samantha, absolutely loves going to the dog park and we take her there every day. She has a great time and not only learns socialization but also works off a lot of that energy.

Actually, going to a dog park was something I didn't even know about until recently. My son rescued a very sick and emaciated boxer puppy 1 year ago and Samantha came into our life. Never having a dog before, I had no idea that taking her out for long walks wouldn't be enough until a friend who is a dog owner told me to take her to a dog park. So, I learned about dog parks and discovered Woodale County Park.

It's a terrific place - there are bathroom facilities next to the dog park for humans and pick up bag dispensers for the dogs. There's also a cold water faucet (weather permitting) for keeping the pups hydrated and everyone takes turns filling up the water bowls that are there. The only thing that this dog park needs is a 2nd section for small dogs. Small dog runs as well as large dog runs exist at both Leonia and Ridgewood. Hopefully there will be more in the future.

Going to a dog park is a lot of fun. Smantha even recognizes the drive up to the park and you should see how excited she gets once we turn into the park lane. Woodale is a very well designed park - the driving lane is a one way horseshoe that goes around a very pretty lake in the middle. There are 2 parking lots and the one at the back of the park is right next to the dog park so it's extremely convenient. If you go there, you'll find that it's also a very welcoming community of responsible dog owners. I can tell you that as a 1st time dog owner, I couldn't have made it without the support and encouragement I received from the people there. It's simply a great group. You'll find people there from all walks of life with quite a variety of age groups; don't be surprised if you make many new friends. I know I have.

For directions to the County Parks where there are dog runs, go to the following link where you'll find a list of the dog parks and a link lower down on the page for directions: http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/Parks/DogRuns.html

Now that we've got the full year figures in, 2007 ended with 157 sales - up from 138 in 2006. This is no small achievement as 2007 was a year in which the number of transactions were down almost everywhere in the New York Metropolitan Area.

If you look at the average sales prices of the past few years, you'll see that the real estate market for home sales in Tenafly is solid:

Year Sales Avg. Sales Price

2007 157 $1,122,095

2006 138 $1,073,787

2005 188 $916,611

2004 218 $818,138

I've also done this by price range and it's really very interesting. In most price ranges, you'll see that things held steady or moderately increased in 2007. Where the market did show some weakness, pricing went very slightly. Actually, the weakest part of the market was the high end re-sale home that needed to be redone.

The reason for this is simple - mortgage rates. If a buyer was going to spend $2.5 million for a home on the East Hill that needed $500-700,000 worth of work, the mortgage rates made such a purchase illogical because that buyer could purchase a new home for only $200,000 more. At this level, it was a simple decision. As a result, this market segment was down about 5% from 2006 according to the data in the New Jersey MLS.

This morning, in the NJMLS we have a ratio of 5.72 to 1 for Actively for Sale to Homes With Accepted Offers. Such a ratio is more than respectable and shows a steady and solid demand for Tenafly homes. What the data is clearly demonstrating is that while this is not a roaring seller's market, we're not nose diving either.

I continue to feel that my projections remain on target - this will be another year where demand is good for homes in Tenafly, that pricing will not be moving up significantly nor will it be moving down significantly. We're doing just what I'd said 2 years ago - we'll be trading in a narrow range with very moderate price adjustment.

November 25, 2007

Stability is what you'll find in Tenafly this year. Despite what you see in the media, prices are not going down in 2007.

What about the mortgage mess? How can anyone get a mortgage these days? The truth is that there's plenty of mortgage money available. Banks are going back to traditional lending practices. Gone are the days when it was easy for people with bad credit to get a mortgage. That sure makes sense, doesn't it? It also explains foreclosures.

Wait, what about all those for sale signs I see everywhere? The answer is simple - over pricing. Buyers are out there but they won't bite at an over priced house.

Not only are prices stable, the number of homes sold in 2007 will be greater than in 2006. By November 15^th we reached 138 sales; this is exactly what we had last year. The facts don't lie - demand for Tenafly homes has not wavered.

Everyone focuses on interest rates (which are excellent) but without someone to buy a home, rates don't matter. Because our area is one of the largest centers of immigration in the US, we create more families. The more families, the more home buyers - it is, after all, the American Dream. It is this steady influx of new buyers that insulate us from the vagaries of the market and Tenafly is the Crown Jewel of Bergen County.

The bottom line is that we do have buyers but you have to know how to market to them. Busy (both working), educated (college graduates) and armed with information from the internet (they know when a house is over priced and what everything in your area sold for), they are very critical. There's no second chance to impress them. You must have superior marketing and adroit negotiating skills.

Tenafly has always been a great location with a strong market. There is no reason not to succeed - only inept marketing will hold you back. It really is that simple. Again, it's not the market; it's how you handle it that counts.